[quote=flu]Qualcomm might be a larger employer but it isn’t the only one, and won’t drastically affect home prices by itself.

From observation, homebuyer pool in some of the areas I watch include (in no particular order)

1. Foreign buyers
2. Retirees
3. Lawyers
4. Doctors
5. Dentists
6. Biotech workers
7. Genetic sequencing companies
8. Small/mid business owners
9. Intuit workers (52 week high)
10. Other engineers in other companies (many)

The days of qualcomm stock options/RSU’s have been numbered. New employees do not get any sizeable grants worth mentioning. Most of the large grants are people years ago. Qualcomm is in the mist of cost cutting. Examples include (overheard from colleagues)

1) A new monthly 401k maintanance fee
2) A higher deductible health insurance with an HSA account component
3) Elimination the most benefits of the executive health plan for folks Senior Staff Engineer or higher, except for dental and vision.
4) Employee pay of some of the fringe benefits off hours.
5) Compensation limits in QCT.
6) Elimination of non-core groups (IT, support software, etc)

So far, even in the mist of such things going on, you don’t see SD house prices drastically affected by this, right? QC stock also have corrected from the high 80ies to the low 70ies. That doesn’t appear to have dampened home purchases in the county either.

So that seems to suggest that home buyers in SD are diverse than one might think.[/quote]

Agree about the well-to-do retirees that just decide to pick SD. Met someone that literally lived all over the country throughout his career and picked SD the moment he retired.