My heart was definitely left in San Francisco by way of Silicon Valley when my husband and I left there after living in the center of downtown San Jose from 1996 through 2005. I also grew up in the O.C., but I have no allegiance there and would never live there again. Though I am currently languishing in Temecula, it is a more palatable alternative than the O.C.!
All I can say to you is the same thing I say to my daughter (who lives in Fremont) and her affianced (who lives in San Jose)- BE PATIENT! My Silly Valley colleagues in real estate tell me how prices have stagnated and inventory has increased subtantially in most of Santa Clara County, but it is also true that bidding wars are taking place in Los Gatos and Saratoga in the South Bay, as well as in Palo Alto on the Peninsula. Please remember that when you reference all of those, that is like saying that you want to live in Newport Beach or Monarch Bay i.e., the very best and most expensive neighborhoods, and not Costa Mesa or Tustin . I am convinced that the effect of the subprime and ALT-A meltdown is delayed by at least a year due to the higher Bay Area salaries, but that there will be repercussions there, though not, I believe, at the level that will be seen in the O.C. I know factually from working for a developer for 9 years there that most buyers the last 3 years used stated income loans (Alt-A, lots with neg-am options that they utilized), on a wish and a prayer that their actual income would rise substantially. I fear their wishes may be ashes as house values erode, even if slightly.
As far as the job market being on fire, please visit patrick.net, and then visit the Bay Area sites that are found on Sacramento Landing (link from Housing Doom) for housing and price information. And, I am curious – the median price in the O.C. is very close to that of both San Francisco County and Santa Clara County. Where would you like to live that would be a 2 hour commute from Silicon Valley? – all I can think of is Los Banos or Hollister. That would get you an IE sized monster house with a hellacious commute. And, I don’t see the extreme restrictions on building. My experience is that most new developments are infill, but that the cities are happy to have new homes at a higher tax base.
As for me, I dream of the day when prices drop significantly in the Bay Area and I can return and feel comfortable buying again. If I were to return there now, I wouldn’t consider buying yet.
