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‘Making 100k a year won’t cut it anymore’: Realtor breaks down ‘absolutely insane’ difference between buying a home in 2021 vs. 2024

With problems like soaring inflation and the intricacies of roommate culture, the online discourse surrounding the frustrations of today's real estate environment is at an all-time high. Though many TikTokers have taken it upon themselves to break down these surprising financial trends in interesting and engaging ways, sometimes the clarity within these videos becomes all the more shocking to online audiences, showing them just how inaccessible the real estate market has become.

New Jersey-based realtor and financial coach John Natale's TikTok is one such account, whose recent video has gone viral for showcasing the differences between buying a house in 2021 versus in 2024. The online reactions to @thejohnnatale's videos were shock, agreement, and a sense of online users' discouragement about skyrocketing housing prices and interest rates.

On Nov. 29, 2024, Natale shared a video on his TikTok called "Difference in Wealth 2021, 2024." In the video, Natale compares buying a home in 2021 and buying a home in 2024, calling the difference "absolutely insane."

He adds, "The difference between the millennials and even Gen Z who were able to buy a few years ago and are trying to buy now is just downright nuts."

Breaking down the numbers within the video, Natale explains that increased interest rates are making homeownership exponentially more expensive. In 2021, the median home price in America was 346,000, with a 10% downpayment and a 3% interest rate, creating a median 2021 home mortgage payment of 1,313 per month.

In 2024, the median home price was 405,000 with a 10% downpayment and a 7% interest rate, making the mortgage 2,425 per month. The difference in these two payments over 30 years, Natale concludes, is over 400,000 dollars.

@thejohnnatale Replying to @2wheeledhobo those with a low interest rate just got out of ‘Nam, as they say. The difference in wealth is startling especially when you factor in the ability to invest the difference in what someone with a low rate would pay over the life of their loan versus someone buying with rates are what they are today. #realestate #housing #millennial #genz #housingmarket #realestatemarket ♬ original sound - John

The video garnered 1.9 million views and over 70,000 likes, with comments including "Making 100k a year isn’t gonna cut it anymore!" and "They'll have to cart my body out of this house before I'll leave."

'It's honestly comedy'

The video spread to X in early January 2025, giving rise to more shock about the financial realities of home ownership. One user said, "Dude repeated the same thing 3 times in the beginning that was the wild. I thought it was a parody. Cut the intro."

Others talked about how lucky they were that they bought homes before 2024. "We bought our house in 2019, I feel extremely lucky because house prices in our neighborhood have literally doubled since then," another X user said. "No way we’d be able to afford it now."

Still others lamented how expensive living in the United States can be. "It's honestly comedy," said account @LacksPoP. "America has given the finger to anyone who doesn't make 300K essentially."

'An average not seen since 2000'

According to Bankrate.com, John Natale's assessment of changing real estate interest rates is correct. In 2021, it reports, the average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate was 3.15%, as compared to 2023 and 2024, where interest rates were at 7% and 6.9%, respectively.

The site explains that this rise in interest rates came with an overall financial reaction to the pandemic. "By 2022, the Federal Reserve began raising its benchmark interest rate to cool pandemic-spurred inflation, and mortgage rates followed suit. Fast-forward to October 2023, and the 30-year mortgage rate broke through 8 percent—an average not seen since 2000."

@thejohnnatale That’s a BARGAIN at the end ???????? #realestate #housing #humor ♬ original sound - John

'A world of pain to get there'

Many financial and real estate TikTok accounts are not predicting that these fixed mortgage interest rates will lower anytime soon. Dean of TikTok account @AlexisandDean said, "If we get to 3% mortgages again, I would think we would have to be in a world of pain to get there."

Overall, this information leads the internet's potential and current homeowners to feel luck—or despair— depending on their financial situation.

The Daily Dot has reached out to @thejohnnatale via direct message on TikTok. The creator did not immediately respond to the request for comment.

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