Buying a house?

So I was an urban planner in a previous life, and sometimes I see something, or think something and it reminds me of 1) why I still have much to learn and 2) why I am leaving.

So I often watch HGTV or other TV about the home buying process or renovation, just as background noise and mild entertainment.   Every now and then, I watch My Lottery Dream Home often with a different level of attention.  Granted I haven’t watched every episode, but it seems to me that 1) white winners tend to have won a considerable amount of money and 2) winners of color, tend to have won a smaller amount relative to their white counterparts.

This has led to two in my estimation, separate outcomes: 1) white winners are able to purchase land (generational wealth, etc…) and 2) winners of color have won enough money to move into an existing white sub-division or neighborhood.   This made me rethink houses and reflect on my own experience in wanting to purchase a house. 

Growing up in Baltimore, my mom was able to purchase a house twice (Waverly and Oakenshawe).   After leaving Baltimore, I thought about buying a house, but never seriously.  The narrative was always; put 20% (or 3.5% if you qualify for a FHA loan) down and pay your mortgage based on your income from work, and continue for 30 years.  But honestly, it was never something I really thought about.

So watching My Lottery Dream Home I started wondering about all of the (white) people that were already living in the neighborhoods that the winners of color were able to buy into.  Had these white homeowners been able to save up and pay a 20% (or 3.5%) down payment and are paying off the mortgage buy working a 9-5?

And this reminded me of an old friend of mine, who was dating someone.  The person that they were dating had parents that wanted them to move back home, and offered them a condo if they moved back home.

And this got me wondering, maybe there is a percentage of the white population that doesn’t have to take out a 30 year mortgage with a 9-5 job, etc… Maybe they just are born with enough disposable income to purchase a house when they graduate high school or college and just are able to have all of the benefits of home ownership without having to jump through too many hoops. 

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