[SmellsFeeshy]

Hi all, been a few years since I posted here but good to see some of the “regulars” are still around. To piggyback on flu’s post, I’m also looking for a buyers agent in the bay area (south bay to be exact). If anyone has any recommendations please PM me. Thanks.

[SmellsFeeshy]

Hi Scott:

Nice to meet a fellow Bay Area pigg! Thanks for the tip. Had not heard about Stanford Credit Federal Union but just did a quote and looks like their rates and closing costs would be slightly cheaper than a big bank like Wells Fargo.

Did you work with any loan officer in particular there that you would recommend?

[SmellsFeeshy]

Thought I would revisit this thread and find out if anyone has heard of new Piggington equivalents for the Bay Area since 2012?

So far the best I’ve found is the Redfin Bay Area forums.

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=The-Shoveler]I was just saying on another thread, there is almost no fear in the markets right now, which makes me afraid.
But I have a lousy history at stock market timing as well so there.

Maybe I learned something, maybe I haven’t.[/quote]

Yeah, I agree. At this point it seems like the only plays may be short plays, but I don’t really like to be short on anything for more than a month or so and I’m looking for something a little more long term (maybe 6-12 months).

[SmellsFeeshy]

Does anyone have any suggestions for stocks/ETFs that look like a good bargain right now? Been trying to add some more equities to my portfolio but everything looks overbought right now.

Been doing well in VYM (Vanguard High Dividend) and have been watching XHB and VNQ (Homebuilds and REIT) but may have missed the boat on those.

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=bearishgurl]
Have you looked at townhomes in or close to SJ (Milpitas, Campbell, etc)??

And don’t lose sight of (cheaper) Fremont. It is just around the bend, and, if you have kids, I hear the schools there are excellent.[/quote]

Right now South Bay isn’t an option as my GF is commuting to SF, otherwise Milpitas would be an option although I hear the trash smell can be bad in the summertime.

Personally East Bay is not really my taste. It’s tempting due to the price but too far from the places I frequent.

So far I’m mostly just window shopping to monitor prices. At the current levels I can’t really see myself jumping in as I feel like the market is pretty bubbly and due for a correction in the next few years.

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=AN]Maybe you should try Bing 🙂 j/k… here ya go: http://www.newhomesdirectory.com/BayArea
[/quote]

The vast majority of these developments which are <25 miles from the city are condos.

And for example, the new SFR “spec developments,” in San Ramon and Livermore are 27 miles and 35 miles, respectively, from the city. Both have HOA/MR.[/quote]

Thanks BG. To clarify I’m actually only interested in condos or townhomes on the Peninsula. SFRs on the Peninsula are out of my price range and East Bay/Oakland/Berkeley are too far of a commute to Silicon Valley.

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=AN]Maybe you should try Bing 🙂 j/k… here ya go: http://www.newhomesdirectory.com/BayArea%5B/quote%5D

Yeah, I found that site but it seems to be incomplete (for example One Marina in Redwood City is not listed).

This one seems more complete:

http://www.toptennewhomecommunities.com/?p=bay-area-new-homes

But it looks like I’ll have to cross check this against other sites to make sure nothing is left out either.

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=AN]You’re right. It depends on where you work. The companies that I’m interested in (Google, Apple, etc) are not in San Jose. If you work in San Jose, then you’re right, the commute wouldn’t be too bad. But if you get a job in the Peninsula, which a lot of the tech jobs are), the commute would be bad and you’d have no option like MM. Which were where I got the offers from. I might have a different opinion if the offers I got were in SJ.

You’re right, it might not be fair to compare the $200-250k in UTC to the $600k in the Peninsula. But my point is, there’s no $200-250k option up there like down here. Here, you can make $100k/yr and have an option to buy a 2/2 for $200k. Up there, if you work in the peninsula, you don’t have the same option. If you make $130k up there compare to down here, your cheapest option is well over $400k. You don’t have an option to live conservatively up there.

Then if you want to move up scale, there’s CV, you have something like this: http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-120053182-12366_Carmel_Country_Rd_107_San_Diego_CA_92130 for low $300k. Anywhere in the peninsula that have the kind of schools CV has, that same place would easily go for $700-800k.[/quote]

Based on that criteria I’d say you made the right decision to stay in SD. Bottom line it just depends on what your priorities are. If your top priorities are close commute to tech jobs and good schools then SD is pretty hard to beat. But up here I can drive to San Francisco in 30 mins for great food and culture, or drive 1.5 hours to Laguna Seca for a track day. That’s definitely something I can’t do in SD ;).

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=AN]$450k for a 2/2 UTC is an exception. Most 2/2 in UTC are 200-250k (<1000 sq-ft) or $300-$350k(>1000 sq-ft). How big are the 2/2 in Redwood Shores? So, the $600k in Redwood Shores, Foster City, Mountain View are 2-3x more.

WRT to MM vs Milpitas, schools in MM is better. I can get to major tech companies in 3 miles while Milpitas is at least 10 miles to Mountain View and if you work around Palo Alto, then it’s much further. Then we get to the price. A 4/3 in Milpitas is currently going for $700-850k. Similar house in MM goes for $450-530k. It’s much easier to come up with $90-100k than $140-170k.[/quote]

Well I wouldn’t say it’s a fair apples to apples comparison you’re describing since you’re comparing the bottom end of the market in UTC to the upper end of the market on the SF Peninsula. Something comparable in square footage and amenities to a mid-range $300k condo in UTC might run around $450k on the Peninsula.

As far as schools I can’t comment but commute it really depends on where you work. There are plenty of tech jobs in San Jose close to Milpitas which would be similar to commuting to Sorrento Valley from MM.

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=AN]Sorry to hear about your frustration. That’s my experience as well when I considered moving up there a few years back. The cost of living increase far out weight the income increase. Which is why I decided to stay. I said this in another thread awhile back. It seems like it’s worse now. A 2/2 in SD near work center can easily be had for $200-300k. So, you’re looking at cost of living that’s 2-3x more but income is only at most 25-30% higher (that’s also before tax).[/quote]

Yeah, it seems the market up here recovered much faster than down in SD (maybe 1-2 years sooner). I guess that’s what happens when jobs are plentiful. Based on my observations 2x-3x would seem a bit high. I would say a more fair comparison would be comparing a condo in UTC to a comparable condo in Redwood Shores, Foster City or Mountain View. If the former sold for $450k a similar condo in the latter would sell for around $600k (which is a little over 30% more) so the numbers are actually pretty close if income is 30% higher.

Similarly a 200-300k condo in Mira Mesa would be worth about $300-400k in somewhere like Milpitas.

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=flu]Funny you should mention that Bay Area. Yeah, things are much worse there…[/quote]

Tell me about it. Since I moved up to the Bay Area all I hear are stories about bidding wars with all cash offers, no contingencies and houses selling in a matter of hours.

Looking for inventory on the Peninsula is practically non-existent. Doing a search for condos 2/2 under $600k lands me maybe 10 results or less.

If you ever want to sell your house up here let me know ;).

[SmellsFeeshy]

This question has come up a few times. See here:

http://piggington.com/ot_piggington_equivalent_for_the_bay_area

Short answer is that I haven’t really found anything close to the level of Piggington that focuses on the bay area.

[SmellsFeeshy]

Thanks for the links BG. That blog does seem to have a lot of good info. However, being that she is a realtor herself I am a little skeptical that she isn’t trying to make it sound like the market is hotter than it really is. It does appear though based on the inventory and number of properties pending that it is a sellers market at least on the peninsula and that properties are selling rather quickly.

I’m not looking to purchase anything right away, probably would be at least a year before I figure out which areas I like/don’t like and also would need to see if I want to actually settle down in the Bay Area for the long term.

Milpitas does look good in terms of pricing and SFRs that fit my criteria but I’m really not familiar with the city at all so I’d have to actually go and hang out there for a while to see how I like it. Also since prices are cheaper than the Peninsula I’m guessing traffic is probably pretty bad, sort of like living in North County SD and commuting to San Diego proper.

[SmellsFeeshy]

Glad to hear you are doing well flu 🙂

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