In Oregon: A couple earning $250,000 a year must be a tenant

Despite a total annual income of $250,000, a young couple from Portland, Oregon will have to wait before becoming homeowners.

According to Fox Business, Laura and Samuel Graves, both 36 years old, are waiting before buying a house, because of the state of the market which is particularly difficult for young buyers. So the couple, who have two young children, decided to start a family in an apartment in the suburbs of Portland, while they waited for a drop in market prices.

$5000 per month

The couple wants to spend $3,000 a month on their mortgage. However, the couple would have to spend almost $5,000 in the current market. High interest rates also make it difficult for buyers.

“We refuse to be house poor and, like many others, we choose to wait until the housing market is reasonable again,” said Laura Graves, who works as a financial analyst, in an interview with Business Insider.

In the current context, the American couple spends 3% of their income for their retirement, rather than 15%.

“Our children started telling us they wanted a house so they could have their own room,” said the mother. […] By the time we become owners, we won’t even need room for a playset for them.”

To save money, they decided to send their children to day camp part-time instead of full-time.

Real estate company Zillow estimated the average home value to be $541,000, and $642,000 in the suburbs of Wilsonville where the family currently lives in the Portland area, where the Graves family is looking for property.