Here are a few more excerpts, with links this time, to show ratios of up to 10:1 exist in various parts of CA:
#24 “My dad made money on his house, and it will work for me too.”
FALSE. Your dad bought his house when houses were cheap compared to salaries, maybe 3 or 4 times annual salaries. Go ask him. Things are different now. Here is a chart of median house price vs median income in Palo Alto:
Year Median House Price Median Income Multiple
1980 148900 24743 6.0
1990 457800 55333 8.3
2000 910000 90377 10.0
Most bankers use a multiple of 3 as a “safe” price to income ratio. We are well beyond the danger zone, into the twilight zone. Another rule of thumb is that a fair house price is between 100 and 200 times the monthly rent. If a house rents for $2000 per month, then a fair price is from $200,000 to $400,000.
