An Old Boy Meets World Clip Is Going Viral Where Cory & Topanga Look To Buy A House For $80K
What would that mortgage even look like?
A vintage (yes, vintage) clip from the ABC classic series Boy Meets World is going viral after a realtor and content creator showed just how much times have changed with real estate and the economy since the ’90s.
In the clip from Season 7’s episode aptly named “Picket Fences,” newly married (and still teenagers!) Cory and Topanga are living in their college’s married dormitories, which leaves more than a little to be desired. Cory finds their dream house with the help of a realtor for just $80,000.
“How can we afford an $80,000 house?” Topanga asks Cory in the clip before their realtor chimes in.
“Very simple. Over 30 years. Just a trifle down payment and a pittance of a mortgage and two living parents with a pen. Who can sign?” she deadpans.
That’s when realtor and associate broker Freddie Smith breaks down this clip and shares just how much things have changed since this episode of Boy Meets World aired on Nov. 21, 1999.
“I couldn’t help myself, so I had to run the numbers,” he jokes.
“The show took place in Philly, and I saw that the median house price was around $80,000 in 1999. Now, Cory and Topanga were [college] students without a job, so they couldn’t qualify. But what about the median household income back then? It’s $40,000, which is about $3,300 a month and a 3% down payment on the median house was only $2,400.
“So, somebody in Philly in 1999 didn’t even have to save one month’s income to put a down payment on this house. The interest rates were around 7%, just like they are today. So with principal interest, property tax, insurance, and private mortgage insurance, the total payment was $750 a month to get the median house in Philly.”
Yes, that’s right! $750 a month for a house!
So, with a $40K salary, you’re making $3,300 a month! Which actually only comes out to 25% of your total take-home for the month.
“So, a family making $40,000 could take care of their entire mortgage in just one week,” Smith adds.
Sorry if this totally ruined your day, but let’s dig a little deeper and see how things have changed since 1999 in Philadelphia.
“Let’s look at Philly,” Smith continues. “$80,000 was the median price in 1999. It’s now $250,000, so below the average for the nation, but the income was $40,000 for the median household. Now it’s $60,000. So the housing price even in Philly went up over 200% in the last 25 years.”
But guess what? But the average income only went up 53%.
“So, even in smaller cities, metro cities, no matter where we look, I don’t think I have found a city in America where the housing and income was even close to keeping up,” Smith concludes.
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median sales price of homes in the United States was $419,200. The average sales price of new homes in 2024 was $512,200. Just a touch more than what Cory and Topanga were eyeing almost 30 years ago!
