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Mark Cuban is a billionaire today, but when he was 24, he moved into an apartment with five roommates to keep his housing costs down.<\/p>\n
The entrepreneur revisited that experience in a Nov. 1 post on X, sharing the apartment’s layout and noting that its current rent is $2,388 per month. In today’s dollars, his share of the rent would have been $400.<\/p>\n
Cuban suggested that young people could still benefit from a similar arrangement. But his post prompted a larger discussion about whether today’s young renters have the same opportunities to eventually afford homes of their own.<\/p>\n
Why Mark Cuban’s roommate advice sparked debate<\/p>\n
Kaz Nejatian, CEO of the real-estate technology company Opendoor, quickly took to X to express his thoughts on Cuban’s take on renting.<\/p>\n
“Mark may be correct about the time adjusted rent,” Nejatian wrote on X just a few hours after Cuban posted. “What he is wrong about is what that set you up for.”<\/p>\n
He pointed out that in 1986, when Cuban moved out of his apartment, the typical first-time homebuyer age was 29. (This is correct, according to the Long Island Board of Realtors data.) <\/p>\n
Fast forward to 2026, and the average age is 40, wrote Nejatian. Although age 40 is technically the median, not the average, age of first-time homebuyers, according to the National Association of Realtors, Nejatian’s sentiment is mostly on point.<\/p>\n
Read more: Kevin O’Leary sends a strong warning to all first-time home-buying Americans<\/p>\n
Nejatian wrote that he also lived with roommates throughout his 20s, and he doesn’t think that’s the problem with Cuban’s message.<\/p>\n
“That’s not [the] issue,” he wrote. “The issue is that it has become far too hard to stop having roommates.”<\/p>\n
Nejatian’s argument wasn’t necessarily that young people shouldn’t live with roommates. Rather, he questioned whether 2026 renters have the same opportunity to eventually move on to homeownership.<\/p>\n
His comparison highlights a broader concern: Even if sharing an apartment helps young adults save money, will they eventually be able to afford a home of their own?<\/p>\n
“The issue is that it has become far too hard to stop having roommates,” Kaz Nejatian wrote on X.<\/p>\n
Slaven Vlasic \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Mark Cuban responds to concerns about today’s housing market<\/p>\n
I reached out to Mark Cuban for comments on Nejatian’s post and for his own thoughts on the current housing market.<\/p>\n
Cuban pushed back on the idea that young adults had an easier path to homeownership when he was starting out.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t know a single person at 29 or younger who bought a house,” Cuban told me. “The interest rates were more than 12 pct for a mortgage. Oil prices collapsed, crushing the Texas economy and jobs. The unemployment rate hit 9 pct.” <\/p>\n
His point raises an important distinction: Today’s housing affordability challenges are significant, but that doesn’t necessarily mean every aspect of the housing market was more accessible to previous generations.<\/p>\n
However, Cuban doesn’t deny that the current housing market is tough. Homebuyers are facing their own unique problems.<\/p>\n
More Housing Market:<\/p>\n
Home Depot sends its strongest warning yet on the housing market<\/p>\n
Mortgage payments are becoming a bigger threat to family income<\/p>\n
Goldman Sachs has a new warning for the housing market for 2027<\/p>\n
“It’s still very hard to buy a house today,” Cuban told me. He said that building and the economy are making buying difficult.<\/p>\n
His comments come as builders and buyers struggle with several factors driving up housing costs. Rising construction costs, labor shortages, and regulatory expenses have made homes more expensive to build.<\/p>\n
Regulatory costs for building a home have spiked 40% in the last five years, according to a June 2026 report from the National Association of Home Builders. <\/p>\n
Sometimes builders pass these costs along to buyers by charging more for new homes. Other times, builders absorb the higher costs, but it’s not a long-term solution. If they don’t make a profit, they can’t build as many houses.<\/p>\n
Construction costs can also go up because building materials are becoming more expensive due to economic issues such as trade restrictions and tariffs.<\/p>\n
Still, there are some signs of improvement in the housing market. The median year-over-year home-sale price has declined for three straight weeks, according to Redfin data. But it’s too soon to tell whether this will be a long-term trend.<\/p>\n
“Prices are dropping for homes across the country,” Cuban said. “Hopefully they will become more affordable, along with other living expenses, and families will be able to afford a home again.” <\/p>\n
Cuban and Nejatian both worry about housing affordability<\/p>\n
Despite their different perspectives, Cuban and Nejatian seem to agree on one crucial point: Buying a home has become increasingly challenging for many Americans.<\/p>\n
Living with roommates can help young adults reduce their monthly expenses, but it doesn’t necessarily solve the larger affordability issues facing today’s housing market.<\/p>\n
And while Cuban’s experience shows how sharing housing can be a practical way to save money, Nejatian’s argument raises another question: What happens when young people are ready to move on from roommates but still can’t afford a place of their own?<\/p>\n
Living with roommates may help young adults save money. But what happens when even years of saving aren’t enough to make homeownership attainable?<\/p>\n
Related: Here’s what a $400,000 mortgage costs in today’s housing market<\/p>\n
#Mark #Cuban039s #roommate #advice #sparks #housing #debate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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