LA man, 32, gave up on homeownership since ‘a modest condo costs close to $1M’ — how to
Lasy year, entrepreneur Jonathan Ochart moved to Los Angeles with big dreams for his public relations business. With its bustling entertainment industry and thriving start-up scene, L.A. seemed like the perfect place to grow the 32-year-old’s career.
But Ochart’s excitement quickly faded when he scanned the housing market and found “even a modest condo costs close to $1 million.” He told CNBC the mortgage payments and down payments were beyond what he could afford.
“It’s pretty impossible for the average millennial to buy any property in LA County,” he said. “You can afford places in [smaller] cities that might not have job opportunities, but when you move to a bigger city with job opportunities, you’re priced out.”
Ochart’s story is all too common in major U.S. cities, particularly in places like Los Angeles, where homeownership is increasingly out of reach for many first-time buyers. In fact, the City of Dreams is the stuff of nightmares when it comes to housing affordability, with the median listing home price now hovering around $1.2 million – well north of Ochart’s $450,000 budget. A 20% down payment amounts to $240,000, and that’s just the start: Mortgage payments, property taxes, and maintenance costs all add up to a substantial financial burden.
For Ochart, buying a home seemed more like a financial trap than a smart investment. When he gave up on buying a condo in early 2024, his monthly mortgage payments would have been between $3,500 and $4,000. The high cost of homeownership, coupled with the city’s soaring cost of living, changed his plans.
Ochart landed on a one-bedroom apartment in Beverly Hills for $2,100 a month. That may still sound expensive, but it’s well below what a mortgage payment would cost, and money that would’ve gone toward a down payment and a hefty mortgage can instead go straight to work through market investments.
Homeownership has long been seen as a cornerstone of the American dream and a primary way to build wealth. But as Ochart discovered, it’s not the only way to achieve financial success. In fact, financial experts argue that renting can be a smart financial move – especially in high-cost markets like Los Angeles – if the savings from renting are invested wisely.