Inflation

Houses are stupid expensive at the moment.  I want to say the market is in a bubble based on past experience, but I only have 2002 to present when referencing housing market.

We bought our house in '03. A couple years later, the house across street sold for 122% what we paid. 

In '11, the  house was back on the market when the couple divorced, but no one was willing to pay the asking price they paid. The dude stayed with house and ex-wife and younger kids moved out. He put the house up again in '16 for 86% of what he paid and sold. 

The house sold last month for 150% of the '05 price.

All houses in my neighborhood are going for roughly double what they were when the market crashed after '08, yet my mortgage is the same. 

I don't know how people can afford things. Everything is way more expensive. Property taxes have gone up drastically even without re-evaluation. Water bill is probably up at least 300% since the EPA made the municipality upgrade a decade ago.

No one has a home phone or cable tv, but every home needs high speed internet, while everyone over 13 has to have cell phone. Add-ons like HBOMAX, Disney +, and Paramount+ are reasonable.

Since the pandemic: Groceries have gone up in price by 30%. Restaurant food has gone up 20%.

Many storefronts have closed. Outlet mall shopping is just not what it used to be. Van Heusen is gone! 

Paint and home improvement stuff have jumped in price by 20%. 

Of course gas is up from before the pandemic as well...

It all adds up to a normal family having to get more frugal or just not be as loose with the wallet.

We spent a lot on things before the economy started to look weak, but everything is way more so we came out ahead. New front door and newer car down payment last summer alone was $10k from savings, but we could resell the car for a profit. Weird how that works.

Whenever I am done with house projects, it will be worth a bit more, but we're not going anywhere. I've put too much into the house to sell and find something else that will be overpriced and probably not custom to our tastes. 

Inflation is here. I am looking forward to a market downturn if it means I can buy up cheap housing from chumps that bought high.

I'm not a bad person. I am just thinking everything is just weird about the economy right now.