patrick.net

Hey East Bay Renter, thanks for the reminder about that book. I"ve been meaning to read it for a long time and kept forgetting about it. I'm going to buy it this weekend.

That sales are down, but prices are up, simply shows that those who insist on making purchases right now are subscribing to the RE dream.

Slower sales in the lower-end will also cause the median price to go up.

I visited a site which shows what realtors think of the market conditions within their particular area, and I came across this analysis from a realtor regarding the S.F. housing market and thought it was kind of interesting.

"...San Francisco: Median price sales of single family homes, condos & 2-4 unit buildings for the month of August in the City was $820,000 down from $849,000 in July

Nob Hill: The median price sale was $1,307,500 in August compared to $975,000 in July. This is a significant increase which seems to have been caused by a high price sale, $2,895,000, in August.

North Beach: The median price sale was $820,000 in August down from $900,000 in July.

Russian Hill: The median price sale was $1,001,000 in August compared to $800,000 in July. This again is a significant increase which appears to have been caused by a high priced sale, $5,000,000, in August.

Telegraph Hill: The median price sale was $1,860,000 in August compared to $1,300,000 in July. This again was impacted by a larger than normal sale, $4,550,000, in August.

An assessment of the San Francisco market would appear that prices are holding with many areas starting to drop slightly. The increases we have seen appear to have been the result of individual high sales."

Anyway, I thought it was interesting to see how the sale of one or two homes could affect or manipulate the stats of an entire district. Then again, this is the city of San Francisco we're talking about.

Van Kouver

I heard your argument about women in the workplace before, and even though I consider myself an independant woman, well-- it's still hard to argue your points.

I feel that society has actually suffered because of the mass entry of women into the workplace not just economically but socially. Before I had kids I was a school teacher and I saw a lot of kids at loose ends because both parents worked; I knew at that point that once I had kids I would stay home if I could. Fortunately I have been able to do that.

Another social effect has been the rise in divorce. I know a lot of women who would argue that the "old" way of staying home was just making them dependent on the men and staying in marriages only for financial reasons. That may be true to an extent, but I think that women have become so competitive in terms of their careers that they are putting them ahead of marriage and family. I don't see that as a positive side effect. I've also seen women who leave a marriage as soon as it starts to become difficult because it's easier than working it out and since they can support themselves they have no incentive to stay. I think people leave their marriages way to easily anymore.

And of course there is the economic effects. The cost of everything has gone up as a result of the extra money in the household. I also think that the extra income begets more spending on non-essentials and that has contributed to the debtor society we now live in. It's funny, when I was a young woman I assumed I would be the career go getter when I got older, but once I had kids my mindset really changed. I don't regret staying home at all. I don't miss the non-essentials I could have if I worked because the "cost" to my family would be too high.