I figured you would be interested, since you need savings — absent lots of downpayment assistance from other sources — to buy a Boston condo (from yours truly).
Last week I spoke with an echo boomer at Harvard Gardens. This echo boomer, which includes everyone in their 20s, claimed she is in no financial shape to buy a Boston condo — and might be uninterested even when/if savings improve.
That sparked an interesting conversation, with another patron at the bar saying she and her siblings are also echo boomers and have very different perspectives on homeownership: “My one sister & I see real estate as an investment if done properly & my other two sisters see it as a ball & chain to the Boston area.”
One of the interesting side points in our conversation is that many echo boomers would rather spend their money on post-baccalaureate higher education than housing, seeing advanced schooling as an investment in themselves that will pay off. It just so happens that PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel is making a controversial argument that higher education is the new bubble, now that housing has gone bust.
All of which makes me wonder: What do you see as the highest and best use of your money — and where does Boston real estate play into it? Is small and cheap (owned or rented) your idea of a good housing situation? Spacious and gracious? Somewhere in between?