Home Buying: Soaring Housing Prices Predict Rough Road Up Ahead

Beyond belief and rationality, housing prices in Prince Georges County, Maryland have sky rocketed dramatically within the last few years. Infact, prices have gotten so bad that they are literally forcing new home shoppers to search for "lower" grounds in attempt to find something affordable.

In the old days, the "in" thing used to be the ability to move out on your own at ages of seventeen through twenty-one. Simply put, if you moved out at any later age you were just simply wasting time while living at home. But today in this new millennium, more and more college graduates are returning home after college, medical and law schools. Unfortunately the lack of financial stability is the number one cause.

Contributions to difficulty in home buying:

#1 - Saturated job markets

All parents have to do is simply listen to their children who are recent college grads or who work for a living. They can tell you how tough the market has gotten. It used to be that a general education from high school could pave the way for future. In today's society, a high school diploma lowly regarded as a bare minimum. More and more aging high school graduates are wishing they took the time to pursue higher education curriculums before life struck at them. In today's advancing market, a college education is considered of extreme importance. Today, the job markets are saturated with desperate and hungry college graduates, thus making the job markets more difficult.

Other factors include the discouraging expense of not having enough work experience, despite spending four years at college level study. The result pushes graduating students out into a world where they feel they have less chance of survival.
In addition, occupations are simply not paying enough to afford the interest rates and mortgages of housing expenses. More and more industry workers are considering plans of self-made businesses in essence of supplementing income.

#2 - Employment wages

When an employee of any particular occupational trade considers buying a home, he or she must possess the financial stability possible in order to afford a particular house of choice. With an increase in the cost of living expenses, however, a single woman for example making $50,034.78 yearly will have difficulty locating a house for her income. Several real estate agencies do offer new home buying classes for those looking to just get started, but not everyone may be eligible for such privileges.

Employees closer to retirement than the rest are even seeking to land better jobs in an effort to support their families or keep up with the rising costs of mortgages. Thus, this irrationality is similar to #1, a saturation of job markets. The job market is becoming much tighter. Infact, many jobs in the United States have been traded over seas in an effort of receiving, "good work cheap." Foreigners of different countries are offering their services internationally.

But that doesn't help the citizens of the USA because we do need those positions, and we need them at a higher wage. Unfortunately, employers here in this country aren't willing to do so. As a result, the arise of home prices don't meet the steady salary offers that employers are offer. They tend to be a financial mismatch.

#3 Increasing home buying is a ploy at dividing its countries citizens to specified areas.

For example, one of the highest crime ratio counties in Maryland is Prince Georges County. PG county has one of the highest strings of homicidal related incidents, automotive thefts, vandalism etc.. The general prediction and talk around town is that many of the crime related activities are coming from none other than PG's neighbor, the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

Residents of this area have been fixated on blaming incoming residents of Washington D.C. who are looking to seek housing in Maryland or Virginia. Only half of this statement may particularly be true, with the other half in contributions to parental dealings and issues at home.

With the growing persistence of crime in the Washington, D.C. area, officials are believing that a raise in housing prices will "scare" individuals of small neighboring urban communities back to where they came from. Thus, it discourages individuals looking to seek residence into an area where they may feel more comfortable. To put it delicately, it keeps the goods with the good and the bad with the bad.

#4 Increasing/fluctuating gasoline prices

It has been said before the occurrence that, when gasoline prices soar, so will everything else surrounding us.

In PG County alone, small single-family houses have risen to ranges anywhere between $315,000 or more. Consequently, that's more than the average person can naturally afford, even those of higher income. Unless you can seriously afford such a housing price alone, you better believe that many will seek roommates who can chip in with expenses.

#5 Our war in Iraq: Establishing a new democracy.

Literally speaking, this has been one of the most expensive wars in the history of the United States. Despite what many believe or are willing to admit, when a war is in progress it also affects the market in ways that many wouldn't believe.

The costs of military equipment, fuel, military arsenal, and whatever cost it takes to build a new democracy period is a contribution as well. Fortunately, for many of us, despite the gas hike we've found ways to slip the higher costs in fuel to a budget that can work out for us. But the change in housing is something in which we can't help.

What can we do?

* Stay in school.

* If you are young, save your money. You have no idea whats to come in the future; saving those few extra dollars can make a significant difference in your life.

* Stay at home while you can and save money. You don't have to be in a rush, its okay to stay at home and there's nothing wrong with doing so. Infact, many recent under graduate and graduate school students have done so. Of course, that shouldn't give you any incentive to proceed, but it does point out the reality that is in progress.

* Keep that credit card debt down to a minimum. The higher credit debt proceeds, the harder it becomes to pay it off. Plus, it's one of the major things real estate agents look at when deciding to purchase a home.

* This may be a just a phase, hopefully passing along sometime in the near future. If not, many of us may experience harsher conditions. It's time for us to further educate and inform our children, preparing them for tomorrow.

For we must remember, Poorly educated = poor society.

Good luck AC!