How many avocado toasts does that house cost?
Monday, millennials everywhere threw their avocado toasts down in disgust when they learned that their favorite brunch item was the true reason they were unable to afford a house. Or at least, that’s what Tim Gurner was apparently hoping for.
The 35-year-old Australian millionaire called out millennials who complain about their status by drawing attention to the trendy treat that tends to come at an inflated cost.
“When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn't buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each.”
As many have pointed out, there are myriad reasons that young people are having trouble purchasing homes and avocado toast is pretty far down the list. Still, what if avocado toast WAS the only thing stopping them?
Here at Neighborhoods.com, we scoured major U.S. cities to find out just how much millennials are robbing themselves of the basic right of homeownership just for some instant gratification in the form of grated cheese atop smashed avocados spread across crispy multigrain toast. We then compared the average cost, based on some of the most popular avocado toast purveyors, to the median sale price and, assuming the cash needed on hand in order to close the sale, figured out just how many avocado toasts they'd have to give up on in order to live the dream.
Turns out, quite a few.
Market: Los Angeles
Average Avocado Toast Cost: $8
Median Home Sale Price: $550,000
Estimated Closing Cost Needs: $110,000
Number of Avocado Toasts: 13,750
Avocado Toastless Years: 37
Market: San Francisco
Average Avocado Toast Cost: $9
Median Home Sale Price: $1,185,000
Estimated Closing Cost Needs: $237,000
Number of Avocado Toasts: 26,333
Avocado Toastless Years: 72
Market: Chicago
Average Avocado Toast Cost: $11
Median Home Sale Price: $225,000
Estimated Closing Cost Needs: $45,000
Number of Avocado Toasts: 4,091
Avocado Toastless Years: 11
Market: Dallas
Average Avocado Toast Cost: $8
Median Home Sale Price: $250,000
Estimated Closing Cost Needs: $50,000
Number of Avocado Toasts: 6,250
Avocado Toastless Years: 17
Market: Houston
Average Avocado Toast Cost: $9
Median Home Sale Price: $225,000
Estimated Closing Cost Needs: $45,000
Number of Avocado Toasts: 5,000
Avocado Toastless Years: 13
Market: Miami
Average Avocado Toast Cost: $10
Median Home Sale Price: $270,000
Estimated Closing Cost Needs: $54,000
Number of Avocado Toasts: 5,400
Avocado Toastless Years: 14
Market: San Diego
Average Avocado Toast Cost: $8
Median Home Sale Price: $520,000
Estimated Closing Cost Needs: $104,000
Number of Avocado Toasts: 13,000
Avocado Toastless Years: 35
Market: Phoenix
Average Avocado Toast Cost: $7
Median Home Sale Price: $235,000
Estimated Closing Cost Needs: $47,000
Number of Avocado Toasts: 6,714
Avocado Toastless Years: 18
Market: Washington, DC
Average Avocado Toast Cost: $9
Median Home Sale Price: $520,000
Estimated Closing Cost Needs: $104,000
Number of Avocado Toasts: 11,556
Avocado Toastless Years: 31
Market: New York City
Average Avocado Toast Cost: $10
Median Home Sale Price: $1,100,000
Estimated Closing Cost Needs: $220,000
Number of Avocado Toasts: 22,000
Avocado Toastless Years: 60
The lesson is, as always, limit yourself to only 1,000 avocado toasts a year if you can.
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