Bay Area buyers, change alongside current real estate and financial market situations ,out of necessity

The median regional home price in the Bay Area, is somewhere right around $1.25 million dollars. As you are reading this, your gas prices are well over six dollars a gallon, in some areas pushing seven. groceries and utilities continue to be increasingly expensive. and yet for many of us, our income stays the same. across the United States this financial conundrum, of increased cost of living with no increase in wage, has us all scratching our heads and hustling like nobody’s business. This particular dynamic is not specific to the Bay Area. However, the substantial gap between what buyers want, and what they can afford is particularly pronounced in the San Francisco Bay area.

When you look at cities like San Francisco and San Jose, the regional median home price is more like 1.65 million. The number on these home prices, makes buying here impossible for most all of middle and working class, families and individuals. That’s a pretty significant sector of the population.

Zillow data identifies 37 cities in the Bay Area, where starter homes, have an entry price of $1 million. Generally speaking, starter homes are purchased by younger people. people Who have not maximized their careers yet to the fullest extent of their capabilities and there for haven’t reached peak potential with their income. people who are possibly still in the process of building their credit.

$1 million sounds like pure, crazy town, it is a price that is insurmountable. As a direct result, the age of the average first time homebuyer in the Bay Area, is 40 years old. 40 years old, is middle-aged. That means for lots of people to full first half of their lives, through your 20s and 30s possibly getting married and starting to have babies, you are living with family or you are renting.

The Bay Area suffers from a real shortage of entry level housing inventory. It is a substantial barrier for young people who have not made a ton of money in their lives.

So how do Bay Area homebuyers, uphold the ideal in their mind’s eye of what kind of home they strive to live in, while balancing being realistic about the market, and what they can really afford?

People are finding a way, but it does incorporate being a little flexible, and shifting our view on how some things will look.

Bay area buyers are pulling the “ drive until you qualify” move. This means basically what it sounds like. Buyers are driving a little further out, areas like far edges of the East Bay, the North Bay, or even landing in the Central Valley. Fact of the matter is, if you are willing and able to zoom out a little bit, you will find something that you can afford. You might also find a community that you really love, and still have access to the bay area, with just a short drive.

Another common strategy, for people that are really determined to stay urban, is trading square footage for walk ability. If you want to be on the BART, or riding your bike, If you are unwilling to be commuting in a vehicle, you might be trading the size of your home, for the ability to stay urban. It is very expensive to buy a family sized home in Rockridge. for most middle class families, It is a big heavy lift to afford. However if you are a person or a family that is able to size down substantially, you may still be able to afford to own there.

The last strategy will talk about today, is being hyper prepared. This means having done all your homework, cutting out any kind of casual browsing, and going for the throat . that sounds very dramatic, in a little bit dark, but we’re incorporating some Halloween in this discussion. What I mean by going for the throat is closing the deal. Going after buying your home aggressively. serious buyers go through the entire underwriting process to be preapproved before they even begin shopping. We are talking about bridging the gap, with deep financial readiness. Family homes are a hot ticket item, serious buyers who are not going to walk away without purchasing, might aim for areas where the market has softened a little bit. Maybe looking at neighborhoods where seller expectations have lowered. or maybe that means pivoting to looking at the condo market. Balancing idealism with realism in this case, means really searching out and finding things that you could actually afford. They may not look like what you thought they would, but if you are really going for it, you can make it happen. you just have to be willing, to see things from the angle of what the bay is really offering, that you would be willing, and even happy to live with.