You Must Make At Least $137,129 A Year To Afford A Home In San Francisco

You need make at least $137,129 a year (before taxes) to afford a home in the Fog City, which according to a new report is the most expensive city in the country for home buyers.

Coming in a distant second place is San Diego, where you need to bring home $98,534 a year to afford the principal, interest, taxes and insurance of a median-priced home, the measure used to make the calculations by HSH Associates, the mortgage-tracker that published the report.

New York City scored third place — perhaps surprisingly, because of its notoriously high rents. You "only" (hahaha!) have to make a salary of $89,788 a year to afford a mid-level apartment.

The widening gap between rich and poor in San Francisco just keeps getting worse. A recent report ranked income inequality in the city on par with developing countries including Rwanda.

This poses a real dilemma for us in the Real Bay Area. Now that we’ve set the bar so high, how we do we drive this even further?

I have a feeling that if we all work together, we can drive this minimum to a nice even $200,000.

What will you be doing to make this happen?

I hope you’re enjoy this Memorial Day!

As a community of people obsessed homes, we should also remember those houses that are still underwater.

Obviously, there are none in the Real Bay Area though…

Rent or Buy? The Math Is Changing

Billy Gasparino and Jenna Dillon-Gasparino were savvy enough to wait out the housing boom of a decade ago as renters. Not until 2010, well into the bust, did they buy a house in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles, less than a mile from the beach, for $810,000.

Only four years later, the couple see new signs of excess in the housing market and have decided to go back to renting. They are close to a deal to sell their house – for $1.35 million, a cool 67 percent gain.

Is it any wonder that California is called? Every house you touch turns to gold. And we all know that gold always goes up in value!

Since the start of 2011, prices have risen 33 percent in the San Francisco area, 30 percent in Miami, 24 percent in Los Angeles — and even more in some of the most desirable neighborhoods within those areas.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, home of the sharpest recent price increases, the sale price of a home is about 20 times what it would cost to rent a home of the same size for a year. That ratio, based on an analysis of data from Zillow, is the same as in 2003, when the San Francisco real estate market had yet to become an out-of-control bubble but was well on its way there.

That’s right! Based on data… DATA…there’s still plenty of upside for the homes in Silicon Valley.

But wait.. there’s more!

When low mortgage rates are taken into account, buying a home in San Francisco looks somewhat more attractive — but with a 10 percent down payment and prevailing interest rates, buying a home is 6 percent more expensive than renting a place of the same size, the same premium for buying as there was during the dot-com boom in 1999. Just two years ago, buying in the San Francisco area was 24 percent cheaper than renting an equivalent place.

There you have it! The NY Times says now is a great time to buy a home in San Francisco.

“If you thought home values in the Bay Area or Southern California were such that we might see another housing correction, that radically starts to advantage rental housing,” said Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist, who argues that current prices are reasonably well justified, while acknowledging that prices are high enough to leave buyers exposed.

Even the Chief Economist at Zillow agrees!

This time it’s different. The economics have changed. The paradigm has shifted. House prices simply cannot go down.

I’m surprised you haven’t gone and picked up 6 houses over the weekend!

Hello.

For years, this site and its fine readers have yearned for the day that the San Francisco Real Bay Area would eclipse New York for most expensive housing. It has been a dream that we have all pined for. There were good times, there were bad times, but for better or for worse we stuck together in the hopes of realizing this dream.

I present to you, this:

Here’s How Much Money You Must Earn To Buy A Home In 25 Big US Cities

1. CLEVELAND: You’d have to earn at least $19,435 to buy an average home. (All they have is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Big whoop.)

2. CINCINNATI: You’d have to earn at least $22,227 to buy an average home. (Jerry Springer was mayor.)

3. ST. LOUIS: You’d have to earn at least $22,398 to buy an average home. (Arch this!)

4. ATLANTA: You’d have to earn at least $24,391 to buy an average home. (Because everyone is a peach picker.)

5. TAMPA: You’d have to earn at least $24,651 to buy an average home. (It’s not Orlando!)

6. ORLANDO: You’d have to earn at least $28,298 to buy an average home. (It’s not Miami!)

7. SAN ANTONIO: You’d have to earn at least $29,305 to buy an average home. (Riverwalk? Really?)

8. DALLAS: You’d have to earn at least $29,751 to buy an average home. (Meh. Oil.)

9. HOUSTON: You’d have to earn at least $31,299 to buy an average home. (Galleria is meh.)

10. CHICAGO: You’d have to earn at least $32,389 to buy an average home. (Too much wind.)

11. PHOENIX: You’d have to earn at least $32,812 to buy an average home. (Arizona.)

12. MINNEAPOLIS: You’d have to earn at least $33,800 to buy an average home. (Cold.)

13. PHILADELPHIA: You’d have to earn at least $36,836 to buy an average home. (Everyone is angry.)

14. BALTIMORE: You’d have to earn at least $41,155 to buy an average home. (Too many crime shows.)

15. SACRAMENTO: You’d have to earn at least $42,832 to buy an average home. (Sacramento.)

16. MIAMI: You’d have to earn at least $43,918 to buy an average home. (Too much cocaine.)

17. PORTLAND (OR): You’d have to earn at least $45,872 to buy an average home. (Sometimes I just want a twinkie)

18. DENVER: You’d have to earn at least $48,123 to buy an average home. (Air is too thin.)

19. SEATTLE: You’d have to earn at least $59,130 to buy an average home. (Too much flannel.)

20. WASHINGTON, D.C.: You’d have to earn at least $62,810 to buy an average home. (D.C.)

21. BOSTON: You’d have to earn at least $63,673 to buy an average home. (Not enough smart people compared to the Real Bay Area.)

22. NEW YORK CITY: You’d have to earn at least $66,167 to buy an average home. (Not Real Bay Area.)

23. LOS ANGELES: You’d have to earn at least $72,127 to buy an average home. (Too much traffic… until the Bay Area beats LA)

24. SAN DIEGO: You’d have to earn at least $81,570 to buy an average home. (Too far south.)

25. SAN FRANCISCO :You’d have to earn at least $115,510 to buy an average home. (The best place in the world.)

That’s right everyone! You need to make 75% more money in San Francisco Real Bay Area, to be able to afford a home compared to New York City.

We.

Have.

Won.

I knew this could happen, and it did. <sheds a tear>

Now that this has happened, what should Burbed’s future direction hold… I mean… how should Burbed pivot?

You enjoy this site? Well, then, this requires your assistance. Good content needs good comments to keep more good content coming.

Yesterday we threatened a stock photo of a house if we didn’t see more comments pronto. Today, we up the ante.

Remember this iconic image?

And if you’re too young to remember it, well, you can read it, can’t you?

Thought you could.

We don’t think we have to spell it out, now, do we?

Fine. We’ll spell it out. Post some more comments or the dog gets it.

And don’t give us any crap about this dog probably being dead already since the magazine cover was from January, 1973. He’s been brought back to life… in Bucharest.

This is also your Weekend Open Thread, not that that ever made any difference.

Alright, so the site’s been having some access and downtime issues. We know, but we can’t do anything about it. Do you see us complaining?

Well, yes. Yes, you do.

Too many of you are giving up instead of pressing Reload over and over and over until the 502 Bad Gateway error goes away. So, it’s come to this. Make some comments so we know you’re reading… or this innocent stock photo of a house, who hasn’t hurt anyone at all except for the Photoshopper who get second degree burns adding the extra flames… gets it.

And think of all the other innocent houses who will have an even worse fate. That’s right, if you don’t speak up in comments, thousands and thousands of houses will never get a chance to appear on the front page of Burbed ever. Now think about it, that means your house may never appear, even if you wanted it to be famous!

Reload, respond, and refresh.  Not just a good idea. It will keep the houses posted.  And at room temperature.

Are you looking at any Open Houses next to a farm?

Photo credit thanks to Galen Ward.

 

Happy Easter! This means NOW is the time for Spring Real Estate selling season to begin Bouncing in earnest. We’ve been telling you about Bay Area Bubble 4.0, so just imagine how much win Real Bay Area home prices will have starting tomorrow!

That’s not all the Easter Eggs we’ve found under our bedecked and bowtied basket! Here’s a few more the Burbed Bunny brought to beaucoup browsers.

 

We appreciate all our readers who send us awesome listings (and you know by awesome, we mean something that is exactly the opposite of awesome). If you have a great example of Real Estate Fail, send it to one of our email contacts in the upper right corner.

Best of all is when you visit an Open House and take some photos of things that the agent didn’t think best reflected the property’s best features. Yes, we love your photos too!

We also love our readers’ comments. Please be sure to stop by and show each listing as much love as it deserves.

Finally, we’re going to be part of another Big Blog Bonanza. Tomorrow begins a new month, and we’re going to be joining the fun with over 1700 other blogs in the April 2013 Blogging from A to Z Challenge. For many bloggers, the difficulty of merely writing one post every day brings anxiety, fear, or wrestling with the dreaded blogger’s block. We’ve been putting out an article pretty much every day for seven years, but having topics line up with the alphabet will give us an interesting tour of the Bay Area.  Feel free anytime to nominate some suggestions for letters to come!  We’re still wondering just what to do with that pesky letter X.

We did make it over to the old Wozniak place during yesterday’s Open House. And we took pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures. We can assure you that some of the notable improvements to the property, such as the fireman’s pole, the cave, and the twisty little maze of passages, all different, are still there.  Here’s just a taste of the photoblog to come.

You may have also noticed that we’ve been moving the furniture back and forth on our pages. Some of the new additions seem good, and some just aren’t working out quite as well as we’d like. Notice that little Redfin sign where it says “location, location, location?” That links to our growing photo Collections over there.  Please check it out.  Another thing to check out is our twitter feed (and yes, we know we should be posting the feed right to the site. A site redesign first would help. We’re working on it, really. Why do you think we keep moving the furniture?)  The sharing options don’t seem to work as advertised, f’rinstance. Anyone want us to try the thumbs up/down again? We kind of miss them. (This allowed you to vote yea or nay on both posts and comments.)

Finally, we joined into a Blogtacular scheme called the Blog Blitz. We think it’s a good idea, and if you write your own blog, you can also be part of it. By joining the group, you agree that when DL Hammons, who started it all, says “Everyone Blitz this Blog!” you will head over to the chosen site on the appointed day and post some helpful or encouraging comment there. It’s true, people who write blogs love it when their readers post something useful.

Now, in the case of Burbed, “helpful or encouraging” does not necessarily mean “I love your blog and read it every single day and twice on Sundays!” (although we don’t object to such fawningly overdone praise either). Useful would be either informing us about the property of the day or sharing something related to it or making a snarkilicious observation. All this goes to say if you join us in signing up for Blog Blitz, please read whatever blog you’re asked to post in before chiming in with “Me too! All the way!”

We’ve listed the participants below (if this LinkyTools code works properly) and you can join in right here. If you don’t see any blog list (we’re #127, which is 2^7-1, perfect for a Silicon Valley-based site), then obviously the script stopped working, so head over to DL’s site and sign up there.  Who knows, maybe someday we’ll be blitzed and for one delightful day, we’ll be back to the glory days of a 150+ comment thread.

Or you all could start talking more.

Blog list after the break.

(more…)

Notice something new in the right-side column?

At long last, we’ve set up a Facebook Page, and we’re collecting Likes.  We’re not really sure what we’re going to do with them.  Maybe there’s a Mortgage Equity Withdrawal program out there who wants every one of your names.  But more likely we’ll just wonder which Facebook Name goes with some of the more interesting handles our commenters have used.

Anyway, please click that Like button if you have a Facebook account, because right now we’re still in single digit territory, and Patrick.net is threatening to beat us up behind the gym.

This is also your opportunity to grouse about Facebook, or its policies, or its stock price, if you don’t find the housing-related piece today to your taste.

Today is the last day of the year.  What was your favorite property of all the ones we pointed and laughed at this year?  Here are some for your discussion.

Top High End Properties

Belvedere Design House doesn’t sell, going up for auction

Unbelvble Gorgeous French Style Masterpiece Estate in Saratoga

Lafayette Mansion of Murders

Los Gatos house parks 7

Unbelievable New Millbrae House

Burlingame Mystery House

Los Altos Hills for only $20M

Sunnyvale Freedom is Slavery Inverse House

$4.2M Belvedere teardown

Woodside auction (never sold)

Live across the street from Steve Jobs, except you can’t cuz he’s dead

Brutalist Sebastopol spread

$9M house with meh kitchen

Saratoga red arrow spectacular

Insanely expensive PA house with Kawlums in the bathroom really

Too-big-for-the-hood Sunnyvale Spectacular, with Bunus Buyer in comments

Los Gatos luxury home plus HDR lesson

New and ugly house in Mountain View!

Top Not So High End Properties

8.5 foot wide lot in Alameda

Bayview Bargain

Santa Cruz Mountain High

Saught after PA street

Every Burbed cliche in Sunnyvale

Realtard goes there: Alameda bathroom flaunts all

San Mateo Photo Spectacular

I say, I say, I say in Mountain View

Instagram for Redfin

Mountain View house with free pets

Million dollar meth lab

Dead animal decor

Redwood City or Abbottabad?

Pair of houses across from psych ward

Adorable pink house in PA under a mil

This Castro Valley house is going places

Saratoga home for living!

Truly manificent, with angry commenter defending this neighborhood’s honor

Palo Alto! But deplorable condition

This one’s worse

Kids not included with house

House with themed rooms in Fremont

Perfect home in Walnut Creek

Good housekeeping in Menlo Park

Close to Santana Row!

Top Filler Pieces Not About Actual Houses for Sale

Lucky numbers in asking prices

Snout Housing of the South Bay

Worst. Ad. Ever.

Los Gatos family scamming school district?

(November) 2012 Proposition Voters Guide

New Luxury Trend: Tons ‘o Toilets

Make more money not selling houses than selling houses

Charter school lawsuit lunacy in Los Altos school district

Business student asks us to do his homework

Palo Alto is so awesome people live in their cars and park there

Spot the Meth Lab

NAR creates utterly useless stats, Movoto derives useless infographic, we uselessly point ‘n laff

Free Tesla with non-RBA house (cheaper w/o Tesla)

The other Official Burbed Ballot Guide to Everything (June 2012 election)

Facebook effect on SF (yes, SF) real estate prices

Deconstructing the WSJ’s doubleplusgood view of the housing implosion

Squatters sue Realtard

Painter of Light Kinkade switched off

Now is the Time to Buy or Sell a House. With Us.

Spot the Grow House

San Jose House found under Hoarder’s hoard

A dozen tenants in a SAn Jose McMansion

Silicon Valley high-flying homeowners who lost everything

Under $2K fine for house thievery

Secrets of Contracting Cheap

See if our 2012 predictions came to pass

Did we leave out your favorite Burbed house or article?  Which piece was your least favorite and why?  What would you like to see us cover more of in 2013?