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Comment by throwawaysleep | Hacker News Reader

My theory is the change in cultural demographics. European/North American parents find it weird to help their kids buy housing. In Chinese culture, that is very much the norm. My Indian friend will get his down payment from his parents.

So people don't need to buy housing with their own resources in many cases. It can also include the resource of two more people, or even 6 more people (grandparents chip in).

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> European/North American parents find it weird to help their kids buy housing.

This is absolutely not true. I don't know where you're taking this from.

Coming from a working class / poor background it absolutely is true. Until I graduated and working in a wealthy area with upper middle class background people, I had never heard of anyone having their parents pay for their house. This is really split based on how Wealthy your background is.

While not straight up buying a house for their children, in my experience (middle class, PNW) it is, while not common, not unheard of for parents to assist their kids in buying a house, be it by providing some/most of the downpayment, or co-signing on the home loan.

I figured that would go without saying. If your parents don't have a surplus of cash to help you with, they'd probably find it weird to do so.

In North America its often considered "crippling" children to give them too much help. I've seen it repeatedly, with some families giving children 3 months after graduation to begin paying rent.

Everything from parents kicking their kids out or charging them rent at 18 (or ever) to anecdotes from North American friends of how they got pushed out of home to pay rent while in university.

The endless lectures of Dave Ramsey on not wanting to provide a "hammock" for kids are also an abundant source of information.

North American parents won't consistently have a college fund for their kids. Also planning to pay for the down payment on their home is absolutely not normal for them.

If North American people didn't chronically make questionable financial choices, Dave Ramsey wouldn't be super rich or have a show.

Half of first time buyers in the UK get help from their parents.

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