Upcoming Foreclosures

Where are people going to live when rent keeps going up?

I live in Northern Virginia and probably one the most expensive places to live. I am a college student and think about my future a lot once I graduate. The thing is where are people going to live in the next 3-4 years from now when apartment rent, house market value, and other things just keep going up? Lately I've been hearing about foreclosures and the house market plummeting. What about the low-income families? Does anyone think about this? I know I am not the only one. Many you might say go to the politics and government sections but I thought I post my comment in this section. Can I get some feedback please. Thanks a lot.

Public Comments

1. you seem to be missled in thinking Northern Virginia is one of the most ezpensive place's to live, it is buy far much cheeper in VA then alot of the USA!!!!!!!!!!
2. i live with a family & my boyfriend & i rent a room for i pay $140 a month here in philadelphia.It works 4 me.
3. Thank wonderful Bush!! Vote Democrat in 2008!! Remember those good old days when Bill Clinton was getting his winkie sucked, and gas was half the price it is now?? Vote Democrat in 2008!~!~!~
4. I would plan on buying a house. The housing market is just going through a downturn and will recover. It is a great time to buy a house and a great investment as you are building equity every time you pay that mortgage. You get none of those benefits from paying rent. If you are worried about being able to afford a house by yourself, then get a roomate and go in together. You will have a nice place to live and be making a good investment.
5. Well, save up for a big screen TV, & after you buy it keep the box, find a nice place under a bridge, & you'll have a ready made shanty! Seriously though, the issues you speak of are very concerning & need to addressed, in my opinion, other than Carters "habitat for humanity" the Kennedy's were one of the last leaders to speak prominently about the social problems & inequities we faced as a nation. Real leadership doesn't just come with words but actions.....
6. Good point, the economy is getting out of control, the cost of living is getting enormous, heath care is a joke, the difference between the poor and rich keeps growing, large corporations are trampling all over individuals that in todays world need their services to function. The wages arent keeping up with inflation, minimum wage is a crock of shit, nobody can survive on it, its such a joke its no wonder i get treated rudely at taco bell when i order my chalupa. Nothing is being constructed to be a lasting asset, cars fall apart a few years after they are built, even a television set has a life expectancy of around a year, I own a console tv from the early 70's and it still works to this day. every individual ends up squandering every bit of money they have trying to stay healthy and maintain a comfortable lifestyle, we all end up in debt to the evil (i stress that word here) credit card or other high interest debt companies that have no desire to lets us pay the debt off, they want the balance there indefinately so we can pay them interest forever.
7. You mentioned the housing market plummet and rent going up in the same sentence... that's not right. The current housing market is horrible, for people who are trying to sell their homes. But if you want to buy a house? Right now you can probably buy a house for half the price it would have cost you a year ago. And when the housing market does bad, rent prices usually tend to drop. But since you live in a very rich area, they probably are going up, to keep the low life's out of town. But if you go to any normal suburb you can buy a very nice house and get a great bargain on it. The housing market has it's fluctuations, meaning it will go down, and it will bounce back up. The good news is that it tends to stay just ahead of inflation. And the higher inflation gets, the more people have to get paid. And we have a free real estate market in this country. So let me ask you this... Why would someone build a house that's too expensive for anyone to buy? If there was a market for cheaper homes, don't you think someone would capitalize on the opportunity? Liberals like to worry. And instead of letting the free market correct itself, they get all effete and decide they (the government) have to do something about it. This actually hurts the people more than it helps them.... but we won't get into politics.
8. The first poster who said that northern VA isn't one of the most expensive places to live in the US is wrong. Fairfax County is the 2nd most expensive place to live in the country. I agree that people in college right now will not have the luxury of purchasing a home in their 20's the way people were 10 years ago. I think that in the future Americans will have to do what families in Japan do. . . multi-generation homes. You will see more families sharing a home with their parents and their grandchildren all in one house. It is already becoming more common. Also homes in the future will not be bought and sold as easily, people will value them as something to be passed down from one generation to another.
9. Yes-we live in a high cost area. I am about 2 hours from DC and we are a satellite local for commuters-houses are selling RIGHT now for $199,000 for a 15,000 sq ft 3 bed 2 bath. We have a good bit of folks who commute to DC from our area. And rent is high in the area too. As for the poor-honestly no one thinks about it because it is too depressing to admit many families live in poor conditions and that means kids too. I worked in social services foryears and in public housing. I worked with a lot of nice families who live pay check to pay check and will likely never get out of that. Buying a house today is a luxury that sadly not everyone will get and some people who never should have gotten a loan did and they are caught in this foreclosure mess. I got out of social work because after 10+ years it was just to depressing. I think the notion of the American dream to own a home is going down the tubes for way to many people. Until wages are higher for lower income families or until more people are able to get into higher education and get a better job this will continue. The really bad thing is that services to help low income families with housing are beng cut at the federal level. So you have more people in competition for fewer service dollars. Not really sure what the answer is or if there is one. Maybe more college age folks like you will come up with better solutions than we have now. If you have the means, now is a good time to buy a home. And by means I mean income level, savings, and good credit-that magic combo that not enough folks have to actually get a home and be able to also live comfortably let alone send a kid or two to college. Maybe you (being near the nations cap) could look into becoming an advocate for low income families. And try not to stress over getting a home of your own in a few years or where rent will be.