Talking to the bank today about maybe buying a house. My 3yo is getting big enough that it's annoying I'm working from home in their room (it was my office first, before they were born). There's only enough room for a bed, my desk, and some drawers, and then the floor space is basically just enough to let the door swing open. So we decided we wanted more space (or at least better proportioned space).

We actually decided like 2 years ago, and have off and on been looking but nothing ever seems to come up that would be better than where we are now. But now we have found somewhere we like, it doesn't have a separate office which I would have liked but there should be space for setting up a couple of WFH spots in some corners.

It's exciting but holy hell do houses cost a lot more than last time we were buying about 10 years ago.

[–] absGeekNZ 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Indeed the whole system is a bit fucked up, wages haven't even close to kept pace with the rising house prices.

Even worse though, the build premium has expanded to its widest ever. Around $200k on an average build vs average cost to buy.

[–] Dave 2 points 1 year ago

In theory we buy a new place a little better than our current one and sell the current one, leading to only a modest mortgage growth. But that modest growth is the entire size of our mortgage from our first home we bought.

I think we need policy that pushes for more new housing, especially building upwards. The cost of houses is directly related to the supply/demand issue, and right now supply is still short of demand.

[–] eagleeyedtiger 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's great you found something you like without having too much urgency. When we were looking for one, I got so sick of going to multiple open homes every single weekend for about 6-7 months straight. It was incredibly depressing how much some of those small old houses were going for back then.

[–] Dave 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The first time we bought a house, we went to nearly 100 open homes, as counted by the stack of info sheets.

The second time, we went to three in one day, put in an offer that day, and that was it.

This time we have been to maybe 10 in 2 years. We know exactly what we want, but there aren't many houses that fit the bill (including location, which is perhaps the most important). This house we like, among other things, because there is a train station and a high school within walking distance. One is helpful now, and the other will be ideal when the kids are a bit older.

[–] eagleeyedtiger 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Defined sounds like a good location. Hope it all goes smoothly for you!

[–] Dave 1 points 1 year ago

Thanks!