Cost of housing among area's top woes [Leaving San Francisco]

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 2/27/6 | Kelly Zito

[SmithL]

Survey cites it as major reason 2 of 5 residents consider leaving.

You're not the only one dreaming of ditching the Bay Area for a Midwestern college town or a coastal city in the Southeast.

Two out of five residents of the nine-county region have given serious thought to moving away -- mostly because of high housing costs, according to a survey released today by a business and public policy group.

The Bay Area Council's annual poll found that concerns about housing ranked as the region's second-most-vexing problem, behind transportation woes.

Even with some recent cooling in the local housing market, the price for a middle-of-the-road single-family home hovers around $628,000, or about triple the national average. That means many families with two income-earners are having a hard time managing.

"In some cases they're cashing out, and in some cases they just can't afford to stay," said Jim Wunderman, president of the Bay Area Council, which conducted the survey of 600 randomly selected people from Jan. 16 to 23.

Although 35 percent of respondents ranked transportation as their highest concern, 19 percent said housing was the biggest problem. Forty percent said they have considered moving out of the region, and 70 percent of those cited high housing costs as a major factor.

In 1996, as the real estate market began to recover from the early 1990s recession, only 1 percent of respondents cited housing as a big concern.

The annual survey, which takes the public's temperature on a range of issues, echoes similar findings by the Public Policy Institute of California, which in 2004 found that exorbitant home prices were forcing 31 percent of those ages 18 to 31 to ponder moving away from the region or out of...state.

[SmithL]

Cost of Housing? Yeah, that and utter disgust.

[Philistone]

Actually, cost of housing and transportation go hand in hand. I personally know several people who work in the Financial District in SF but who live outside of Sacramento because of the cost of housing.

'Course that makes for a 2 - 2 1/2 hour commute morning and evening.

I would never buy a house here.

Much of this is caused by the enviro-whackos and the "shut the door behind me" crowd (something like 1/2 of all the land in the Bay Area is untouchable). The only new construction I've seen around here is compact dual-use condo units (stores on the bottom floor, condos above).

But who wants to pay 380k for a two bedroom condo in a shopping mall?

[martin_fierro]

Property Features

    * Single Family Property
    * County: Santa Clara
    * Age: 62 year(s) old
    * 3 total bedroom(s)
    * 2 total bath(s)
    * Approximately 1151 sq. ft.
    * Single story
    * Style: Detached, Traditional
    * Kitchen
    * Laundry room
    * 1 car garage
    * Heating features: Gas
    * Interior features: Eat-in kitchen, Foyer, Laundry in garage, Range/oven, Vinyl flrs, Wall to wall carpet
    * Exterior features: Comm. extra storage, Fenced, Level lot, Patio

$689,000
3 Bed, 2 Bath
1,151 Sq. Ft.

[goldstategop]

San Francisco... beautiful and expensive. I could put up with potential neighbors's politics just for the views. Now even that has been priced out of reach.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[NaughtiusMaximus]

I'd support a government program to encourage San Franciscans to stay put. We don't want them spreading out over the rest of the country.

Maybe build some kind of "cordon sanitaire" around the place.

[Squint]

Almost $700,000 for that dump!!!! They must be smokin' the really good stuff out there in Pinkostan.

[miliantnutcase]

Hey! I'm selling my 3bdr 2 bath 1500sq. townhouse (end unit) for 190,000 in Minnesota. Alot nicer than that old shack in the article. ;)

[brushcop]

I thought that surely you were joking until I clicked on the price link. No wonder we have so many Kalifornicators moving into Texas acting like the lastest wave of J.R. Ewing Southfork "ranchers". All they are lacking are their silly quail feather hat bands.

[Onelifetogive]

You're not the only one dreaming of ditching the Bay Area for a Midwestern college town or a coastal city in the Southeast.

As a life-long resident of the Southeast, I heartily recommend a Midwestern college town for them.....

[Primetimedonna]

You're right! San Francisco is beautiful and worth fighting the weirdos! Housing pricing are bad enough, but what kills the new homeowners is the property tax....another $600.00 a month on top of the mortgage! Bad as mine are, sure glad I don't have to pay the taxes on the new purchase prices!!

[Awestruck]

It's not THAT beautiful... you want that kind of beauty without the hassle and price? Move to the central coast .. it's the only conservative coastal area in California..

[SmithL]

I dunno, I'd go back to either Knoxville or Charleston, once I hit the California lottery.

[snarkpup]

I'm leaving the state late this spring. The mortgage is paid off, so my reasons (in no particular order) are floods, earthquakes and communist hippies.

[paul51]

It's not THAT beautiful... you want that kind of beauty without the hassle and price? Move to the central coast .. it's the only conservative coastal area in California..

The central coast is nearly as expensive and is a socialist, liberal enclave. It is more beautiful and less congested

[jiggyboy]

I'll see your 1151 SF for $689K and raise you to "approximately 1000 SF" for...One Point Three Million Dollars.

http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1050631387

Your neighbors across the street, by the way? A trailer court. Oh, and you're just a quarter-mile from the 24-hour sirens of police chasing drag racers down El Camino Real.

[Desron13]

****$689,000****

NO WAY! REALLY! What kind of imbecile would spend that kind of money on this teeny little place when you could buy a veritable palace elsewhere! Just goes to show the average intelligence of the people living there now.

[martin_fierro]

That one may be the one that I used to refer to on threads like this (illustrating obscene Bay Area real estate prices).

If it is the same one, it used to list for something like $800K.

Looked for it on Remax, but couldn't find it.

[VeniVidiVici]

My company is HQd in the Bay Area. I probably make a 1/3 less than my counterparts who live there.

But I more than make up for it in quality of life :-)

I even hate going there the twice a year that I have to.