The joys of California real estate

[Angel Eyes]

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/20/216181-thats-the-household-income-needed-to-buy-a-house-in-san-jose-metro-area-report-says/




Dallas and Austin don't look too bad.

[charby]

What is the new rule on % of income is monthly house payment?

[RoadKingLarry]

What is the new rule on % of income is monthly house payment?

My rule for the last 5 years has been 0%.
Not having a mortgage is nice.

While I could swing all but the top few, I don't see anyplace on that list I would want to live.

[HankB]

. . . While I could swing all but the top few, I don't see anyplace on that list I would want to live.

I want no part of the first 8 places on the list, and 10-13 don't really appeal to me. My impression of Denver is that it's a nice place to visit, but . . . 

I wouldn't choose to live in Austin proper, but many of the suburbs around it are pretty good.

Same could be said about Minneapolis, but the two seasons they get - winter and road repair - grow tiresome.

Chicago wasn't that bad when I lived there, but the city - and Illinois in general - has gone downhill since I left.

[K Frame]

Never understood why people want to live in California, given the earthquakes, wild fires, *expletive deleted*it schools, and unbelievable tax levels.

[mtnbkr]

At current housing prices, DC's listing is FOS.  I'd be surprised if you can buy a home in DC while making less than $100k.  Doing so out in the DC 'burbs (stretching as far out as 25 miles) would be a challenge.

I *think* the ratio is still a suggested 2.5x your yearly income.  My monthly mortgage, with insurance, taxes, etc, is about 25% of my net income monthly, which is why I'm staying put for the time being.  I'm about 30 miles outside DC and if I had to buy my same house again in today's market, that payment would be roughly 50% of my net monthly income.

Chris

[K Frame]

You and I had the exact same thought, Chris.

Zillow says that the median home price in DC right now is $385,000 and change.

What I'm having problems finding, though, is exactly what that list considers to be the DC metro area.

If we go with this map as shown on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_metropolitan_area), I can see that $84,000 price, but that means you're likely commuting a huge amount of your day from some of the really distant reaches.

I'm glad and lucky that my ex and I bought the house when I did in 1993, as there is absolutely no way I could ever afford a house in this area right now just on my salary. Technically I can't even afford to live in my own home right now given that the little crapshack community I live in now is realizing prices in excess of $400,000.

[MillCreek]

I don't believe that figure for Seattle.  Median house price in Seattle is now $ 722,000.  The median house price in Snohomish county is $ 430,000.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/more-records-fall-median-home-price-hits-722000-in-seattle-and-880000-on-eastside/

http://www.heraldnet.com/business/snohomish-county-home-prices-reach-new-high-again/

[Ben]

I don't believe that figure for Seattle.  Median house price in Seattle is now $ 722,000.  The median house price in Snohomish county is $ 430,000.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/more-records-fall-median-home-price-hits-722000-in-seattle-and-880000-on-eastside/

http://www.heraldnet.com/business/snohomish-county-home-prices-reach-new-high-again/

Are they using Zillow for their figures? Zillow is notoriously variable on their estimates. In some areas they are close, in others, they can be wildly wrong. Much depends on real estate turnover in the area of the estimate.

The more turnover, the better estimate. When I sold my condo in Santa Barbara, Zillow estimated it less than half what I sold it for, because I was the only owner for 20 years. Other units similar to mine that had been sold in the last few years had more accurate estimates. So if there are a lot of long term holdings in an area, their algorithm will be off on the negative side.

On the other hand, when I sold my Triplex last year, the Zillow estimate was around 25% over market. I'm not sure how their alogrithm overestimates. Anyway, I find realtor.com estimates to be a bit more accurate.

[Jamisjockey]

Yup. Full of crap.  Nobody making $84k median income is buying a house in DC.  Not  a real house anyways.  Maybe a studio apartment. In the ghetto.

[MillCreek]

Are they using Zillow for their figures?

According to the articles, the median price estimates come from records of actual home sales.  The Seattle area real estate market is very hot right now, with approximately one month of inventory at any given time.