This makes me feel a lot better
Topic: Home Improvement

$764,900 for a 827 sqft house in Cupertino

Um, yeah. This is why I live in Indy. The house we’re wanting is a 2,300 sq. ft house for… well, a lot less than that.

Well sure… but then you’re not living in the San Francisco Bay Area. And a life not in the SF Bay Area – with all of its outdoor activities and 80 hour work weeks – is a life not worth living.

So as we noted yesterday, the number of millionaires is greater in Nassau County than in Santa Clara, but the median house price is dramatically greater. The question arises, of course – what could you get in Nassau County for the price of a median home in Santa Clara. Here’s what I found in Massapequa – birthplace of Mariah Carey and Jerry Seinfeld.

MLSLI.com – Find a Home
MASSAPEQUA
List Price: $739,990
Taxes: $10,062.20

SEC/AREA: Nassau Shores
Single family, 8 room Cape
4 Bedrooms, 2 Full Baths 1 Half Bath
None, Hw heating
Detached Vny/Flgstn construction
Year Built: 1956
School Dist: Massapequa
Lot: 128X111
Appearance: Excel

Home Features
Eat-in kitchen
Stove, Washer, Refrigerator, Dish washer, Dryer
Dining room: Formal
Den/Family room
Home office
2 fireplaces
Wall to wall carpeting
Attic
Skylight
Patio: Yes
Deck: N
Att 2.0 car garage
Driveway: Pvt
Inground Sprinklers: Yes

Not too shabby! Who says living in NY is too expensive?

So a week ago, I posted about this house in Redmond that I thought was near Microsoft. Someone commented that this was actually really far from Microsoft. Fair enough. So I took a look at map and tried to find a house that was near the fancy mall in Bellevue.

And I tried to keep the price at the high $600′s – so as to keep it comparable to a median house in Google’s zip code. Here’s what I found:

REALTOR.com: Find a Home – Listing Detail
Bellevue, WA 98004
MLS ID#: 26026236
$694,950
4 Bed, 1.75 Bath
2,370 Sq. Ft.
0.24 Acres

Single Family Property, Area: Bellevue West of Interstate 405, Approximately 0.24 acre(s), Lot is 10352 sq. ft., Year Built: 1954, View, Single story, Basement, Hardwood floors

On Monday, we’ll find a comparable house in Google’s zip code (which, btw, includes Plaxo, Intuit, Microsoft, Sportsvision, PGP, and a plethora of other famous tech companies)… Your suggestions are welcomed!

Fault East of Bay Area ‘Locked and Loaded’ — Newsday.com
– New cracks appear in Elke DeMuynck’s ceiling every few weeks, zigzagging across her living room, creeping toward the fireplace, veering down the wall. Month after month, year after year, she patches, paints and waits.

“It definitely lets you know your house is constantly shifting,” DeMuynck said. So do the gate outside that swings uselessly 2 1/2 inches from its latch, the strange bulges in the street and the geology students who make pilgrimages to her cul-de-sac.

DeMuynck could throw her paint brush from her front stoop and hit the Hayward Fault, which geologists consider the most dangerous in the San Francisco Bay Area, if not the nation. Like others who live here, she gets by on a blend of denial, hope and humor.

I’ve heard that the cracks add more charm and thus raises the price of the house!

Marin PoS: Commercial Break
I love the fact that this blog has inspired others to do the same. At least, that is the impression I get for all but one of the following. Anyway, if you like reading about Marin’s PoSs then I also suggest you check out these excellent blogs as they also list PoSs:

America’s Overvalued Real Estate
Burbed
Flip This
Bubble Meter

Thanks Marin PoS!

San Francisco Business Times: State offering 40-year mortgages for first-time homebuyers – 2006-03-15
A state agency that helps first-time homebuyers introduced a 40-year fixed mortgage on Wednesday.

The California Housing Finance Agency already offers 30-year fixed and 35-year interest only mortgages.

All three mortgage options are offered at below market, fixed interest rates.

Is it only a matter of time before we see 90 year mortgages like in Japan?

work, run, sleep. repeat.
Sure, I like the idea of owning a house, but take a look at Burbed. Not only is it a good read, but it totally explains why T & I have decided to opt out of the real estate market and will continue to rent.

Thanks for linking to Burbed.com!

WSJ.com – Silicon Valley’s Tech Revival Spurs New Fever for Cashing In Options
Economists say people are putting their options profits into such areas as new investments and home improvements. The Construction Industry Research Board, a nonprofit construction-research firm, calculates that residents in Silicon Valley’s Santa Clara County spent $416 million last year on home remodeling, compared with $331 million in 2001.

Catherine Marcus, a real-estate agent in Menlo Park, Calif., says homes priced from $2.5 million to $7 million are selling briskly, partly driven by buyers using stock-option profits. “It’s the stock-option people…that are buying,” Ms. Marcus says.

So that’s the key to buying a house with more than 3 rooms, and fewer than average termites in Silicon Valley – stock options!

Caterina.net: Pieces of string
Something’s gotta give — I just can’t see how this can be sustained.

Thanks for linking to Burbed!

Curbed SF: Bay Area Blogwrap: Developments Up, Buyers Flee
3) Burbed continues its chronicle of insane Valley pricing thusly: “$600,000 for a 51 year old house you need to knock down in Santa Clara.” [Burbed]

Woot! Got a mention from Curbed SF today. Welcome to the club, Curbed SF!