The housing market in San Francisco is, uh, not looking so hot. [SF Gate]
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Yeah, no shit. People buying more than they could afford is what caused these problems in the first place. Such a vicious cycle. Seriously
So will this help or hurt renters in the bay area like myself? At first it seems it would help since the landlord will have paid less money for the house, but by the same token, there will be more people renting as opposed to buying, so the competition will drive prices up... I'm locked in until next April, and bracing for the price to be jacked up a couple hundred bucks/month.
People being put in situations which were not right for them, the we can always refinance later mentality, the fact that in the hardest hit areas home prices grew faster than wages and mainly people being gullable and not reading have the factors I think that have contributed to the mess. You may be quick to blame the prices but the fact is that some places the >$417,000 is warranted and will get you a good value for your money. It's also interesting to note that in Alaska and Hawaii the non-jumbo limit is higher to account for this.
What they need to do right now is cut the interest rate to 0%.
Otherwise, how will sellers be able to force buyers to sign contracts agreeing that they will feed the squirrels as a condition of purchase?
True story!
>Within a month of putting her two-bedroom house in San Francisco on the market recently, homeowner Linda Gao had five offers, each one above her asking price of $699,000. So before accepting the most-attractive bid, she threw in an extra condition: If you want to buy my house, you have to feed the squirrels.
@hc5duke: I think us Bay Area renters are well off if we're thinking of buying. As for rental prices I imagine it really depends on where in the Bay Area you are. Here in Napa my rent hasn't changed in the last two years.
Just what the doctor ordered. Those prices need to come WAY down. Do Janitors make 150 grand out there? Does Gas cost 7 bucks a gallon? Is a big mack 6 bucks? If those numbers arent true, then those houses are WAY overpriced. No sane person wants to buy a million dollar tar-paper shack. It is those idiots that do that caused this situation. Sometimes I think everyone is an idiot "Oh this house will be worth a million next year if I just spend ten grand on a bathroom." People! Did you graduate high school? My word!
@badgeman46: i have a friend who makes $300,000 as a project manager in palo alto, so i'm pretty sure she can afford a $500,000+ home (or condo). i tried to convince her to buy a $30,000 700 sq. ft. trailer in east palo alto that was only 15 miles from her office. she wasn't too keen on that though.
generally, cities can & do accommodate higher values b/c of the realities of supply & demand. maybe a custodian isn't making $150,000 & therefore must rent or commute from the suburbs, but there are definitely people making the money to buy $700,000 homes out there. good luck finding a bankthat will lend above $417,000 though.
Try lowering the insane prices!