Comment by sgerenser

Not sure about $10,000 houses (that would be pretty spartan, even Tiny Homes usually cost more than that), but the $2500 car thing being due to lenders is completely off base. The reason there are no $2500 cars is that it's impossible to make one and meet current US safety regulations. Once you meet all of those, then you're already well beyond $2500, but it's still a pretty crappy car. Might as well add a few extra creature comforts that most consumers demand (power locks, power windows, bluetooth/stereo, disc brakes, more than 100HP engine, etc.) and you're never going to be below ~$15K with current parts and labor pricing.