California Cities do very well in Salary Survey (Los Angeles, San Diego: condo, brokers)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by dweej

What about a list of the Top 10 cities with best Income/Cost of Living ratio? Now that would be something to read....

A lot of times those places aren't in the headlines.
For example,

Huntsville:

Wealthiest city in the State
2005 #2 most affordable metro in the US by pay and cost of living standards
2006 #1 most affordable metro in the US by pay and cost of living standards
2006 top 10 metro Green Friendly city due to acres of parks and miles of nature / biking trails
FORBES Magazine 2005: Huntsville 6th best Metro in the US for Business
Cummings Research Park in Huntsville: 2nd largest research park in the US, 4th largest in the world


bizjournals: Home Prices - Home Affordability Rankings for Top 50 Markets (http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/160.html - broken link)

[cabolissa]

I agree with Escape that although the home prices are falling, they're still unrealistically inflated. People in CA just don't understand that in most other states of the US the norm is to purchase a home that is 2-3 times more than your annual income (ie, a salary of 100K/year buys a home that's 200-300K). This makes the standard of life much higher, families less stressed, people can afford to travel, or imagine, pay OFF their homes!!! I know because when I lived in Cozumel and Cabo, most of the tourists were from Texas, or Midwestern states where people can afford to travel. See the comparison below of OC to Douglas County, CO which is one of the communities I'm considering when I move to the Denver area in 2009:

ORANGE COUNTY -
Population density: 3797 people per square mile (very high).

2008 cost of living index in Orange County: 141.1 (very high, U.S. average is 100)


Races in Orange County, California:

• White Non-Hispanic (51.3%)
• Hispanic (30.8%)
• Other race (14.8%)
• Vietnamese (4.8%)
• Two or more races (4.1%)
• Chinese (2.1%)
• Korean (2.0%)
• Filipino (1.7%)
• Black (1.7%)
• American Indian (1.3%)
• Japanese (1.1%)
• Other Asian (1.0%)
• Asian Indian (1.0%)

Estimated median household income in 2007: $73,263 ($58,820 in 1999)

This county: $73,263 California: $59,948

Median contract rent in 2007 for apartments: $1,293 (lower quartile is $1,018, upper quartile is $1,689)

This county: $1,293 State: $984

Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $670,600 (it was $253,000 in 2000)
Orange County: $670,600 California: $532,300
Lower value quartile - upper value quartile: $505,800 - $898,800



DOUGLAS COUNTY, CO -
Population density: 324 people per square mile (high)
2008 cost of living index in Douglas County: 98.0 (near average, U.S. average is 100)


Races in Douglas County, Colorado:

• White Non-Hispanic (89.7%)
• Hispanic (5.1%)
• Two or more races (1.9%)
• Other race (1.4%)
• Black (1.0%)
• American Indian (0.8%)
• Chinese (0.6%)

Estimated median household income in 2007: $92,823 ($82,929 in 1999)

This county: $92,823 Colorado: $55,212

Median contract rent in 2007 for apartments: $941 (lower quartile is $756, upper quartile is $1,186)

This county: $941 State: $693

Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $337,700 (it was $237,600 in 2000)
Douglas County: $337,700 Colorado: $233,900
Lower value quartile - upper value quartile: $247,200 - $468,000

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Whether they are in line with incomes or not, the fact is, home sales have skyrocketed in every region of CA due to prices falling drastically.

Sales have only skyrocketed when compared to sales in 2007. When you are at the bottom, there is nowhere to go but up. We are still a ways of from hisortical averages. Once prices hit the equilibrium, sales will get back to normal levels. We're obviously there not yet.

Also, I have to mention that sales aren't up everywhere. Homes in very expensive neighborhoods everywhere in the state are still not selling. I live in Santa Monica and have seen the reports, sellers are still trying to get 2006 prices for 1br condos.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

Sales have only skyrocketed when compared to sales in 2007. When you are at the bottom, there is nowhere to go but up. We are still a ways of from hisortical averages. Once prices hit the equilibrium, sales will get back to normal levels. We're obviously there not yet.

Also, I have to mention that sales aren't up everywhere. Homes in very expensive neighborhoods everywhere in the state are still not selling. I live in Santa Monica and have seen the reports, sellers are still trying to get 2006 prices for 1br condos.

Exactly. Sales volume is lagging in the higher end markets because those buyers have had the means to hold on to their property longer in a declining market than the people who bought in Riverside with no money down 3 years ago. There's a lot of evidence that the subprime bubble that burst last year was just the first wave in a tsunami of mortgages going belly up. Throw the current economic and credit problems on top of it and the nicer locations are only going to be able to hold on to their fantasy listing prices for so long before they too get motivated enough to find a price that will sell.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

Homes in very expensive neighborhoods everywhere in the state are still not selling.

Most people are not looking for homes in the most expensive neighborhoods.

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Most people are not looking for homes in the most expensive neighborhoods.

most people are never looking for homes in the most expensive neighborhoods. my point was that the amount of time these homes are spending on the market is still way above historical averages.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

most people are never looking for homes in the most expensive neighborhoods. my point was that the amount of time these homes are spending on the market is still way above historical averages.

true.

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by dweej

What about a list of the Top 10 cities with best Income/Cost of Living ratio? Now that would be something to read....

There are some of those out there.

salary.com does an annual list of cities over 250,000 population that they call the Salary Value Index, a income/cost of living ratio.
Salary.com's 2008 Salary Value Index - Full List

city-data.com has a list of the cities with the lowest home value to income, basically a most affordable ranking
http://www.city-data.com/top5.html

and cities with the highest home value to income ratio, basically a least affordable
http://www.city-data.com/top4.html

[f_m]

This is useful info, but affordability is more relevant. I know someone living in Kansas and has no issue with a stay at home mom with 3 kids in a big enough house. Trying that in CA would be very hard even with higher salary.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by f_m

This is useful info, but affordability is more relevant. I know someone living in Kansas and has no issue with a stay at home mom with 3 kids in a big enough house. Trying that in CA would be very hard even with higher salary.

I did it. One of the biggest accomplishments of my life is raising four kids while allowing my wife to stay home. I did it in Thousand Oaks too. But, (and this is a big "but"), I did it in 1997-2006 when housing prices were a lot lower. No way could I do it a year ago. It would be really tough now. But it might be possible again in a year or two.