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1   RWSGFY   2018 Nov 14, 2:50pm  

Now check the same stats for Atherton and report your feelings.
2   Strategist   2018 Nov 14, 4:55pm  

They were always absurd. No different than London, Paris, NY, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, and what not. They started building into the sky, while SF foolishly won't.
3   Patrick   2018 Nov 14, 5:46pm  

Amazingly, San Jose is nearly as expensive, and it really has no redeeming qualities. No views, more dangerous than SF, worse air, fewer good jobs.
4   Strategist   2018 Nov 14, 5:51pm  

Patrick says
Amazingly, San Jose is nearly as expensive, and it really has no redeeming qualities. No views, more dangerous than SF, worse air, fewer good jobs.


San Jose is just a boring town. SF is a major tourist destination, but San Jose has nothing to offer except a place to sleep.
5   SunnyvaleCA   2018 Nov 14, 5:55pm  

And, most of these $1M homes are pretty lousy homes. Either poor location, poor property, poor home, or very small home — and generally a combination of those! Here in 94087 $2M gets you what people would call a "starter home" with all the downsides of a 50-year-old dwelling. You can also by a lousy home and then upgrade it, but if you follow government regulations, you'll find that renovation or addition can easily run up another $250k.

It seems that the ONLY reason for the high housing prices is that there are enough buyers to keep the prices that high. Buyers are either overseas "investors" with all-cash offers or high-tech workers who have the income to make the monthly $10k mortgage payment and $20k annual property tax payment.
6   Heraclitusstudent   2018 Nov 14, 6:29pm  

This is what happens when you shower people with money but you don't build enough housing for your population growth.
7   Patrick   2018 Nov 14, 6:52pm  

Heraclitusstudent says
This is what happens when you shower people with money but you don't build enough housing for your population growth.


You make it sounds like stratospheric prices were not the intended effect.

They were. Every homedebtor wants a higher price, the banks want higher prices so those debtors don't walk, and realtors want higher prices for the commissions. Between them, that's a lot of lobbying power to pay off our "representatives".
8   Strategist   2018 Nov 14, 7:27pm  

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says
An unlimited number of fugitive PRC Army officers and Russian oligarchs are ready to pay 10x on today's prices.

It's safer than keeping their money parked in an economy based on fraud and slavery.


Damn. I knew I should never have invested on Chinese slaves. Slaves in Muslim countries are a much better investment. Islam guarantees that.
9   Strategist   2018 Nov 14, 7:31pm  

Patrick says
You make it sounds like stratospheric prices were not the intended effect.

They were. Every homedebtor wants higher price, the banks want higher prices so those debtors don't walk, and realtors want higher prices for the commissions. Between them, that's a lot of lobbying power to pay off our "representatives".


Homeowners and realtors may want higher prices, but they cannot just make it happen. All cities would have astronomical prices if that were possible. It's the demand/supply balance that eventually determines prices.
10   GNL   2018 Nov 14, 9:23pm  

Don't like socialism? You're gonna get it whether you like it or not. Wealth and income inequality ensure socialism.

And when that doesn't work...communism.
11   Patrick   2018 Nov 14, 9:44pm  

Strategist says
It's the demand/supply balance that eventually determines prices.


Even more important are interest rates and lending standards, imho.

$3K per month pays the mortgage for a $720K house at 5% interest
But that same $3K/month pays the mortgage for a $1.4M house at 2.5% interest.

Lending standards also swing wildly. An illegal strawberry picker was given a $750,000 mortgage during the housing bubble because lending standards were shit. And lending standards were shit because the banks were not holding any of their mortgages but immediately flipping them to Wall Street for cash.

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