The American dream for many aspiring homeowners has been stifled in recent years amid soaring interest rates, skyrocketing inflation and inventory shortages.
But Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein, hosts of HGTV’s “Cheap Old Houses” series, crack the code for overcoming significant market shifts through “house hacks” they share with Americans across the country. Did.
“There’s the American dream of going out and buying a bigger house, going out and buying a bigger car, going out and buying a bigger TV, but there’s this idea of picking up your own strap and figuring it out and being creative. There’s also the American dream. That’s our dream, ‘people,'” Elizabeth told Fox News Digital exclusively. “I think our people are living the American dream of building their own lives and figuring it out.”
“The system is being hacked. If you have the creative American spirit inside you, you’re living the American dream in every way through a cheap old house,” she continued.
Long before the pandemic, the pair started their now-viral Instagram page, which spotlights historic homes. record low cost in hopes of finding aspiring homeowners who may not otherwise have been able to enter the housing market.
Homes often cost less than $100,000, are more than 100 years old and in need of renovation work.
“The housing system is broken. Right now, no one can afford our homes,” Elizabeth said. “Especially the generation that grew up on social media, the generation we’re talking about. They’re young people who come out of school and already have a lot of debt, and the idea of home ownership is just a pipe dream. .”
“We love old houses. We grew up in them. For us, the natural solution to this is to take advantage of the houses available at a lower price and to come and It’s about fixing it,” she continued. “You’re not only preserving history, you’re putting yourself in the door of a market that so many people feel inaccessible.”
Since President Biden took office in January 2021, home prices and related costs have followed the same inflationary trend as other economies.
Compared to three years ago, the median existing home sales price increased from $307,400 in January 2021 to $384,500 in February 2024, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).25 %Rose.
Not only are home prices rising and supply decreasing, but mortgage costs are also rising. As of February, the monthly mortgage payment for existing homes was $2,001, according to NAR. This represents a massive 98% increase compared to the January 2021 reading of $1,009. Mortgage interest rates, which averaged 2.79% in January 2021, are now 6.78%.
But Ethan argued that the market for cheap older homes is largely insulated from market changes. He cited their “house hack” as having remained consistent despite the coronavirus pandemic, stock fluctuations and other economic hardships in recent years.
As a result, willing buyers were able to secure their investments despite the ‘floats’ of a volatile market.
“I think old houses are cheap.” [have] “It’s always insulated from any volatile market conditions,” Ethan said. “We’ve seen so many different markets over the years. COVID…we had huge price increases. Throughout the timber crisis, everything we had in stock became scarce. …During that time, we were repairing the building, and we weren’t seeing any price increases because we were repairing what we already had.”
“We have super high interest rates now,” he continued. “Do you know how we get around interest rates? We buy super affordable, really low priced homes to keep interest rates down. I also have friends who bought cheap older homes. We went from renting for $2,000 a month to buying a $100,000 home and are now mortgaged for less than $600 a month. This is the kind of house hack we love. ”
“This is not a get-rich-quick scheme,” he says. “This is really a sustainable solution for people to find affordable housing, move from place to place, live in these cheap houses and hack the system.”
The two say the most rewarding part of their business venture is watching homeowners step through their entire journey, restoring and utilizing their own inexpensive old homes. I explained in detail that it was something I would witness.
“There is so much that is rewarding about our work,” Elizabeth said. “We like that we’re not contributing to the environmental problems we’re all currently facing, that we’re reusing materials that are already in buildings, and that we’re learning how to repair things. I think our economy right now is based on new…new is always better, but we’re learning how to fix things, and people are learning new skills and making themselves I feel like we can do this together.”
“I think it’s very rewarding for us to see people’s lives changed through these homes,” she continued. “I think [when] When we started this, it was very much a housing issue and getting housing into people’s hands as an alternative to this totally ridiculous housing market, and we thought it was very much a people issue. I realized something. ”
The Finkelstein family is set to premiere on HGTV’s newest series, “Who’s Afraid of Cheap Old Houses?” There they continue to work with the country’s hidden historical gems. The show, scheduled to premiere in April, will follow homebuyers through the process of purchasing and restoring famous masterpieces.
“We’re showing that even the worst house in the neighborhood can be made to look absolutely beautiful. These homes are worth the investment,” Elizabeth said.
