10/27/2026
🔥HOT TAKE🔥
Your parents weren’t better at saving money. Houses were just a whole lot more affordable.
I’m tired of hearing that Millennials and Gen Z just need to work harder, stop eating out, and save more money if they want to buy a home.
Let’s look at the numbers. 👇
According to a MoneyLion analysis reported by Four States Homepage, the average Missouri home price rose from approximately $215,000 five years ago to about $272,000 today. That’s a 26.7% increase over that five-year period.
The same analysis estimated that buyers now need to earn nearly $35,000 MORE PER YEAR to afford a typical Missouri home than they did five years ago.
That figure refers to the estimated annual income needed to qualify for the typical home under the study’s affordability assumptions, including factors such as home prices, mortgage rates, and standard lending costs. It is not a claim that every buyer’s income must rise by exactly $35,000.
Read that again.
Nearly $35,000 more in estimated annual income. In FIVE YEARS.
Now imagine comparing today’s housing market to the one our parents were buying their first homes in 25 or 30 years ago.
Not only have home prices climbed dramatically, but today’s buyers are also dealing with higher borrowing costs than just a few years ago, rising living expenses, and the challenge of saving for a down payment while paying rent.
And somehow, younger generations are still being told they just need to budget better.
Don’t get me wrong. Our parents worked hard for what they had.
But pretending the financial hurdles to homeownership are the same today as they were 25 years ago is ridiculous.
A young family today can do everything they’re supposed to do. Work full-time jobs, save money, avoid unnecessary debt, and STILL struggle to afford a home.
That’s not necessarily a spending problem.
That’s an affordability problem.
And here’s what worries me most:
If the estimated income needed to afford a typical Missouri home rose by nearly $35,000 over just five years, what will it take five years from now?
I’m not saying buying is the right decision for everyone. But I do think we need to stop pretending younger generations have the same opportunities at the same cost as their parents did.
Source: MoneyLion analysis, as reported by Four States Homepage — Missouri home prices and estimated affordability comparison over a five-year period. Methodology and figures reflect the analysis’s statewide averages and affordability assumptions; they are not a 25- or 30-year comparison.
