Average Home Price In San Francisco Is 1.6 Million Dollars

This sounds like another "housing bubble" that will eventually "burst" and leave a lot of people facing some extreme financial problems. However, for someone who owns one of these properties, and has it paid off, this could be a good opportunity to sell for a nice profit, and move to a more sensibly priced area.
 
Housing costs in California in particular are making it tough for many employees to live near their workplace. Sometimes that's a good thing and other times it's bad especially with a daily commute of an hour or more which I've done in the past.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/06/more-tech-workers-cant-afford-to-live-where-they-work.html

California in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco already have a big homeless problem. The cost of living in the state is high partly because the cost of housing/homes which then can affect the rent market.

From what I've seen many seem to complain the state limits on structure size/height(stories) limits the ability to build larger apartment complexes which could help drop rent prices. Others seem worried about keeping those high home prices and don't want views messed up etc.
 

Many from California move down here after selling their home, they pay cash and buy a new car for a place here!!
 
applecruncher said:
A friend used to visit relatives in SF; she said many of those $1M houses were a JOKE.
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I know what you mean AC, because the median price (different from "average" price) here on Oahu is $750,000. And believe me, that's not anything special. The same type house. two houses away from mine, sold for $850,00, 6000 square foot property and 1400 sq. ft. under the roof. I heard from a neighbor that Chinese people purchased the property many months ago and nothing has been done yet. What people have been doing is adding on and up and many had used it for a type of boarding house. Rents are so high here, that this type of housing is getting more popular, although illegal. There has been a moratorium on "Monster Houses" where, I swear to you, 28 bedrooms houses have been built in residential neighborhoods.
 
When I was at United, I literally flew into SF (SFO) hundreds of times, which is a very tricky airport owing to its location along the Bay and also the wind currents are another issue .

Maybe 15 years ago, I had seriously considered purchasing a condo in the city around Nob Hill. I thought that my wife and I could spend several weekends a year out there. Our travel was (is) free, so after landing in SF, we would take the BART into the city, grab a cab and go to our condo. On a Sunday, I had the day off and was layed over for the day, so as I was purusing the newspaper, I happen to notice that there were two open houses that day in Nob Hill, so I decided to take a look.

The first condo was absolutely beautiful. The home was divided into two condos; one up and one down. All of the original architecture was still in place. This was a 2 br/2ba condo and the asking price was $800,000.00, which the realtor said the owner was motivated to sell and I may be able to work a deal closer to $750,000.00. No prices were in the newspaper, so I did have a little shock. My wife and I did pretty well in our work lives, but that price was out of line, even for us.

The second condo was nothing like the first one. The asking price for that one was $475,000.00, but the realtor said that it would need some work. I asked how much work and some idea of a price. She estimated the “fixer upper” was in need of about $200,000.00 worth of improvements and updates. Well, this was more reasonable, but I wasn’t willing to sink that kind of money into a part time residence.

We both love SF, especially downtow, the Marina, Nob Hill and of course, the Wharf. It’s a beautiful city, especially at night when over-looking the Bay. The first condo that I looked at would have provided that view, along with Coit Tower, as well.
 
This is off topic but a parking space in downtown Charleston recently sold for $98,000.

The crazy prices are spreading into every hot market, especially those with a vibrant downtown. Affluent younger folks come in and drive up the market, which entices more to come in, which drives up pricing even higher. There are quite a few new condos downtown (that look like shipping containers) selling in the mid $300's. I know that sounds cheap to folks in other areas of the country, but it's insane here.
 
For anyone who thinks that my saying that some Chinese was buying the house a couple of houses from mine was an ethnic slur then you just don't understand Hawaii and our diversity community. First off, being identified as being Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, etc. here is not like it is on the mainland. You all could learn something from us here. I myself am half Japanese and if someone calls me that Japanese lady, that would me more than fine with me. My neighborhood is very diversed with many ethnisities living here. When I said that some Chinese was buying that house, it meant that Asians from other countries are buying up properties as investments that brings up the cost of housing here that already has been rising very quickly. That is all, nothing else meant.
 
I am just praying that the bubble doesn`t burst too soon. We own a commercial property 10 minutes south of San Francisco that we are hoping to put on the market this sumer. It is in the final stage of an environmental cleanup (used to be a gas station) We have been in the cleanup process for 22 years now-it`s ridiculous! Anyway,our banker told us to hang on to it as there is so little commercial property available that anything that does come up sells imediately for hundreds of thousands over asking price. We are ready to take our money and run though-we co-own the property with my BIL and we don`t want to leave this partnership for our kids to deal with with their cousins. Plus we know the bubble WILL burst at some point.
 
Can someone tell me why there should be a bubble? I always thought it was because people were given mortgages that they were not going to really afford because of when the variable interest went up and the mortgagees weren't really given a mortgage they were going to afford down the line. And these weak Mortgages were sold to investors who then lost money because of these bad mortgages? Isn't there a law about this now?
 
Mrs. Robinson said:
I am just praying that the bubble doesn`t burst too soon. We own a commercial property 10 minutes south of San Francisco that we are hoping to put on the market this sumer. It is in the final stage of an environmental cleanup (used to be a gas station) We have been in the cleanup process for 22 years now-it`s ridiculous! Anyway,our banker told us to hang on to it as there is so little commercial property available that anything that does come up sells imediately for hundreds of thousands over asking price. We are ready to take our money and run though-we co-own the property with my BIL and we don`t want to leave this partnership for our kids to deal with with their cousins. Plus we know the bubble WILL burst at some point.
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Would an earthquake cause the real estate market in SF to take a hit? I always wondered what people in that area pay for insurance. Do they have to buy an addendum to their policy to cover earthquakes?

As for Olivia's comments regarding Chinese, I never took her comments to be an "ethnic slur." I know that there are a lot of Asians living in SF. I will say that whenever I shopped in SF, I always preferred buying from the Chinese. I don't know where or how they get their diamonds, but they are some of the most brilliant diamonds that I have ever seen and they price them better than the big box stores. I bought my wife a beautiful 2.0 Carat bracelet about 10 or so years ago. I was going to put it away for a surprise retirement gift, but couldn't wait to see her eyes light up. The price was much less than at Kay's, Littman's or another similar store.
 
Olivia said:
Can someone tell me why there should be a bubble?
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The ridiculous prices in the San Francisco area are starting to drive people away from the city. Through about 2015, there was in increase in population...but in the past couple of years, more people are leaving the area than are moving there. At some point these prices are going to become unsustainable, and those who purchased property recently will be stuck with properties that are sinking in value.
This would be a prime time for those who own properties to sell, take their profits, and move on. Conversely, those who have recently took out huge mortgages may well find themselves holding a property that is worth a fraction of what they paid.
The basic laws of Supply and Demand hold true for SF properties...just like anything else. When fewer people are willing to pay such bloated prices, the market will take a substantial nosedive.

http://www.businessinsider.com/people-leaving-san-francisco-census-data-2018-3
 
Olivia said:
Can someone tell me why there should be a bubble? I always thought it was because people were given mortgages that they were not going to really afford because of when the variable interest went up and the mortgagees weren't really given a mortgage they were going to afford down the line. And these weak Mortgages were sold to investors who then lost money because of these bad mortgages? Isn't there a law about this now?
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I believe that was the Dodd-Frank Act (Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 2010). There is an attempt to repeal it now. Not sure how far it has gotten. Maybe it passed the House?
 
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NancyNGA said:
I believe that was the Dodd-Frank Act (Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 2010). There is an attempt to repeal it now. Not sure how far it has gotten. Maybe passed the House?
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Full repeal would probably not be the best idea. but the current act overreaches in some areas. Consumers should be very aware if it does change, especially in respect to their credit card terms.
 
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JB in SC said:
Full repeal would probably not be the best ides. but the current act overreaches in some areas. Consumers should be very aware if it does change, especially in respect to their credit card terms.
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It seems like most legislation needs tweaking a bit, after a first draft rolls out, and is observed for a while. Hope the result is a fair compromise.
 
Olivia said:
For anyone who thinks that my saying that some Chinese was buying the house a couple of houses from mine was an ethnic slur then you just don't understand Hawaii and our diversity community. First off, being identified as being Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, etc. here is not like it is on the mainland. You all could learn something from us here. I myself am half Japanese and if someone calls me that Japanese lady, that would me more than fine with me. My neighborhood is very diversed with many ethnisities living here. When I said that some Chinese was buying that house, it meant that Asians from other countries are buying up properties as investments that brings up the cost of housing here that already has been rising very quickly. That is all, nothing else meant.
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I can't imagine why anyone would consider what you said a slur. People need to seriously STOP being "offended" by everything. :rolleyes: Good grief, people. (I'm going to have Mexican food later; if anyone is offended they can take a hike.)
 
That's fine if one can afford it but from what I've seen on the House Hunters shows, buyers don't get much for their money. I also wonder if the young buyers paying those kinds of prices will wind up in trouble because they've gotten in over their heads. I wouldn't want to live in SanFran or New York City.
 

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