Is buying a home too expensive for many people in the Boston area?

Boston – Data released this week from Greater Boston Association of Realtors He reveals that it is in July 2023 average house In Greater Boston it sold for $910,000.

WBZ-TV’s Question Everything series has previously explored its influences and downfalls affordable housing effortsand the staggering new home-buying numbers were a reminder to reconsider the issue.

“I’m 27 and nobody I know like him owns a property,” said Audrey Stein, who rents in Watertown.

“It seems less and less likely that you’ll be a young adult living in any kind of city these days,” added Kala Begley of Boston.

For young families trying to buy their first home, the number is shocking, but not surprising.

“This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous,” said Christina Simkus, who is currently renting in Quincy with fiancé Ben and has been eyeing the purchase for nearly two years. “Just as you start to think…Should I move somewhere else?”

Simkus grew up in Massachusetts.

“Never in a million years did I think I wouldn’t be able to put down a deposit or buy my house,” she said. “It’s hard. Even though we have two successful careers, we can’t make enough money to have a deposit or get a good mortgage rate.”

It’s a problem he hears regularly from clients, says Arthur Dish, owner of Red Tree Real Estate in Boston.

“I feel bad for people because it’s not just $910,000 that costs a lot of money, it’s also water, sewer, garbage, removal, taxes and insurance,” he said.

Dreych recently sold a 2,500 square foot apartment in Newton for $1.25 million. He says prices have been going up in Greater Boston for 20 years. his advice?

“Number one, you gotta trust the process. Good things happen to good people and we’ll all have a roof over our heads eventually. Two: The interest rate is 7%…you know what’s worse than having a 100% interest rate when you rent” .

The numbers are less comfortable. According to an online calculator from Nerd Wallet, a first-time home buyer with good credit and minimal debt would need a household income of $220,000 to afford a $910,000 home. The median household income in Boston is $81,744, according to the 2021 US Census.

This is where companies like LaMacchia Realty say we as a society have to get creative. LaMacchia recently Launched a service to connect buyers and sellers With assumed mortgages. Owner Anthony LaMacchia has a series of informative videos online on the subject.

Default mortgages are those that can be transferred from buyer to seller. For example, instead of taking out a new mortgage on an existing home, the buyer could make a slightly higher down payment and take over the seller’s mortgage — at a 3% rate instead of the current 7% rate.

Still, LaMacchia tells WBZ there are hurdles when it comes to the supposed popularity of mortgages — mostly national lenders unwilling to grant them, and state regulations getting in the way.

“This is something we are actively working on,” he explained. “And we’re coming up with several options for people to be able to do that.”