The housing here is a joke. So your houses are worth a lot but you can’t afford to move up. My husband and I tried to move many times in 2007 but were out bid. Now the prices are higher and even though we could sell our house we could not afford to buy anything better so whats the point.
My husband was laid off in November and we are still afloat but in the event we have to sell our home we will never be able to buy a home here again. The homes in my neighborhood which are cookie cutter ranch style 1200 sq ft. built in 1954 are going for close to 800K which is a joke we bought our house for $350K in 1998 and it was joke then as well.
California is ridiculous. Texas is excellent.
If you live in the Bay Area and your husband is out of work you can sell your house and move to the Sierra foothills and buy a nicer place for 1/3 rd the $. Then put $ in the bank or buy 2 places and rent one
We live at 3000 ft elevation El Dorado County Great place to live 2 of our kids still live in Bay Area and now have someplace sane to escape on weekends.
Amador County also outstanding
Good luck
“Now the prices are higher and even though we could sell our house we could not afford to buy anything better so whats the point.”
In cases like that it is the supply and demand of the buildable space dictating prices (as in San Diego, Portland). A friend retired here in NJ, and was considering moving to San Diego. Even though he owned the NJ house free & clear (in a decent area where prices are rising), he said if he moved to San Diego he could buy a place about an hour outside of the city. As I understand it, in Portland so much of the surrounding area has been “protected” from building that it has driven up prices significantly.