Median price of $489,000. That means a family has to make close to $125,000 a year (if I did my math correctly) to be able to realistically afford that house. How many families in California make that much?
BTW, what's property tax in California? Does prop 13 protect homeowners from ever rising property tax?
prop 13 protects those who don't move. If you stay the assessment doesn't increase. If you move it's based upon value of home you purchased. There is a one time exemption for seniors who move to an equal value or les property.
What that means is that "old timers" and kids who inherit California property can afford that real estate but first time home buyer "outsiders" cannot.
I bought a 3 bedroom San Diego house in a nice neighborhood during residency in the early 1980's for $117,000. (That was considered pricey back then.) That is now our rental property. My in-laws bought their 4 bedroom house on 10 acres in Central California 15 years before for much less.
If the "death tax" goes away and stays away, that means that my kids and everyone else in the same "old real estate" boat will be trading multi-million dollar California properties just like the kid in the old joke that traded his million dollar puppy for two half million dollar cats.
Everyone else will be SOL.
What it will probably mean is that more and more families will be paying the $1400/month rent for houses such as our rental property because they can't afford to buy.
Such price levels are financed by new home-buyers being in debt up to their eyeballs.
What negative social consequences that will bring, only time will tell.
BTW, what's property tax in California? Does prop 13 protect homeowners from ever rising property tax?
Prop 13 protects me. Back in the 1980's, I thought it was terribly unfair since my next door neighbor paid half the property taxes that I did. Now that I pay 1/4 of the taxes that the average new San Diego property owner pays, I think Prop 13 is the greatest thing since sex. :-)