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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.
I think it's obvious mostly singles will be working in these positions.
They can live there say 4-5 years, make good savings and move or start their businesses
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...
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...
And as you have said... the harder it is to build the more exclusive and pricey the existing housing stock becomes...
Never mind the new home is seismically built like a bunker with pile 25' deep in the earth and a foundation that cost 200k... it looks the same as the older home across the street with none of that because it was built 25 years aog.
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...
The job was in Fremont. From my searches it looked like $550K was the minimum for a major fixer in a halfway decent neighborhood within 50 miles. I didn't have $110K in cash for a down payment. The only houses that I could have afforded even at their $92K offer were in the south part of Oakland near San Leandro - which seemed to be the worst area in the region; a slum from what I could tell. A possibility I did consider was Tracy, CA, about an hour out. Still, it would have been the equivalent of an 18% pay cut for me in a best case scenario of finding a house. I said I needed 110K and would have settled for anything higher than 100K; they wouldn't move any higher.
The racial diversity was not a problem for me; I grew up in an area of Texas that's 75% Hispanic. What I objected to was living in high crime and gang activity areas.
We are well aware of California equity refugees coming to Oregon and paying cash for nice houses. It's quite a cause for resentment when they drive up our housing prices. My own home value has increased by 70% in two years, on track for 85% in 3. Our legislature has responded with what will be the highest state-level minimum wage in the nation, only lower than Seattle's $15.00.
Last edited by redguard57; 02-20-2016 at 05:26 PM..
Here too home prices have risen... some places doubling or more since 2011-12.
I know of decent family homes in 2011 near Fremont in the 350-380 range.
All the cheap Oakland homes are gone... it has been explosive as Oakland was hard hit on the foreclosure front as was Tracy and the entire region.
Homes I have posted that sold for 500k in Oakland in 2007 were selling for 100k in 2011... and now they are asking over 500k... the influx of San Francisco people and the new housing and Uptown scene has really clicked.
If the job offer was in the last 12 months you have no explaining to do... if it was 4 years or so... there really were nice homes in many communities that were very affordable... not only prices were down... so are the interest rates...
My city has a $12.55 minimum wage plus mandated sick leave...
The only thing that scares me Property Tax in Oregon and Washington... I had a chance to transfer to Washington and bought a home... all was good and then 18 months later my assessment jumped 80% what I paid for it the previous year...
I have it rented with 7 months rent going to pay just the property tax... it was a very rude awakening.
A retired couple I befriended paid 800k cash for a foreclosed home near me... they lived in the home 22 months and sold it for 1.3 million and spent no money... they bought a very nice home near Salem for 450k cash which was their profit from owning in Oakland 22 months.
As a kid Monopoly was my favorite game... something about buying and selling.
Old Europe was all about the land... without land you were basically a nobody.
One side of the family are farmers and the land is everything... as a child I was told to save my money so I could have a home of my own... all of us kids did just that at early ages even if the parents thought the prices we were paying were outrageous... I'm sure future generations will say the same about today's prices...
I still don't get all the strategic defaults when the market crashed... I know so many people that had stable jobs and willingly walked away thinking why pay on a home with a mortgage higher than the home was worth...
All I can remember thinking is how short sighted people are... it was like mass hysteria jumping into the financial abyss...
I realize there are people that had no choice... but plenty could have chosen to stay and opted out.
Here too home prices have risen... some places doubling or more since 2011-12.
I know of decent family homes in 2011 near Fremont in the 350-380 range.
All the cheap Oakland homes are gone... it has been explosive as Oakland was hard hit on the foreclosure front as was Tracy and the entire region.
Homes I have posted that sold for 500k in Oakland in 2007 were selling for 100k in 2011... and now they are asking over 500k... the influx of San Francisco people and the new housing and Uptown scene has really clicked.
If the job offer was in the last 12 months you have no explaining to do... if it was 4 years or so... there really were nice homes in many communities that were very affordable... not only prices were down... so are the interest rates...
My city has a $12.55 minimum wage plus mandated sick leave...
The only thing that scares me Property Tax in Oregon and Washington... I had a chance to transfer to Washington and bought a home... all was good and then 18 months later my assessment jumped 80% what I paid for it the previous year...
I have it rented with 7 months rent going to pay just the property tax... it was a very rude awakening.
A retired couple I befriended paid 800k cash for a foreclosed home near me... they lived in the home 22 months and sold it for 1.3 million and spent no money... they bought a very nice home near Salem for 450k cash which was their profit from owning in Oakland 22 months.
It was in 2015. 2011 was the rock bottom of the housing crisis aftermath. Values are at least double now if not more.
As a kid Monopoly was my favorite game... something about buying and selling.
Old Europe was all about the land... without land you were basically a nobody.
One side of the family are farmers and the land is everything... as a child I was told to save my money so I could have a home of my own... all of us kids did just that at early ages even if the parents thought the prices we were paying were outrageous... I'm sure future generations will say the same about today's prices...
I still don't get all the strategic defaults when the market crashed... I know so many people that had stable jobs and willingly walked away thinking why pay on a home with a mortgage higher than the home was worth...
All I can remember thinking is how short sighted people are... it was like mass hysteria jumping into the financial abyss...
I realize there are people that had no choice... but plenty could have chosen to stay and opted out.
As a low earner, I never understood why anyone would 'strategically' default and walk away from a home. I'd never do it because I know that with my earning power, if I ever owned a home I'd hold on for dear life because I'd never again have enough with which to buy.
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