What makes you think people with degrees can afford a house by 30?
this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2025
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I think people with degrees are less likely to own a house by the age of 30, because they studied longer and have to pay off debt first. The only reason i own a house is because i found one for super cheap and renovated it myself.
That’s probably the best strategy. Or buying a duplex and renting half of it. Either way now-a-days in America you gotta be willing to put ALOT of sweat equity in the get a shelter
Or buying a duplex and renting half of it
That's just buying two houses to rent one though
You kidding me dude? I'm past 40 and not chance to own a house. Grad and masters degree, working in IT. Ah and uni was good and free. granted that was in the developing world, now living in 1st world, but still no house.
When I was 7 my parents owned a house AND bought a beach house.
I had a house before 30. It was okay I guess. Sold due to divorce, now I rent again. I'd love to own another house but not the glorified trailer I had before
You dont have to go to college to afford a house by 30.
Likewise, going to college alone does nothing to ensure you're going to get a job that can afford a house.
Louisiana baby. 2100 sqft 0.3 acre 4 bed 2 bath recently renovated for 130k
Exactly and those sorts of deals are everywhere.
Now is the house in some place you would want to live. Well that is another question.
Yeah. But that one would me living in Louisiana.
I'm over 40 and could only buy a house somewhere in nowhere land with massive commute needs.
It's not feasible and I earn way over average salary.
I got an MS in a STEM field and wasn't able to buy a house until I was 36, supervising multiple employees, and married to someone who also contributed.
you're lucky, what major was it, i had a friend who got the MS version of BS degree, no job, but she had a partner so shes pretty much fine, since she already gave up searching for a job like less than 6 months.
At least 3 years of only saving my pay to afford a shack. Still better than what Americans get.
This is why we need tiny houses, trailer homes, etc! We also need to get rid of these real estate corporations that are manipulating the prices of everything we need to live with, especially housing!!! :-(
You need apartment buildings. Lots of them. Individual houses are extremely wasteful and isolate everyone from each other.
Ah apartments, another way for you to never own anything and be on a subscription model for life.
You know that you can own apartments or rent houses?
True, ive never seen apartment owning as actual ownership since you dont own the land its on though. I loathe apartments but I also am constantly busy with a lot of orokects that are impossible in an apartment setting. For someone who just games on their apartment and goes out on the town sometimes, apartments are fine
going to college isnt a guaranteed anymore, at least not in the last 10years. unless your in tech,starting at 22yo yea you would be able to, but only if you did in the last 10years. maybe engineering, other stems not so much, let alone a job in that field entry level. most universities have very little resources devoted to lab work which are usually exclusively limited to specific PI of those schools, and they have thier own requirements. gatekeeped jobs for many stem fields, higher degree requirement despite what the job listing says, and the same goes for experience, honestly its mostly nepo hiring for half of the jobs anyways. Maybe NURSING, especially if you are going as a travllening nursing. MS/PHD puts you into too much financial hole. MD/LAWYer, well off people can afford it , because thier parents are usally well off to do it. hence why alot of mds and lawyers are often coming from wealthy families.
as most lower tier schools either dont spend resources or dont have any dedicated to developing peoples career track in the form lab/volunteer work.
Op thinks we can afford a house by 30 if we go to college.
I think the non-college route yielded better than college for my age cohort. First dude I knew who bought a house was like 19 and he’d been working at Costco for 4+ years. 2008 happened and suddenly this young man had a stable job and savings and looked great on paper 🥲
People I know with most real estate are 2 kinds.
- inherited everything.
- stayed in hotel Mama for free for years while not studying, but working as plumber/contractors/mechanic etc starting age 18-19. By the time they moved out age 26-30 they were already loaded, renting out multiple apartments.
Both required parents, either they had to be wealthy and die early or decided to gift capital early; or to be super supportive, fun (tolerable) enough to keep living with after 18 and not asking you to pay rent.
36 and counting…
42 and counting… I actually have some small hope of trying to buy a house next year though. Not in my home of America though, it’ll be as an expat, and contingent on a foreign bank extending me credit. Not a sure thing at all, but… I’m hoping? There might actually be a path forward? Maybe?
you used to be able to afford a house on a single minimum wage job
maybe 60 years ago.
It's pretty much only a problem in the US.
No…. It’s substantially worse in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, umm I’m sure more but I read about theirs most.
No it's not. In France it's just as much of a problem if you live in one of the big cities.
Going to college doesnt allow you to buy a house at 30 either lol
It did the opposite for me!
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People have gone to college and still can't even afford a single home, much less, a suitable apartment spot.
or the job field is soo dismal , catch 22.
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I think this post should be home that you own. I'm going to say something controversial in that, in the US, I actually think houses should be expensive. I think a single family dwelling >1500sqft on a half acre or more of land is a luxury, and most people don't need to have that much land and space all to themselves. The problem is that that's ALL that's available for most regions in the US. The US is suffering from foolish post-war suburban centric zoning codes that prohibit building medium density housing ("the missing middle"). We need to change zoning codes across the country to encourage building up "gentle density" and mixed use areas, even in rural regions, because they use land and infrastructure much more effectively and efficiently. They raise more revenue for towns while bringing down home prices. If everyone had the option to buy a place of their own <1000sqft with a small land footprint, I don't think there would be as much dissatisfaction with not being able to afford a "house".
You shouldn't have to work to be able to live, period.
The right to live with dignity should not be dependent on productivity.
Anyone working full time should always be able to easily provide for themselves and a "reasonable size" family.
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if you go to college you can't even afford to pay for it by 30.
Im glad i bought my home 20 years ago..... no way i could afford a 3-2 at todays going rate.
I blame all the house flipping shows. Made everyone think they could buy a house, paint it, then resell for 100k more.
Shit, I'd agree if companies like Blackrock didn't exist.
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You don't need to. All you really need is to go for a walk in your desired neighbourhood, find a house you love, knock on the door and introduce yourself. Ask any questions you have about the property, then kill the occupants, flay them and wear their skin as your own as you lead your new charmed life, for as long as you can.
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