The inventory is there but the cost of living is so high people just can't afford to buy anything.  

5 years: $1,000 x (1 + 8%)^5 / (1 + 4%)^5 ≈ $1,20810 years: $1,000 x (1 +8%)^10 / (1 + 4%)^10 ≈ $1,45915 years: $1,000 x (1 + 8%)^15 / (1 + 4%)^15 ≈ $1,761The amount of goods and services you will be able to afford increases over time.Investing in cities with high rent growth rate decreases the number of properties you will need to reach financial freedom.

If you can afford to do so, contribute $22.5k to your 401k (ideally a Roth 401k).  

One of the awesome parts of the Jacksonville buy and hold market is the appreciation and the affordability.

She needed to sell quickly to afford cancer treatment in Chicago that her insurance wouldn’t cover. 

I suspect t you were implying RE related.  

Looking on Zillow it looks like the only affordable places are reseda or pacoima or Lancaster. 

Trying to save costs on affordable contractor just cost me more money.Even though I had talked to my real estate agent about how I was investing and trying to rapidly move forward with this home.

If the seller gave instructions to his agent to not present any offers under full asking price, then the agent is obeying the wishes of his principal.Sounds like you can’t afford the property.

Its getting to the point where the rates almost have to be so astronomical that people simply can't afford them.