patrick.net

Seattledude,
Perhaps you need to take a road trip. I'm not meaning to sound arrogant,
but I think that many people who live in Seattle, SF, NYC, LA, etc etc have a very skewed perception of what the rest of the country is really like. Are prices going up in places like NC and TN? Yes, but only because the prices were insanely low, as in 45-60k for a 1 bedroom home even within some of the major metro areas. Every time I go home, I get thrown back into reality land. My brother, who's 22 years old, goes to school, and works as a waiter part time bought a house last year- a small 3 bedroom deal about 10 minutes outside of Nashville. It's sort of ugly, but it cost him 40k.He did it because it was cheaper to buy than rent. While we were driving through, there were a number of houses- nice houses that weren't even over 70k. Houses that in the Bay area would be more like 700k.
Understand that what passes for median in CA is crap just about everywhere else. So in reality, when the press compares the "median" home of NC to the "median" of CA, they're comparing crappy little stucco houses in SF to some 2 story suburban home in NC. The equivelant of a CA median home in NC easily goes for 50-60k all day long.
In essence, CA,NY, etc have been out of touch with the rest of the country for years. Either you can accept that the wealthy class will rule these overprices areas for who knows how long, or ask yourself a serious question: what is importan to you?: Where you live, or how you live. If how you live wins, then you move. Trust me- I made that call a year ago and even if prices come back down to 1997 levels, I'm still leaving because in my opinion, the priority of people in CA are way off the mark to what I think is really important, which is family, good community, and a look to future growth.

Seattle...
If you're looking at prices online, then that's totally the wrong way of going about it. For one, sites like Craigslist, and all the others in the like are full of listings from places like NC by people who know that Californians and New Yorkers are desperate to get their hands on anything under 500k. So they list houses for way, way more than they would get for them from the locals. 160k is still pretty damned cheap right? if you move outside of the immediate Raleigh area, things get cheaper real, real fast.My aunt lives there. A few buddies of mine live in Chappel Hill, a quite college town. The way the highways and infrastructure works in the southeast is diffrent than it is here. The freeways are newer and made to accomodate way more people that currently live there. My folks both live about 20 minutes outside of Nashville, which in the Bay Area means you live across the Bay bridge, but in TN means you live in the next county. Traffic is almost non-exsitent.
Crime, race problems, and bad weather exsist in every part of the country. TN has had a warmer, dryer winter than SF for the past 2 years. It's rained practically for the last 4 minths straight here.West Oakland, Hunter's point, Richmond, and parts of Hayward have some of the worst crime in the country. Race problems exsist here too.. Just look around and wonder why everyone who's black still lives where everyone is still black, and all of Marin is white and rich, or that most of Hayward is immigrant hispanic. Meanwhile, Did you know Nashville has the largest Turkish population in the US?
I think you've already made up your mind that you're here to stay no matter what god-awful odds are against you in order to avoid things that exsist pretty much everywhere. I'm just saying man, but when I hear people say that things really suck, and they have no options, I always remind them that there's a whole big country awaiting them. If that's not good enough for them, well they can just suck it up and try and compete with the Bill Gates and Google Execs next door. Good luck to you anyhow. There's simply way too much news and gab pointing to an end to the boom to simply think it won't end soon.

I've posted quite a bit about regional inflation differentials in the past. The reason that so many rural midwestern, plaines and southeastern areas are "cheaper" has to do with the uneven inflation following the 70s/early 80s stagflationary periods and subsequent growth.

I refer to Bruce Greenwald's (Columbia University) work on this. It is generally *not* an advantage for these areas; quite the contrary. Of course, an individual can benefit 1-time by moving from an inflation-parity area to an inflation-depressed area. But, these areas have become the US' poverty traps (don't get upset about the name, it just refers to Easterly's economic work). The primary problem in these areas is that they lose out on nationally priced goods, which are driven by inflation-parity, not local economies. In fact, this relates directly to the Wal-mart strategy that was being hotly discussed last thread or two. You see, just because you live in Nowhere Indiana, and the median home price is say 90K, and the median family annual income is say 75K, and the local inflation is say 1%, you still suffer the national inflation when it comes to anything priced outside of your local economy, like cars, durables, travel, financial products, some portion of: insurance products, energy, food. Since your dollars aren't inflated, you're being bled by those who's dollars are inflated.

Randy,
My whole family lives in the south, in places like Ardmore Alabama, Knoxville, Nashville, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Memphis, and Raleigh. Most live outside these metropolitan areas by a considerable distance. My parents are teachers making a combined income of just under 70k. My aunt makes 45k. My uncle and Aunt( who doesn't work) makes maybe 55k. Yet in every single case, they are doing considerable better than anyone I know in the Bay Area int he same bracket if you measure material posessions, which is what this whole forum is about- the posession of a home.
My parents own- as in paid for- a 3 bedroom, 2 story home with 22 acres of land, an inground heated pool, a 2 story workshop along with 2 yard tractors to mow all that lawn- new ones at that with get this: cruise control and air-filled seats, 2 rental houses that are paid for as well, and even the side of a ridge with almost 2 miles of trails.They also own 2 newer cars, a Tundra and an Avalon.They bought this on my mom's salary, which in 1974 was about 9k a year. Even now, they still make considerably less than the national average, yet live very comfortably. My Aunt who hates work makes 45k, owns her large 1920's home in Memphis, works as a librarian, took a year off to travel, now works as a youth director. She just bought a new car, a toyota camry. My Cousin and her family with 2 kids bought a 4 bedroom home in Montgomery. He flies planes. She doesn't work.
I'm not sure what that report you mentioned was all about, but it was obviously written by someone who doesn't really know what they're talking about. The facts are that people in the Bay Area have the lowest standards of living in the country,which flies in the face of common thought since supposevly, things are progressive and forward here... right... Ask that question in context of the forum- material posessions, and perhaps that will place real meaning to the word:"value"

Try realtor.com

Seattle,
I'd call up a few area real esate agents. I did that when I was prospecting in Austin. The agent told me all the areas that were around it because Austin proper is a tad pricey. Very helpful. Seemed that anything I looked at on CL was in the 2-300k range, but I found a lot of homes in neighboring round rock for 80-100k. Pretty cheap. Also- if you have a relative there in raleigh, next time you go, take a look around. If you do it online, You're making yourself vulnerable. A couple from Burbank just bought the house across the street from my aunt in memphis- a large victorian, for 250k without even looking at it. They think they got it for a song, but it's way, way more than what the local market is, so it doesnt hurt to look there yourself if you're at all serious. I know I'll do the same thing when the time comes. Heck- I'll probably rent a place for a few months so that I can make sure and get the house I want at the price I want. I know that there are tons of CA residents that are just buying the first thing that comes up in these places, and this is stupid. I know it irratates my aunt because she can see her taxes going up and up if more people like that keep throwing money at houses they havent even seen.

nomadtoons,

I’m not sure what that report you mentioned was all about, but it was obviously written by someone who doesn’t really know what they’re talking about. The facts are that people in the Bay Area have the lowest standards of living in the country,which flies in the face of common thought since supposevly, things are progressive and forward here… right… Ask that question in context of the forum- material posessions, and perhaps that will place real meaning to the word:”value”

Just because I disagree with you and am willing to state such does not mean that I am attacking your value-system. There is room for debate; that's the point of a forum like this.

I assure you Bruce Greenwald "knows what he's talking about", as do I. You cannot verify that I do, but you can read Greenwald. I'm not making value judgements, just pointing out economic truisms. In fact, I made absolutely no claim about quality of life. There is no shortage of empirical data to back up what I'm claiming. I'm not attacking anyone's opinion, but there should be room for a few facts in these discussions. Anecdotes and opinions do not facts make. (I won't even refer to the fact that census data shows comparatively marked *generational depopulation* occurring in nearly every US rural region.)

My daugher is going to kindergarten this year. I want her to be in a good school.

How much is private school? How much is the mortgage going to cost you?

The buyer is an “investor” from Shanghai.

LOL.

West Vancouver

Is it across the Lion Gate?

Just got a call from my agent saying my last offer was rejected. There were more than 14 offers and mine is $100k short. The house is in west San Jose area, listed ~$940K. I offered more than the list price. Now I feel much reliefed. I’d rather rent.

Why bid when there are 14 offers? You are just added stress to yourself. You need to manage your own psychology.

I looked at a newish house in Palo Alto that was asking for under 1M. I know it is one of those. The seller has the absolute freedoom to ask for 100K (to start a bidding war of complete destruction) or 100M (to have the house with the highest asking price in the Bay Area).

My kids private Christian school is $325 a month.
My gas to get her there and back is $100 a month
My kids uniforms are $300 a year

The fact that she gets a great education without the social poop — priceless.

Wow, that is cheap. Why bother bidding for a house in Condotino?

Uniforms are great. No need for expensive brand-name outfits.

if you wait you’ll buy much more house for the same amount of money.

True, but the cost of financing will be higher. The most important thing is to spare yourself from the stress of being underwater.

Why is school district commanding such a high premium when private school is as cheap as what Bap33 said?

True, but the cost of financing will be higher.

That won't matter if you have a good stash!!

That won’t matter if you have a good stash!!

It helps but the opportunity cost for your good stash may go up too.

Because it isn’t really that cheap.

It makes sense then. The Bay Area really disincentivizes having children. I see.

Hey Face Reality, I am trying to convince a friend to consider living in Los Altos instead of Palo Alto. Can you give me some talking points?

Q; how is this possible? Wont they (on paper) lose their deposit if there’s a 20% drop? And for all the years it’ll take for the home to appreciate back up to cover that amount, aren’t they throwing money away (versus renting and investing the difference)? What am I missing? Not to mention what others have already pointed out: if you wait you’ll buy much more house for the same amount of money.

You are of course correct as a quantitative exercise. In fact, I tend to largely agree with you. But I am trying to recognize that there is a significant portion of the total-buy-decision which is qualitative. Some people have their quality of life, for whatever reason, vastly improved by owning their own home. I can use my own case as an example. My disabled mother lives with us. We have owned for years, but now rent. It is a huge inconvenience to try to work around this and keep everyone comfortable. At some point, well below the "bottom of the market", I will be in a situation where buying improves my life quality more than the opportunity cost I lose by renting another year. Others have other reasons, some more tangilbe than mine, some much less. But each person has their own "break-even" threshold; usually involving things like proximity to friends, family, and stable schools.

All that said, so long as someone doesn't end up upside-down, and they are living within their means, then they may be marginally happier owning even though they could be making out better by renting.

sounds like an unbelievably strong market

The key word is "unbelievably". I'm seeing empty open-houses and homes sitting around here unsold since January.

In what part of the Bay Area are you seeing this? I think the West SJ/Cupertino/Sunnyvale area where Nancy is looking for a house in a good school district is doing ok.

Cupertino and Mountain View just registered y/y median price decline.

Microsoft is readying an attack on them, fueled by an MS boss from Europe.

It is about time. I am sick of the Google mania.

Where did you see that? It doesn’t make sense. The county median price went up 14.7% from 1/05 to 1/06.

From the realtors themselves:

http://www.car.org/index.php?id=MzU5NjU

Cupertino DOWN 6.7% year over year.

all that money Apple pays its Far East engineers comes back to BA real estate. Naturally they all buy in Cupertino!

Yeah, it goes nowhere inside the infinite loop.

Where did you see that? It doesn’t make sense. The county median price went up 14.7% from 1/05 to 1/06.

It doesn't make sense. I wonder why.

You certainly need to achieve a pretty high level of financial success (or inherit it) to be able to have children and raise them well in this area. The bar is just much higher for everything here than in most places. I’m not saying it’s good - it’s just reality here.

I don't know. I do not want kids because I can barely handle cats.

It really depends on what he/she is looking for. Both are very nice towns, but different. There’s not much that I can say that your friend can’t figure out by driving around these towns and checking them out. The differences in character are pretty obvious.

Can you describe why you have chosen LA over PA? It seems that if you like one you will have to hate the other. How does it compare to Menlo Park?

It looks like there was some anomaly with the data (such as too few sales).

If it is not what you want there must be something wrong, right?

Houses in Morgan Hill are much larger. And they are building ever larger homes. This can explain the higher MEDIAN prices.

Places like LG, LA, and PA are traditionally more upscale places. I can see more strength behind the increases.

Cupertino is really nothing without its ever more crowded schools. It is desirable to middle class families who cannot afford private schools. The data suggests that the area may be credit-dependent and is already too expensive.

I think the far more likely scenario is that some bloated Chinese real estate flippers are trying to get into some North America action.

They do not buy shitboxes. Look for clues in Manhattan and other prime areas.

Nancy Says:
Just got a call from my agent saying my last offer was rejected. There were more than 14 offers and mine is $100k short. The house is in west San Jose area, listed ~$940K. I offered more than the list price. Now I feel much reliefed. I’d rather rent.

Wow. West San Jose housing is still hot. I've noticed that there are next to no open houses in the area, very few houses for sale, and I'd estimate more than half of the "For Sale" signs are "Sale Pending" already, most after a few days on the market.

It must be because the local high school district is really cracking down on folks who don't live here, but attempt to send their offspring to local "desireable" schools anyway. Now that fake PG&E bills, fake driver's licenses and other dirty tricks don't work anymore, you actually have to live here to get in. It's time to pay up :-)

The obvious alternative is to rent here. craigslist has, among others, a 4BR/2000sf house in Cupertino for $2,200 (probably negotiable, too).

I rather not be in San Jose at all.

I think all schools should be privitized, with merit based financial aid. The free market will make education a lot cheaper.

... Says:
It’s absurd to say that China based engineers can afford to buy what their US counterparts can no longer afford.

Yeah, you're probably right.

However, in the end, it's all about who can run faster in the rat race, and what your potential neighbours are willing to sacrifice for a little extra speed.

My daughter's high school newspaper recently had an article by a student complaining about the impending increase in the price of food sold at the school. She gets only $0.50 per day from her parents, and can thus eat only every second day as it stands.

Seems incredible, but you'll believe it if you look into the faces of some of the kids going there.

Now that fake PG&E bills, fake driver’s licenses and other dirty tricks don’t work anymore, you actually have to live here to get in.

They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.

In what part of the Bay Area are you seeing this? I think the West SJ/Cupertino/Sunnyvale area where Nancy is looking for a house in a good school district is doing ok.

Marin, Mill Valley/Tam Valley to be precise. I've been looking at Mill Valley, Corte Madera, and Larkspur for the past year. We sold on the Peninsula and have been renting since moving up here.

Face Reality Says:

March 7th, 2006 at 6:36 pm
sounds like an unbelievably strong market

I think you two should get together and go see Brokeback Mtn. Then you can snuggle up in your chaps and Face Reality with a jar of astroglide.

You two fuckers can fuck yourselves. Face Reality, fuck you, you are a fucking pompous fuck, the kind the fucking valley is filled with. Oh and BTW, I was just up in the BA and I have to re-state, most of you fucks are fucking fooling yourselves. The BA is a fucking shithole, the weather isn't really nice, it's just not bad. Sure there are some good areas, La Morinda for one. Berkeley, kiss my ass, the worlds largest public urinal. SF? For the most part a ghetto, sure there are nice areas, but for the most part the BA is a shithole, get over it.

Whatever desirability must have been discounted by the market long ago. A good school district will not help future appreciation. It may actually hurt because schools can only deteriorate, unless of course there is more revenue.

I think the West SJ/Cupertino/Sunnyvale area where Nancy is looking for a house in a good school district is doing ok.

I think you need to Face Reality and realize that a single fucking posting on a blog does not make a robust market.

Berkeley, kiss my ass, the worlds largest public urinal.

We install urine detectors in the public, like those in Singapore.

No, I have no particular stake in the numbers for Cupertino vs. other towns. It just seemed very surprising that Cupertino would go down while most other towns go up so much. How many sales do you think there were in Cupertino in 1/06 or 1/05? Probably very few. There isn’t a whole lot of turnover there, especially in January.

Mountain View also dropped. Burlingame (much more desirable) dropped 20%.

The main thing I don’t like about it is that it has no downtown area.

If you count Vallco... :)

I love Los Altos downtown.

If it is not what you want there must be something wrong, right?

This is a half joke anyway. Don't worry. ;)

surfer-x and I are the same guy, but he's the half from the alternate universe where Spock has a beard.

Median price is VERY misleading, I hope we can come up with more effective and telling measures.

I remember some economist came up with a more realiable measure: the cost of the SAME house on a timescale, not median home price. You throw in a few new condo in the mix, the median price goes down, you sell a few more SFH in the mix, the median price goes up. Instead of looking at median or average housing price, you need to look at "comps", and that's why I think as a consumer, you just need to go pore over the details, dig up the transaction record of homes in your desired neighborhood - meaning that few streets - and then determined if price has gone up or down.

Btw, I don't understand why Burlingame is so attractive, it is next to the airport for god's sake. I don't want to live anywhere in the path of airplanes. Burlingame is the ONLY airport community that I have seen that is considered "attractive", in other cities, people can't pay enough to get away.