[quote=AN][quote=cjdairym]While SD is somewhat expensive, housing is still relatively cheaper than in LA and SF/Silicon Valley. Combined with the low rates, $800k home isn’t too bad with monthly payments for a couple with $200k or > income.
The only question is the downpayment which apparently there are enough people who have 20% or more. (ie, move-up, retirees, asians, etc)
Having said that, I believe the current market is pretty expensive for new homebuyers, younger couples. Home prices are still high which means many of them don’t have 20% for a downpayment. Either they go FHA or get money from family.[/quote]
I totally agree with this. LA/OC pay is comparable to SD and bay area pay is only ~20-25% higher. Yet their housing is much much more expensive than our.
As SD R said, the supply is limited and there are enough people with money to support those prices. Add in prop 13 and your supply of older homes get that much more limited. Put yourself in the shoes of people who bought their house in the mid 90s, would you sell at the price you want to pay right now?[/quote]
IMHO, the notion that SD and LA pay are about equal would probably only apply to a few industries. Having grown up in LA, the biggest surprise when I moved to SD was the MUCH lower pay, and everyone else I know who made the same move (outside of tech) experienced the same shock when they moved down here. SD pay sucks for those outside of tech or biotech. LA has much better prospects for people in most other industries, IMHO.
