Reply #85: Hey, you asked for zingers and I gave you some.

[smoogatz]

Blaming the Democrats and the poor because she can't keep up with the housing market sounds pretty rabid to me. The problem here is not Democrats, the poor, or the housing market--it's her crappy little income. She wants to buy a house/condo/apartment in DC on $50k? You're kidding, right? She'd be lucky if she could afford a doublewide in Morgantown on $50k. Middle class compared to what? Anacostia? She needs to take a little personal responsibility for her situation, invest in some lingerie and a Brazilian wax, and get her ass down to M Street (or K Street--same skill set required, if you ask me).

But seriously--she should wait a few years. The D.C. market is one of the most expensive in the country. As interest rates rise, housing prices will gradually peak, level off, and then come down. This is a terrible time to try to buy in unless you've got wads of cash to burn. Even if prices fall dramatically (which they won't), $50k/year isn't going to buy much of a place. I have friends in NY who make four times that who can't afford to buy anything closer than Queens. Queens!