It is beginning to feel like 1996

[Eugene]

Please enlighten me then, what other types of engineers (of the kind that typically makes 150K) do we still have in SD?

Engineers at Lockheed Martin don’t make that much, if Internet is to be trusted

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Employer=Lockheed_Martin_Corp/Salary/by_Job

Median salary of a biotech research scientist in San Diego is $78k

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Research_Scientist%2c_Biotechnology/Salary/by_City

and professors at UCSD don’t approach the 100k mark till full tenure (age 40 or so).

What am I missing?

today it is almost universal that the educated buyer is married to a another high-earner (150+150=300 ==> 1M mortgage + 20% down ==> rational sustainable entry-level price of 1.2)

One more thing about engineers – they tend to be predominantly male. So, the idea of a typical engineer making 150K is merely far-fetched, but the idea of a typical educated DINK couple making 300k borders on science fiction.

[gdcox]

I think what you guys are trying to do is not possible. In the neighbourhoods you are talking of, it is not first time buyer territory, even if some are. Buyers will have wealth from earlier years and from other sources I don’t think you can statistically calculate the buying power of the typical purchaser in excellent neghbourhoods. All you can do is observe developments and use overall earning and employment data such as that used by Rich to assess trends. there may be less frequent income /wealth decile distribution data which can show you how the rich get richer which could also be used.

But some area will always have a significant number of non-typical people and I would imagine the nearer you get to the coast the greater the percentage of buyers who don’t even need a mortgage.

[gdcox]

I think what you guys are trying to do is not possible. In the neighbourhoods you are talking of, it is not first time buyer territory, even if some are. Buyers will have wealth from earlier years and from other sources I don’t think you can statistically calculate the buying power of the typical purchaser in excellent neghbourhoods. All you can do is observe developments and use overall earning and employment data such as that used by Rich to assess trends. there may be less frequent income /wealth decile distribution data which can show you how the rich get richer which could also be used.

But some area will always have a significant number of non-typical people and I would imagine the nearer you get to the coast the greater the percentage of buyers who don’t even need a mortgage.

[gdcox]

I think what you guys are trying to do is not possible. In the neighbourhoods you are talking of, it is not first time buyer territory, even if some are. Buyers will have wealth from earlier years and from other sources I don’t think you can statistically calculate the buying power of the typical purchaser in excellent neghbourhoods. All you can do is observe developments and use overall earning and employment data such as that used by Rich to assess trends. there may be less frequent income /wealth decile distribution data which can show you how the rich get richer which could also be used.

But some area will always have a significant number of non-typical people and I would imagine the nearer you get to the coast the greater the percentage of buyers who don’t even need a mortgage.

[gdcox]

I think what you guys are trying to do is not possible. In the neighbourhoods you are talking of, it is not first time buyer territory, even if some are. Buyers will have wealth from earlier years and from other sources I don’t think you can statistically calculate the buying power of the typical purchaser in excellent neghbourhoods. All you can do is observe developments and use overall earning and employment data such as that used by Rich to assess trends. there may be less frequent income /wealth decile distribution data which can show you how the rich get richer which could also be used.

But some area will always have a significant number of non-typical people and I would imagine the nearer you get to the coast the greater the percentage of buyers who don’t even need a mortgage.

[gdcox]

I think what you guys are trying to do is not possible. In the neighbourhoods you are talking of, it is not first time buyer territory, even if some are. Buyers will have wealth from earlier years and from other sources I don’t think you can statistically calculate the buying power of the typical purchaser in excellent neghbourhoods. All you can do is observe developments and use overall earning and employment data such as that used by Rich to assess trends. there may be less frequent income /wealth decile distribution data which can show you how the rich get richer which could also be used.

But some area will always have a significant number of non-typical people and I would imagine the nearer you get to the coast the greater the percentage of buyers who don’t even need a mortgage.

[svelte]

This thread got carried away in minutiae and lost the overall point.

It does seem to feel much different that the 90s downturn and has seen a suprisingly strong selling season this year. In the neighborhoods within a 2 mile radius of our house, there are very few homes for sale. The lawns are green too (not many are REOs).

It seems way too quick to have found the final bottom, but who knows. Many more people sat out the bubble than most on this board realize and they want to buy before they get priced out again. Years of watching in frustration has apparently weighed heavily on their patience.

They just want to get on with their life – to h*ll with whether there is much more of a downside.

[svelte]

This thread got carried away in minutiae and lost the overall point.

It does seem to feel much different that the 90s downturn and has seen a suprisingly strong selling season this year. In the neighborhoods within a 2 mile radius of our house, there are very few homes for sale. The lawns are green too (not many are REOs).

It seems way too quick to have found the final bottom, but who knows. Many more people sat out the bubble than most on this board realize and they want to buy before they get priced out again. Years of watching in frustration has apparently weighed heavily on their patience.

They just want to get on with their life – to h*ll with whether there is much more of a downside.

[svelte]

This thread got carried away in minutiae and lost the overall point.

It does seem to feel much different that the 90s downturn and has seen a suprisingly strong selling season this year. In the neighborhoods within a 2 mile radius of our house, there are very few homes for sale. The lawns are green too (not many are REOs).

It seems way too quick to have found the final bottom, but who knows. Many more people sat out the bubble than most on this board realize and they want to buy before they get priced out again. Years of watching in frustration has apparently weighed heavily on their patience.

They just want to get on with their life – to h*ll with whether there is much more of a downside.

[svelte]

This thread got carried away in minutiae and lost the overall point.

It does seem to feel much different that the 90s downturn and has seen a suprisingly strong selling season this year. In the neighborhoods within a 2 mile radius of our house, there are very few homes for sale. The lawns are green too (not many are REOs).

It seems way too quick to have found the final bottom, but who knows. Many more people sat out the bubble than most on this board realize and they want to buy before they get priced out again. Years of watching in frustration has apparently weighed heavily on their patience.

They just want to get on with their life – to h*ll with whether there is much more of a downside.

[svelte]

This thread got carried away in minutiae and lost the overall point.

It does seem to feel much different that the 90s downturn and has seen a suprisingly strong selling season this year. In the neighborhoods within a 2 mile radius of our house, there are very few homes for sale. The lawns are green too (not many are REOs).

It seems way too quick to have found the final bottom, but who knows. Many more people sat out the bubble than most on this board realize and they want to buy before they get priced out again. Years of watching in frustration has apparently weighed heavily on their patience.

They just want to get on with their life – to h*ll with whether there is much more of a downside.

[mixxalot]

I disagree about engineer salaries as well. I know several licensed P.E. civil and electrical engineers who make about 100k a year with a decade of experience. Unless the engineer is a VP or senior level manager, he/she will not be making anywhere close to 150k in San Diego. I know because I see job salary postings all the time on engineer/technical boards. So where are you getting your incorrect salary details from? And yes, San Diego real estate still has a LONG way to drop before professionals can afford a decent home here compared to most places in the USA. Heck, even places in Florida are way cheaper for beach property. In spite of hurricanes, bugs, snakes and humidity, one can get ocean front property in Florida for half cost of San Diego coastal property.

[mixxalot]

I disagree about engineer salaries as well. I know several licensed P.E. civil and electrical engineers who make about 100k a year with a decade of experience. Unless the engineer is a VP or senior level manager, he/she will not be making anywhere close to 150k in San Diego. I know because I see job salary postings all the time on engineer/technical boards. So where are you getting your incorrect salary details from? And yes, San Diego real estate still has a LONG way to drop before professionals can afford a decent home here compared to most places in the USA. Heck, even places in Florida are way cheaper for beach property. In spite of hurricanes, bugs, snakes and humidity, one can get ocean front property in Florida for half cost of San Diego coastal property.

[mixxalot]

I disagree about engineer salaries as well. I know several licensed P.E. civil and electrical engineers who make about 100k a year with a decade of experience. Unless the engineer is a VP or senior level manager, he/she will not be making anywhere close to 150k in San Diego. I know because I see job salary postings all the time on engineer/technical boards. So where are you getting your incorrect salary details from? And yes, San Diego real estate still has a LONG way to drop before professionals can afford a decent home here compared to most places in the USA. Heck, even places in Florida are way cheaper for beach property. In spite of hurricanes, bugs, snakes and humidity, one can get ocean front property in Florida for half cost of San Diego coastal property.

[mixxalot]

I disagree about engineer salaries as well. I know several licensed P.E. civil and electrical engineers who make about 100k a year with a decade of experience. Unless the engineer is a VP or senior level manager, he/she will not be making anywhere close to 150k in San Diego. I know because I see job salary postings all the time on engineer/technical boards. So where are you getting your incorrect salary details from? And yes, San Diego real estate still has a LONG way to drop before professionals can afford a decent home here compared to most places in the USA. Heck, even places in Florida are way cheaper for beach property. In spite of hurricanes, bugs, snakes and humidity, one can get ocean front property in Florida for half cost of San Diego coastal property.

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