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George
Let's talk about the housing market. It's the only thing more triggering to Gen Z than a millennial referring to anything as a sleigh or cheugy, which I refuse to let go of, which I know is kind of cheugy. This is chuggy. You don't even know what that means. But is it completely hopeless out there? Well, to find out, we're heading to the bastion of hope and happiness on the Internet, TikTok. And with a salute to our channel sponsor, delete me. Let the spiraling begin.
TikTok Housing Market Rapper
I wasted time in my mother's womb not buying property when it was cheap. Now I'm an adult, I can't afford a home. That's my fault. I should have bought myself a home when I was a feet a fetal.
George
Okay, that drop was sick. This is a new genre of music I didn't know existed. It's like housing market club music. That's what I'm really into right now. Okay, let's look at the actual lyricism here. Cause I think that's you.
TikTok Housing Market Rapper
It's understated property when it was cheap. Now I'm under.
George
The scream really goes,
TikTok Housing Market Rapper
that's my fault. I should have bought myself a home when I was a fetus. Should have got a nice cheap loan when I was a fetus.
George
Should have got a nice cheap loan when I was a fetus. I mean, truer words have never been spoken. Is that Shakespeare? And while this is hilarious and tasteful at the same time, it is true that, like, you know, the older generation's like, you're wasting money on rent, kid. Go buy yourself a house. What are you doing wasting time on your TikToks? Listen, all we have is TikTok because we can't afford the home. So there's a lot of truth here. And we all wish we could go back in time to, you know, 1997, where we should have been buying homes when they were super cheap instead of, I don't know, being a child. But it's too late. And so all we can do is make some ironic comedic music before we leave this amazing video. We should call out some numbers here. Okay, Median home values have risen from 289,000 back in 2015 to 423,000 in early 2025. So 10 years, 46% increase. That is real. And if you look at the numbers, the median home price is now five times the median income. Back in our parents day, it was more like two to three times. So there's some real math here that is kind of depressing. And that's why we make mimi music. All right, next. Okay, this one says pov. Finding a place to rent in this economy. Let's go.
Cartoon Homeowner
Hi.
Apartment Leasing Agent
Welcome to the apartment tour. Come on in. So here is our studio apartment. As you can see, it's very spacious. You can even stand sideways. It's three square feet. But we do have a shared bathroom, though. It's all the way up on level seven. And we don't have an elevator, so you're going to have to walk all the way up the stairs by yourself. Do you have any questions?
First-time Homebuyer Woman
How much is rent?
Apartment Leasing Agent
8,000amonth. We do have something smaller. It's half this size. It's not a studio apartment, though. It's just a stew apartment.
George
Yeah, and how much is that?
Apartment Leasing Agent
That one is 7999. So you get $1 off. But we do have a look and leave special. So if you sign up in the next 24 hours, you do get another $2 off.
George
I'll think about it.
Apartment Leasing Agent
Okay. Have a great day.
George
Oh, my gosh. The most accurate part about this is that that is how they all talk. It's what their faces do. So absolutely nailed it on that part. So we got three square feet, $8,000 a month. That's. That's a lot per square foot. If we're just going to really zoom in there on those three square feet. And it's obviously a large exaggeration. Very few places are renting for $8,000, even in a high cost of living area. If we're talking apartments now, maybe a penthouse in Miami, that's where I go. You can tell by the tan on my face. I hang out in Miami. There is a vibe to this, from the leasing managers to the apartment salespeople. They always try to sort of minimize the bad parts and then maximize, like, the one or two good features, like the fact that you can stand sideways in the door. Very impressive. But it's the feeling behind this that causes people to go, I just want to buy a house because rent's so expensive. It's such a waste. Well, it's not always a waste to rent. Mathematically, it could make sense for a lot of people. Especially right now, median rent in 2024 hit just over 1,400 bucks a month. Now, let's compare that to the median monthly cost for a homeowner in 2024, which was just over $2,000 a month. So doing the math, it was $600 more expensive to be a homeowner in 2024. Than to rent. Now, sure, you're not building equity, but you're also not needing to come up with a down payment and the closing costs and all of the risk and liability and the more expensive insurance and property taxes. So if you're renting right now, I know it's frustrating, especially if you're paying a lot comparatively to your take home pay. But just know that you're buying yourself patience. You are not throwing money away. Let's keep going. First time homebuyers looking in their price range. Oh, brutal. Oh. Oh, no, not the pink bathroom tile. Oh, man. Yeah. At some point, you have to realize you want an LA9. You can only afford a Cleveland 4, and that's depressing. But you gotta go like, this is really where I'm at. Based on my finances, this is what I can afford. And truthfully, very few homes look that terrible. And also, to be fair, the home that I grew up in look very close to that. We did have pink bathroom tile. We did have terrible pink shag carpet. We had the naughty pine wood walls that were, like, pliable. You know, you could kind of like push into it. It was that thin. But you got to start somewhere. And so you got to look past the things you can look past and go, all right, we can replace tile. It's not that expensive. We could eventually redo the kitchen, get new cabinets, you know, do a paint job here and there to make it work. And so if that's what you can afford and you feel like this is the house for us right now, or at least the next five years, then go for it. And if not, you just gotta go, all right, we gotta keep saving up. We gotta move to a different area that's maybe a little further out from the city and buy a place you actually like more that doesn't have as much negative curb appeal, if you will. But gosh, who is this guy? It's just men being boys. Okay? So it's like a bunch of sons and their dad making funny content. That's wholesome. I gotta say, if my kids one day wanna start a TikTok with me, and we have 2.5 million follow followers, bringing joy to humanity. I did a pretty good job as a dad, but through tiktoking solo, I did a terrible job as a dad.
House Judger
It's a fine line.
George
Bring pops into it, okay? He's only gonna help you with the view count. Next started looking at houses for rent. And it is cheaper for me to get along with my family. This is legit. Like, I know you can fake tears. This is not fake. This is that, like, puffy red. I can't even hold it together look. And so I don't know if she acted in this video or if this was out of a real moment, but either way, 10 out of 10. Chef's kiss. And the overall vibe here, and this is what I'm guessing is happening, is she's like, hey, I gotta live with my family. Therefore, I need to get along with my family, even though they're kind of dysfunctional and I want nothing more than to have a place of my own. But rent is 2,500 bucks or whatever. She's going, all right, I'll learn to live with them. You know, they're not so bad after all. You start sort of bargaining, if you will. It's the bargaining stage of grief. Five stages, in case you're counting. At home, I will work three jobs just to protect my peace. Way to go, Alicia. My rent is almost $1,700. Sometimes I eat ramen or starve, but I'm at peace. There's no price for peace. Lot of people, this is really sad. It points to a lot of dysfunction in families, probably a lot of trauma, maybe even some abuse, I don't know. But it's sad to see how many like 18 to 25 year olds are like, get me out of this place. It is toxic. It's hurting my mental well being. The economy doesn't understand my relationship with my mother. I laughed, but then I got sad. I think that sums up how we all feel about this. But hey, living with your family, if you can stomach it, not a bad idea until you can get on your feet. But don't stay there forever just because rent's expensive. You know, I believe once you are like a salaried employee, you got a stable job, you're making some good money. Especially if you're out of debt with an emergency fund. It's time to fly the coop. Even if rent's expensive. Get a roommate, do what you need to do. So let's look at the median rent as of April 2026, 1370, versus little over 1000 bucks back in April 2017. So, I mean, that's 10 years. Yes, it's high. A little less than 300 bucks more, but 26% over nine years. Not bad compared to home ownership and what home prices have done during that time. So living with parents, you might have to do it.
Cartoon Homeowner
What?
George
Having multiple roommates might have to do it. Lowering your expectations and not having the super fancy apartment you Might have to do it. It's not ideal, but it's a short season while you get financially prepared to do something bigger and better like own a home or get out of debt. While you're hopelessly tapping the heart icon on your dream home listings, something else is happening behind the scenes. Data brokers are scooping up your personal data and selling it off to the highest bidder. Your phone number, your email, your past addresses, your family's information. It's basically a scammer's buffet and cleaning it up yourself. It's a nightmare. I mean, you'll try and try and fill out all these forms and try to find where all your info is and keep track of it and still not have much luck. And that's why I use Deleteme, one of today's sponsors. Deleteme has data privacy experts who kick in the door of those data broker sites to remove your info, saving you a ton of time and a ton of hassle. Delete me has already saved me over 140 hours, which is more time I can use to plan, start and then promptly abandon a DIY backsplash project. And right now you can get 20% off their annual plans by going to joindeleteme.com George and housing isn't the only thing that's become crazy expensive. So have most phone plans. Seriously, 50, 80, 100 bucks a month per line. Just the doom scroll videos of some broccoli haired goober telling you to arbitrage a 4 plex. It's madness. So do the smart thing and switch to Boost Mobile, another sponsor of today's video. Their unlimited plan is just 25 bucks a month. That's right, 25 bucks a month forever. Plus you can bring your own device and keep your own number just in case your old high school flame wants to reignite the spark. Switching is simple and the savings are real. So go to boostmobile.com Ramsey $25 forever requires customers to remain active on Boost Mobile Unlimited plan. All right, back to the videos. Okay, this one says I just bought my first house and I don't like it. I assume that's the tone. We'll find out.
First-time Homebuyer Woman
I just bought my first house and I don't like it. As you guys know, my boyfriend and I just got a house together after only dating for a year. And it's not like I don't like the house itself. There are just some things that I'm extremely eager to change. This green turf stuff on the front porch. Why would anyone put that there? We removed that immediately after closing. And then this blue wall, which I found out that a cop used to live here. And he's the one that painted this wall blue, which in my opinion should be illegal, but I went ahead and painted it green. And there's this random bar right in the middle of the living room that has me extremely, extremely confused. We took that out. This sunroom is my nightmare and dream come true all in one. It smells like cigarettes and the carpet is, in my opinion, hideous. But after removing, the carpet already smells so much better. But now we need to do something with this floor. And then we have a random wood wall next to the fireplace. I'm letting my boyfriend do what he wants with that because I want to get rid of it, but he wants to keep. There's a lot going on in this house, but fortunately I have some time to make some changes before officially moving it. And my boyfriend is very handy with this stuff. I just tell him what I want and he makes it happen. It's so nice. Now, did I rush into buying a house with a my boyfriend of one year because I knew he could fix it up for free? No comment. Watching this place come together is so satisfying and at the same time overwhelming. I feel like when one problem gets fixed, a new problem surfaces and it's never ending. We still have a lot of work to do, so I'm not going to break up with him yet.
George
Wow. There was a lot going on there. But she is right. I mean, home ownership is no joke, especially when you buy sort of a fixer upper. But they knew that going into it. And let me just point out, this was a terrible idea. You should never buy a home with someone you are not married to. It has never worked out. In all the calls I've taken on the Ramsey show, no one's ever gone. Yeah, I bought a house with my boyfriend in it. Everything's great. No financial problems, no relationship problems. It worked out exactly as we planned. And nobody's resentful. Doesn't work out. What happens is she owns the house. They're both on the mortgage, but she's the only one on the deed. They break up, he wants out, but she needs to refinance now and she can't afford it on her own. And so she needs to sell the house. And do you see what's going on? It's just too messy. Marriage gives you some financial protection, and without that, you're sort of just fingers crossed. Let's just Venmo each other. Who's gonna cover the roof repair? I don't know. It's your house, not mine. I'm not gonna pitch in. Why would I? Why would I build equity for you? We're not even married. I have no ownership, as you can see. Been around the block with this one, taking calls like this. And I agree with this comment that green is worse than blue. Why would you pick baby diarrhea green out of all the colors? Go with a sage. You know, something a little warmer, less chartreuse. I digress. And yes, I use chartreuse in a sentence. Keep the wood wall. Please, please, please. Green inside. Pool or gaming room. They're giving her ideas. Did you look at the house before you bought it? Roasted. I truly hope it works out for you guys. I hope you get married now that this man has sunk his entire life into this house project for you. Hope he puts a ring on it. Well, the only nice thing I can say about this video is that they looked past some of the cosmetic issues and they knew, hey, we can swap carpet out. We can knock out the bar over here and make it a little more of an open floor plan. And because of that, they found a better deal. And it was cheaper than finding a more expensive house that was structurally exactly how they wanted it. And always get an inspection because you never know what's behind the surface. So hire a really good inspector to make sure that what you're buying isn't a total lemon that's going to cost you $100,000 in repairs. This is a long term decision and probably the biggest one you'll ever make financially. So go slow and do it right. And get married. All right, time for a cartoon.
Cartoon Homeowner
Congratulations on paying off your house. Thank you. I finally own my home. I love that for you. Now pay property taxes. Wait, for what? For owning the home. But I already paid for the home. Yes, that was for the structure and the land that's rented. For who?
TikTok Housing Market Rapper
Us.
Cartoon Homeowner
For how long? Forever. And if I stop paying? We take the house. But I bought it. Correct. And now you maintain it for us. So this is renting? No, this is home ownership. So what did I actually buy? A lifetime subscription with surprise price increases. And what do I get with that? The privilege of not being evicted this year.
George
Love it.
Cartoon Homeowner
Five stars.
George
Okay, this is probably the most true video we've seen today. Property taxes are not a fun thing to pay, even when you own your house. So I don't have a mortgage anymore, but I still got to pay property taxes every single year. And I have to pay the homeowner's insurance. Every single year. And so here's how property taxes work. It's an assessed value of your home multiplied by the property tax rate. So this varies depending on where you live. But as an example, let's say your house is assessed at $300,000. That's not what you paid for it. It's the assessed value, which is different and likely lower. So let's say you have a 1% tax rate. That means you would owe $3,000 in taxes that year. So $3,000 divided by 12 months, it's about 250 bucks a month that would be added to your mortgage payment through escrow, which is the holding account for your insurance and taxes. So why you have a mortgage? Property taxes are paid out of that, so you don't necessarily feel it as much. It's just sort of all bundled into that monthly mortgage payment. But once you pay off your mortgage, you got to do that on your own. And so I got to pay attention. I got calendar reminders every year and I try to do it way earlier than I need to just to get it off my plate and out of my head. But I do see this comment. A lot of people going, george, you never own your house. What's the point of paying off your mortgage? Well, I got rid of the mortgage payment, you dingus, so that's nice. And to be fair, property taxes pay for things in my community like roads and schools and police officer salaries and teacher salaries and fire department, all things that I do use. And if you don't use them, just use them. Go to the park more if you're gonna complain about it, all right? It's part of living in a society. You wanna go off the grid and live in the woods, go for it. But I'm not going. Leo DiCaprio and Revenant. All right? Living out of a bison carcass, it's disgusting. Me judging million dollar homes with no money to my name. This is gonna be good.
House Judger
I hate the color of that one. Yeah, not my favorite. It's not for me. Would like that one a little bit better if I had like a balcony to like, you know, out. It's kind of a small front yard. I don't know, it's like, fine. I just wouldn't want to live this close to, like a popular street, you know what I mean? Why would you get those shutters? What were they thinking? Not the cutest porch I've ever seen. You think so?
George
I love that one.
House Judger
Just not big enough for me. Not like. What do you mean? Like for Me and the kids. You don't have any kids for the amount of kids I want to have.
First-time Homebuyer Woman
What's.
House Judger
What's wrong with you?
George
What?
House Judger
I just don't like that one.
George
I like that one.
House Judger
I just. I can't. Yeah, I know what you're about to say. I can't see myself in that one. It's just not screaming my name. Right, right, right. That house is actually gorgeous, but the numerical address is just ugly sounding.
George
Numerical address. Oh, this is relatable content right here. So what's behind all this complaining and judging? Human nature. Fall of man. Go back to Genesis. You'll figure it out. But beyond that, I think we're also trying to cope with the fact that we don't have the nice thing. So then we kind of, you know, pooh, pooh, the nice thing to go. Well, it's not even that. I wouldn't even want that car or that house. Not even that great. And the truth is there are a lot of very expensive home. I don't like that I do find ugly. So it does make me feel better. I'm going. Just because you're rich doesn't mean you got taste. Money can't buy taste. I got money, but I don't have taste. So I'm working on it, guys. I'm working on it. Are the comments vibing normal houses on movies? I mean, I'm broke. Doesn't mean I don't have an opinion. Thank you. That's so true. You can be broke and have taste and have opinions. It just doesn't matter as far as society goes. Just keep it to yourself in TikTok. Moving on. When just two years ago you both were selling your furniture to make rent, and today you just closed on your first house. Is this gonna be heartwarming? I need a win. Come on. Okay, that was sweet. I think the less talking, the better. You know, show, don't tell. That's an old filmmaker trick right there. But I do love this. I mean, she's showing you the journey. Two years ago, they were selling furniture just to make the rent. And here they are closing on the first house. And what we didn't see in that journey was all the sacrifice they made. They probably worked extra, got better jobs, saved up diligently for that down payment and the closing cost. This is what I'm hoping at least. And that caused them to be able to become homeowners. And they still look very young. Now. He doesn't seem as happy about it, to be fair, but I think he was dragged into making this video. And the comments are actually heartwarming. Congrats, congrats, congrats, congrats, congrats. There we go. That's what we like to see, the Internet doing. Internet things that are good for humanity. All right, as per usual, producer Alex has selected a video that may or may not be related to the housing market for my entertainment and for yours. Let's see what he has for us today. Feel free to take your time. I'm here whenever you're ready.
Apartment Leasing Agent
Feel free to take your time.
George
I'm here whenever you're ready. Can I get 1 million cheeseburgers? Okay. Can you not? Okay, sorry. What? My guess is, if that really went through, they gotta make a million cheeseburgers. There's no other option. The system said. I love that she. So they're listening the whole time. What's the point of AI if you still require a human that you're paying for the labor to listen to the mic? I just don't get it. Oh, wow. Can you not? End quote. Lady, you're defending your replacement. Okay. Can you not? Bro is literally trying to save your job. He's proving that we need humans because of humans doing stupid things. We need other humans to prevent humans from doing stupid things. The circle of life. Because AI as we know, will not prevent us from doing stupid things. It will only encourage said stupid thing by saying, hey, that's a great idea. You know, it's the best idea I've ever heard. You should do that. It's like your most toxic girlfriend who's like, girl, you should absolutely do that. Yes, I love that. So the overall vibe from these videos is we're gonna cope with our low key housing depression with memes and funny content, which I get. That's a real reaction. But it's still possible to buy a home these days. There's a right way to do it, a wrong way to do it, and you don't want to end up with a house payment you can't afford. So I made a free course to help you guys out. It's called how to buy a home you can actually afford, where I walk you through the whole process step by step, so you can buy a house that fits your budget and make this house a blessing instead of a dumpster fire. So I'm going to drop a link in the description to that free course so you can check it out. But before you even think about buying a house, you got to answer two questions. How much house can you actually afford? And how much wood could a woodchuck Chuck If a woodchuck could chuck wood. I'll help you answer that first question in this next video if you click right here or use the link in the description. That's all for today. If you had fun, be sure to like this video. Hit subscribe and share this with a friend who knows exactly how much wood a woodchuck could chuck. If a woodchuck could chuck wood. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.
Date: June 5, 2026
Host: George Kamel (Ramsey Network)
In this episode, George Kamel humorously dissects the “housing market doom spiral” gripping social media, especially among younger generations. Using viral TikTok videos as a launchpad, George breaks down housing affordability myths, delivers practical financial advice, and offers relatable commentary on the pain and absurdity of today’s housing market—all with his signature wit and snarky pop culture references.
Key Points:
The show opens with George acknowledging how the housing market is a “triggering” topic for young people, and how viral content acts as a coping mechanism.
Quote:
"Let's talk about the housing market. It's the only thing more triggering to Gen Z than a millennial referring to anything as a sleigh or cheugy..." (00:05)
A humorous TikTok “housing market rapper” laments not buying property as a fetus, which George calls both hilarious and painfully relatable.
Quote:
"Should have got a nice cheap loan when I was a fetus. I mean, truer words have never been spoken. Is that Shakespeare?" (01:20)
Stat Check:
Median home values have jumped from $289,000 in 2015 to $423,000 in 2025 — a 46% increase in 10 years. Home prices now average five times the median income versus two to three times in the past. (01:32)
Key Points:
George features a satirical TikTok “apartment tour,” where a three square foot studio goes for $8,000/month, poking fun at exaggerated rent prices and apartment sales tactics.
Quote:
"[Leasing agent voice]...You can even stand sideways. It's three square feet." (02:35) "Very impressive. But it's the feeling behind this that causes people to go, I just want to buy a house because rent's so expensive. It's such a waste." (03:22)
Real Numbers:
Median rent in 2024: ~$1,400/month
Median monthly homeowner cost in 2024: Just over $2,000/month
Insight: Renting isn’t always “throwing money away”—it can make financial sense, especially given today’s high home prices and hidden costs of homeownership. (03:31)
Key Points:
The segment highlights first-time homebuyers touring houses they can actually afford—“You want an LA9, but you can only afford a Cleveland 4.” (04:37)
George shares personal anecdotes about growing up in a home with “pink bathroom tile…and terrible pink shag carpet,” emphasizing it's okay to start small and improve gradually.
Quote:
"You got to look past the things you can look past and go, all right, we can replace tile..." (05:24)
Living with family or multiple roommates, or lowering expectations for your first place is often financially wise, even if emotionally unappealing. Quote:
"Living with your family, if you can stomach it, not a bad idea until you can get on your feet. But don't stay there forever just because rent's expensive." (07:53)
Rent Trends: Median rent increased from ~$1,000 (2017) to $1,370 (2026). That’s a ~26% increase over nine years, much milder than the rise in home prices. (08:52)
Key Points:
George reviews a TikTok from a woman who regrets buying a “fixer-upper” with her boyfriend. He stresses the legal and financial dangers of buying property with a partner before marriage.
Quote:
"You should never buy a home with someone you are not married to. It has never worked out... It’s just too messy." (12:07)
Praise for buyers who look past cosmetic flaws and use sweat equity, but a warning to always get a thorough inspection to avoid costly surprises.
Key Points:
Animated TikTok parodies the “forever costs” of homeownership—property taxes, maintenance, and insurance.
Quote:
"Congratulations on paying off your house... Now pay property taxes." (14:37)
"So this is renting? No, this is home ownership. So what did I actually buy? A lifetime subscription with surprise price increases." (14:53)
George clarifies how property taxes work, how they’re bundled with mortgage payment via escrow, and why even without a mortgage, you never fully “own” your house free and clear of ongoing obligations.
Quote:
"Property taxes are not a fun thing to pay, even when you own your house..." (15:12)
Key Points:
George reacts to content where people “judge” million-dollar homes online even if they can't afford them—a symptom of envy and the human urge to rationalize what’s out of reach. Quote:
"We're also trying to cope with the fact that we don't have the nice thing. So then we kind of, you know, pooh, pooh, the nice thing to go. Well, it's not even that. I wouldn't even want that car or that house." (17:38)
Encouragement through a heartwarming TikTok: in two years, a couple goes from selling their furniture to pay rent to closing on their first home, underscoring the value of sacrifice and persistence. (18:44)
Memorable Moment:
A comedic side step with a viral video about ordering a million cheeseburgers—George reflects on the limits of AI, the need for humans to prevent other humans from making dumb decisions, and ties it back to coping strategies for tough times.
Quote:
"Bro is literally trying to save your job. He's proving that we need humans because of humans doing stupid things..." (19:57)
"Before you even think about buying a house, you got to answer two questions: How much house can you actually afford? And how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" (20:35)
On generational frustration:
"Older generation’s like, 'You’re wasting money on rent, kid. Go buy yourself a house.' Well, all we have is TikTok because we can’t afford the home." (01:20)
On renting vs. buying:
"You are not throwing money away. You’re buying yourself patience." (03:26)
On the emotional toll:
"At some point, you have to realize you want an LA9. You can only afford a Cleveland 4, and that’s depressing." (04:37)
On living with family:
"I laughed, but then I got sad. I think that sums up how we all feel about this..." (07:09)
On homeownership with a partner:
"Never buy a home with someone you are not married to. It has never worked out." (12:07)
On property taxes:
"What did I actually buy? A lifetime subscription with surprise price increases." (14:53)
On judging homes online:
"Money can’t buy taste. I got money, but I don’t have taste. So I’m working on it, guys." (17:38)
True to George’s personal brand, the episode is packed with dry humor, relatability, and sharp myth-busting. He brings levity to depressing stats, offers reality checks without shaming, and never condescends to his (often millennial and Gen Z) audience.
For the full step-by-step process, check out George’s free course “How to Buy a Home You Can Actually Afford.”
If you’re feeling the housing market blues, you’re not alone—and yes, you can laugh (and plan) your way through it.