Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Cheap money and income inequality is the root cause of all this.
Majority of the folks have stagnant wages that have not kept up with the pace of inflation. There's a rising group of people benefiting from the current economy and they're swallowing up all the assets and driving up costs. The government is not doing anything about it because they're slaves like we are to the people and organization that wants the cheap money to keep going.
Anytime the Feds wants to raise interest rates to signal the end of cheap money, Wall street fires back with a sell off and forces the Fed to withdraw statements of further hikes.
QFT +1000.
All these moves by Central Banks the world over aren't addressing the root causes of the issue:
*Increasing percentage of income and wealth going to the top.
*Glut/oversupply of labor, which results in decreased demand.
Yet their property rights can infringe on my right to own property? Uh, no.
People that want tiny homes can certainly buy a lot in my neighborhood (with a minimum size of 1/3 acre) and build that tiny house. Nothing stopping them. There are also lots of areas that have smaller lot sizes, which they are free to buy. But I live in an ESTABLISHED neighborhood, so to cut it up because someone else "wants" to live there and change the feel of the neighborhood is wrong.
How is it a violation of your right to own property, assuming eminent domain is not used to force you to relinquish it? You can simply not sell it.
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
2,254 posts, read 2,741,137 times
Reputation: 3203
Spoke with a former co-worker today. He's a partner in a big-4 consulting firm. His wife is a senior developer at Google. They can't afford anything within 20 miles of where they currently rent in the Bay Area. So they will continue to rent. A good reason for me to stay in the midwest. The salaries are the same in both places but I can afford something nice. The only upside may be the weather but I'd argue that may not even be the case.
He basically wishes he could get his old job back and move back here.
Spoke with a former co-worker today. He's a partner in a big-4 consulting firm. His wife is a senior developer at Google. They can't afford anything within 20 miles of where they currently rent in the Bay Area. So they will continue to rent. A good reason for me to stay in the midwest. The salaries are the same in both places but I can afford something nice. The only upside may be the weather but I'd argue that may not even be the case.
He basically wishes he could get his old job back and move back here.
People with those credentials need to find a job someplace affordable. I think they will be surprised how well companies will pay them. It will be like a 50% increase taking into account col.
Downside is living in locations like that, they don't have near the stuff to do, Amenities to offer, other opportunities etc... Compared to top tier locations.
^^^ If a Nurse and a Policeman can close on a home in the Bay Area 3 weeks ago it is difficult to comprehend there is not a single home in a 20 miles radius at or below their price point...
Go to one of the real estate search engines... put in your friends zip code and do a 20 mile search ranked lowest to highest price and be amazed at what you find...
Condos, Townhomes and Manufactured Homes and Conventional Homes... 20 mile radius covers a lot of territory.
Spoke with a former co-worker today. He's a partner in a big-4 consulting firm. His wife is a senior developer at Google. They can't afford anything within 20 miles of where they currently rent in the Bay Area. So they will continue to rent. A good reason for me to stay in the midwest. The salaries are the same in both places but I can afford something nice. The only upside may be the weather but I'd argue that may not even be the case.
He basically wishes he could get his old job back and move back here.
This is incorrect. They have plenty of income to afford to buy housing. They just think the housing they can afford is beneath them. $500K+ in combined income can trivially carry mortgage, taxes, and insurance on a million dollar home. That is a very modest house commutable to Google. They're looking to buy the Iron Man beach house on the cliff. Nope.
Real Estate is pricey and in demand... sales are strong... the cost to build is not only the dollar amount charged for permits, fees, engineering, materials, labors... it often includes special charges for affordable housing offsets...
Plus.. which is something no one really talks about is a lot of time and money can go into the planning with nothing to show...
One of my best friends bought a zoned residential conforming lot in the Bay Area... it took 5 years from the date he submitted his plans to the time he moved in and it was finaled... design review was a huge part and then the winter moratorium kicked in preventing disturbing the ground in the rainy season...
The Bay Area is completely out of whack with most RE markets in the country. Most metros, even if they are expensive, have affordable units somewhere in their vicinity. If you're willing to drive 20, 30, sometimes 50-75 miles out you can find something. Even Los Angeles or NYC metro offers that. In the Bay Area it's impossible. I wanted to move there for a job opportunity but even when I expanded my search radius to 50-60 miles out there was nothing that was not a ghetto. Basically my choices were a ghetto in Oakland or a borderline area of Stockton - which was the outer limit of the 60 mile radius.
I told the employer these exact words, "I refuse to move my family into a slum." They will either pay what it costs to buy a reasonable 3/2 or they will hire someone else who is willing to live in a ghetto or in a shoebox, which is what they did I guess.
No shame in that... you made your decision and decided the Bay Area was not worth it.
By the same token it is not correct to say there is no affordable housing within 50 to 60 miles because this is simply not true.... 7 to 8 million people call the greater Bay Area home.
I live in East Oakland and manage quite well... none of my neighbors have bars on the windows or pit bulls... we are all friendly and between us... there is always a neighbor with a key to your house... African American, Asian, White, Gay, Lesbian we all get along very well... my neighbors are teachers, letter carriers, retired military, warehouseman, etc.
If you object to racial diversity... then Oakland and most of the SF Bay Area would not be a good choice for you.
Homeownership is not for everyone... many rent by choice... I would imagine prices are higher anywhere there are jobs and the SF Bay Area is a magnet for innovation...
If someone wanted to live in a predominantly white community... there are not that many and those that exist are often at the top of the price scale... although being white doesn't make it expensive... Cupertino is on the high end and is predominantly Asian...
Also... don't underestimate the number of Californians cashing out of their modest homes and taking their windfalls to Oregon and Texas... it use to be co-workers would retire to the Sierra Gold Rush Towns... seems like most I know are headed to Oregon with cash in hand... plus Texas and Arizona and a few to Washington...
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 02-20-2016 at 01:13 PM..
The Bay Area is completely out of whack with most RE markets in the country. Most metros, even if they are expensive, have affordable units somewhere in their vicinity. If you're willing to drive 20, 30, sometimes 50-75 miles out you can find something. Even Los Angeles or NYC metro offers that. In the Bay Area it's impossible. I wanted to move there for a job opportunity but even when I expanded my search radius to 50-60 miles out there was nothing that was not a ghetto. Basically my choices were a ghetto in Oakland or a borderline area of Stockton - which was the outer limit of the 60 mile radius.
I told the employer these exact words, "I refuse to move my family into a slum." They will either pay what it costs to buy a reasonable 3/2 or they will hire someone else who is willing to live in a ghetto or in a shoebox, which is what they did I guess.
Doesn't seem implausible that a DINK/SINK would be willing to take on the shoebox life...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
