What to know
- Waterbury Police Officer Anthony Bartolini was featured on CBS Evening News discussing the financial challenges of buying a first home amid rising living costs.
- Despite working double shifts, Bartolini said affording a down payment remains out of reach, reflecting broader affordability issues for public servants.
- The interview also highlighted the growing gap between essential worker salaries and housing costs, with average home prices in Connecticut exceeding $430,000.
By Lilli Iannella
Source The News-Times, Danbury, Conn.
A Waterbury police officer was featured on CBS Evening News last night, and he talked about the challenges of buying his first house.
Anthony Bartolini, a 29-year-old police officer from Bristol, appeared in an episode of CBS Evening News' "The Cost of Living" series, which aired on Wednesday night, according to a news release.
The three-part series highlights the affordability crisis in the United States, the news release reads. In addition to Bartolini, the series includes accounts from a 37-year-old Minnesota teacher and 70-year-old New Mexico woman searching for work after losing her job, according to the news release. The first episode aired on Tuesday, and the last will air Thursday night.
"As essentials like rent, groceries, taxes and tuition soar, families nationwide are struggling to keep up. Yet, many show extraordinary resilience," the news release reads.
The 2-minute episode featuring Bartolini captures a day-in-the-life of the police officer searching for a house in Connecticut, where the cost of living continues to rise.
"Every day is a struggle for me," Bartolini said in the episode. "I still have to worry about my next paycheck, where my next meal is coming from. I'm just like anybody else out there."
According to a recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a family of four with two working adults needs more than $290,000 to live comfortably in Connecticut, while a single person needs to earn more than $105,000 per year.
Bartolini has held his position as a police officer for about one year, he shared in the episode. He's wanted a house for a few years and looks at houses almost every day. But Bartolini said he's been having trouble finding a house that he can afford and is suitable for his family, including his wife, daughter and dogs.
"To put 20% down on a house, that's a lot of money," Bartolini said. "Even I can't do it working double shifts. In today's economy, even if I got a second job I wouldn't be able to afford it."
He said his family is looking for a house around $300,000 to $325,000, a price point a real estate agent has a low supply but high demand. According to Zillow, the average price of a house in Connecticut is just over $430,000, up 4% from last year.
"You do get defeated knowing that homes are so expensive," Bartoloni said. "I hope people in power, they change the price of things. There has to be a way to make everything more cheaper. There's no way they can just keep going up, and up and up, because then people won't be able to live."
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