A Job Shouldn’t Have a Bouncer

A job should open the door to a home, not lock you out—but this door has a bouncer with a calculator. Rent climbed to $2,150 (+28%), home-buying costs jumped, and interest costs hit hard enough that the “just sign” dream gets replaced by a mortgage estimate: a 30-year fixed at 7.15% with an est. $2,898 monthly payment. You show up with “work,” and the line item says “maybe next cycle.”

So here’s the practical audit: if the monthly math only works after you already have a bigger down payment buffer, then affordability isn’t a neutral market outcome—it’s sorting by leverage. The system can be “working” while first-time buyers get pushed back and renters get squeezed, because the door isn’t a door. It’s a budget test with better branding.