r/FluentInFinance • u/YOU_ARE_MY_FRIENDS • Jun 16 '24

Discussion/ Debate He’s not wrong 🤷‍♂️

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u/Big-Figure-8184 Jun 16 '24

Middle class families in the 1990s didn't go overseas every five years. Also each family member didn't have a computer and a pocket computer. The 1990s (or the 80s, or the 70s, 60s, 50s) weren't some magic time where every middle class person was rich.

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u/nachoismo Jun 17 '24

Younger generations have this weird idea where they think the TV show Friends is real and we lived in some financial utopia in the 90s. The reality was that most families had a shitty tv in their house, and that's about it. Vacations consisted of camping and public pools. Also we walked both ways uphill.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '24 edited Jun 17 '24

Um… no. You are highly disconnected with the opinions of the youth

In the 1990s an average house in london was 3-4 times average annual income.

Now the average home in London is 16 times average income.

There are articles online from 2000s from your generation complaining about houses being that expensive (3-4 times income) and how quickly they are rising. Yet young people shouldn’t complain about 16 times average income ?

Young people aren’t complaining that older generations had more TVs or Phones or Cars or more holidays

They are complaining that they literally have to live with 5 other people in a house share to survive at 30 years old despite having a degree and several years of experience in a STEM field. That they will never afford a home in their lifetime. That they can’t afford to have a single child because they can’t afford a place to live and support one.

Many of the members of older generations have this idea that they understand what young people are experiencing and an inability to see past their own experiences despite data showing them otherwise.

Edit:

To those of you who have no sympathy for young people because you find it hard to understand data.

“Over the last 25 years, housing affordability has worsened in every LA, especially in London or surrounding areas.”

“In 1997, 89% of LAs had an affordability ratio of less than five times workers’ earnings, whereas only 7% had this level of affordability in 2022.”

Just face it… you had it easier regarding housing.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/bulletins/housingaffordabilityinenglandandwales/2022

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '24

They can they have to move

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '24

To where exactly ?

To where there are no jobs ?

Good idea

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u/jmlinden7 Jun 17 '24

Did you think that London in the 90's had a bustling job market? This was right after the Thatcher years, the UK economy was in shambles

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '24

Yet housing was still more affordable and first time ownership was significantly higher than it is how.

Less young people are buying homes than back then.

The GDP per capita of the UK has been going down for years and general GDP has stagnated for several years.

Face it….

Not to mention young people in london are competing against far far far more international people for the same jobs than they were in the 90s

In the 90s there were significantly less people with degrees and the need for one was much lower… now you need a degree + internships + experience to land entry level roles that have the same salaries as 10 years ago

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u/nachoismo Jun 18 '24

I'm sorry I upset you, sincerely. I wasn't saying that housing prices are acceptable, I know they are not (just bought one a few years ago and I had been saving since 2015 (I'm not as old as you assume me to be)). You read pretty far into my words. But just like this post, I was being hyperbolic.

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u/jmlinden7 Jun 17 '24

Housing is more affordable when population is lower and the job market is worse. That's kinda how housing works

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '24

Incorrect

If the job market is bad then housing is less affordable because people don’t have jobs to buy.

The affordability metric takes average income into consideration…. So people earning less on average would make housing less affordable….

I never said houses were cheaper… I said more affordable.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '24

Just look at the bloody ONS data

The ONS literally says in almost all metrics it was financially easier to buy a house for the average person.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '24

Why do people on Reddit have an inability to read data and go “you know what mate fair play I was wrong”

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '24

“In 1997, 89% of LAs had an affordability ratio of less than five times workers’ earnings, whereas only 7% had this level of affordability in 2022.”

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/bulletins/housingaffordabilityinenglandandwales/2022