“I actually started this page pretty much as a creative outlet for me to share some funny moments with some close friends and family,” the creator behind the Homeowner Memes account told Bored Panda. Seeing the struggles of everyday homeownership and renovating an old house was getting frustrating, so the creator decided to turn it into humor. “It’s become kind of a beast of its own, growing way more popular than I had ever intended.”
“My followers are pretty standard across the board, really. 50/50 split down the middle male and female, with 85% being age range 25-40, so right in line with the millennial demographic,” the author said.
“They are incredibly active and engaged and I think it’s because people genuinely feel like they can really relate to these memes. I will often invite people to post their craziest stories about certain things and you wouldn’t believe some of the things people have to go through just to own a house.”
According to the creator, one of the best recurring themes is memes about HOAs since “it seems like there is a pretty universal hatred of them and their arbitrary rules.” Moreover, “Memes about the real estate market are pretty hot too. They seem to resonate with a lot of people trying to get into their first home.”
The person behind the Homeowner Memes account believes that the market is due for a crash. “We’re starting to see price reductions, record low first mortgage and refinance requests, etc. That being said, I am not a professional and therefore my opinion is just that, an opinion. But a lot of people seem to think the current market is unsustainable.”
The author added that their own local market is incredibly overvalued right now. “To the point where renting here is actually cheaper than buying here right now,” they concluded.
To find out more about the current state of the real estate market, and ways to navigate the soaring rental prices, Bored Panda reached out to Philippa Main, experienced Tampa Bay Realtor® at Your Main Agent. Some time ago, Main went viral for creating this genius house listing for “The Worst House On The Street” that you can read about in our previous article.
Main explained that unfortunately, the real estate market is definitely starting to slow down. “Home buyers had already started to get wary of how high prices were getting a few months ago, and now with increased interest rates they are rethinking whether the current prices are fair or going to work for them and their ideal monthly payment,” she said.
“For current homeowners who need to sell quickly, they're having to do price reductions, offer incentives, or be prepared to make upgrades and repairs. It's starting to become apparent that the best time to sell was around March/April, and that things are definitely starting to get better for buyers,” Main told Bored Panda.
When asked what are the reasons for soaring rental prices we see across the country and whether there is an end in sight, Main said that in certain metros, like the Tampa Bay market, they are already starting to see landlords having to reduce prices to get tenants to sign up.
“It's doubtful they will drop at the same rate home sale prices might, though, because the areas where rental prices have gone up substantially are projected to stay desirable areas. Places where people want to be and live, have always historically been more expensive to live in, and we don't expect that to change just because of inflation,” Main explained.
The realtor added that it's likely that the rising costs associated with maintaining and owning homes will be passed on to the tenants living in them.
For anyone currently struggling to find a rented home, Main’s advice is to be flexible on features and location. “Start looking for a new rental as soon as possible so you can have more options and not feel pressured to rent the first place you find.”
“Also, consider saving up for a down payment to buy your own home. When you own a home, your payment stays much more stable year-over-year and you don't have the uncertainty of moving so frequently. Interest rates may be high now, but if they go down in the future you can consider refinancing,” Main concluded in an interview via email.
