Hi, I am confused whether to buy in bay area or move to Austin. Enjoy Hiking/Weather in bay area but feel like we are priced out of SFH as entry homes seem to be around 1.5M now. HH TC : 450k NW : 700k(excluding 401k) YOE :9 #housing #BayArea #Austin #Apple
How many times in a year are you going to hike? What other activities you would do frequently in Bay area that you would miss in Austin?
We do like going to a beach or hike almost every other weekend on average so far but things can probably change once we have kids.
If you prefer bigger house for a better price then would suggest Austin. You have lot of places around Austin as well to explore :) Planning to move and settle in Austin soon from Seattle :)
What is your tc. I would move to austin
Why do you feel you are priced out of 1.5M SFH?
Bay Area is for innovation and high tech. Nature is a plus. Prices will keep going up due to innovations always in Bay Area rule. If you want other exposure in life, go around.
People who bought around 2007 saw drops for many years. May be it took around 9 years for recovery. If someone wanted to sell in between (due to job losses or any other circumstances, )they would have lost money. Lots of money if they sold it around 2012..
There’ll be ups and downs. Long run, it will always go up. California alone is 5th biggest GDP in the world for 30 million population. Prices will keep going up and we’ll see 10 million average house price in 30 years.
Buy a 1.2M sfh within 35m commute
Even making commute to 1hr, union city is the only place that falls into this.
Do you have kids / dual income? I was in a similar place 2 months back (prices might have been slightly better in Jan) Realtor gave 2 options - buy a 1.2m sfh in Newark - buy a 1.4m in parts of east / south San Jose. Zip codes 95111, 12, 13, 95127 Don't look for schools if you don't have kids and Work with a good realtor if you aren't doing that already.
Life Quality in the Bay Area has taken a serious dip in the last 4-5 years. Crimes, theft, wokeism, cost of living, and homelessness are soaring while public infrastructure is crumbling. Some of the freeways feel like third-world country streets- full of potholes, filth, and dirt. And our joker Governor Newsom is busy bankrupting this state. So though Austin is hot but will offer a much higher quality of life.
Moved to Austin, absolutely regretted it. Moved back to Bay Area and we are happy again. FYI Austin isn’t as cheap as people claim it to be. It’s literally just as expensive minus the Bay Area weather. Housing seems cheaper, but it’s absolutely not. Property taxes are sky high and people are shit. I am not saying Bay Area is awesome, just better overall. Plenty of things to do just one small road trip away, in the beautiful state of California. I might consider moving to Vancouver maybe in the future, but heck, it’s even more expensive than Bay Area. TLDR; we are all shit outta luck
What do you mean people are shit ? I’m somewhat considering Austin. What’s the qualm with folks there )
1. My kids got bullied for being Indian. Reported it to the school, they don’t seem to care. 2. My neighbors were obnoxious in their support for Trump. We lived in the liberal side of Austin and people were just nuts.
You know you can hike in Texas too
It is not about the possibility but the quality.
Kinda sounds like you already know OP. You said you like hikes and beaches often. Even with kids I imagines such trips would be regular. Austin is known for being very hot and worst of all humid during summers. Are you really in that much of a rush to buy right now? I know it’s the dream and all but why not keep saving / reduce expenses for another 1-2 years and see how market shakes out while you keep an out for a place in an ideal location.
Stay in Bay Area