Moving Back to SF? Housing Market worries. (Sacramento: real estate market, student loans)

[schizosquirrel]

My partner and I are contemplating a move back to SF. We moved from SF to a large Midwestern city about 3 years ago due to a job opportunity. While we definitely like it here (good job opportunities, decent pay, much lower cost of living and real estate/housing prices, better traffic, nice people, etc).... it doesn't quite feel like "home" even after 3 years, we're both utterly sick of the winters, and most of our friends are still back in the SF Bay Area (having settled and bought homes there). We've both been more anxious recently about the idea of moving back and not sure our current city is really our "forever" home - i.e. we're always thinking about schemes to "get back to SF".

Anyway, we are also both worried about the cost of living in the Bay Area and the booming real estate market. Especially the latter, which seems to have gotten much worse than it was even a mere 3 years ago when we left.

In SF, our combined income will be about $500,000-$600,000/year depending exactly on which jobs we end up getting, with the opportunity that they may increase a bit over the next 5-10 years depending on career trajectories. I also suppose that ou4 jobs will be more stressful than our jobs in our current city, with possible higher commute times, and hours per week worked, with roughly the same salary to slightly lower than our anticipated salaries in the Midwest. I'm in medicine, so salaries are actually much better in the Midwest than the West coast (as opposed to many other industries).

We currently don't have kids, but plan to have 1-2 kids in the next 5-10 years. We'd prefer to end up in the SF city proper...but with the median home prices sitting at 1.6 million, and the likelihood we would have to wait a few years to buy a home to save up for a down payment, we're kinda of discouraged about that possibility. We've thought about East Bay as well, though it seems the real estate market there is becoming just as competitive, and the "pull" of moving back to live in the East Bay (rather than the city proper) is somewhat less appealing, or rather "unknown?" to us.

Just wanted to gauge people's opinion about the possibility for settling down/buying a home in SF on the above income. I will preface to say that I realize we have a great income that is well above many other people living in SF. But as a current homeowner who really likes the idea of "owning a home" in SF, the current real estate market just seems overwhelming.

[clongirl]

The possibility that you'll have to bid upwards on a house is always possibility---Otherwise, not sure what you're asking exactly. Not sure if you're just trolling, frankly.

[likealady]

This can't be real. A couple with combined income of 500k and you're worried about affording a house? What have you been doing with all that money in the last 3 years? You should have a sizeable downpayment by now.

[NW4me]

consider Sacramento?

[wasel]

Originally Posted by likealady

This can't be real. A couple with combined income of 500k and you're worried about affording a house? What have you been doing with all that money in the last 3 years? You should have a sizeable downpayment by now.

They could have sizeable student loans that they've been paying down.

[ssmaster]

In the suburban Midwest $1.7 million will get you 7000 sq feet, a pool great schools with higher salaries than the $500,000 a year here. So maybe early retirement and a pied de Terre in the 6th arrondissement on the Left bank(Paris)
Or
Spend Close to $3 million here for a 2800 square foot home ,pay $25,000 a year private school. And make less money.

I would go with the second choice but it's a personal choice

[mysticaltyger]

If you're earning that kind of money, save and invest it until you're really rich. Then you can move to SF without the hassles and worries.

[JJonesIII]

If you don't think this is a troll thread, I've got a bridge to sell you.

[Vic Romano]

Originally Posted by schizosquirrel

My partner and I are contemplating a move back to SF. We moved from SF to a large Midwestern city about 3 years ago due to a job opportunity. While we definitely like it here (good job opportunities, decent pay, much lower cost of living and real estate/housing prices, better traffic, nice people, etc).... it doesn't quite feel like "home" even after 3 years, we're both utterly sick of the winters, and most of our friends are still back in the SF Bay Area (having settled and bought homes there). We've both been more anxious recently about the idea of moving back and not sure our current city is really our "forever" home - i.e. we're always thinking about schemes to "get back to SF".

Anyway, we are also both worried about the cost of living in the Bay Area and the booming real estate market. Especially the latter, which seems to have gotten much worse than it was even a mere 3 years ago when we left.

In SF, our combined income will be about $500,000-$600,000/year depending exactly on which jobs we end up getting, with the opportunity that they may increase a bit over the next 5-10 years depending on career trajectories. I also suppose that ou4 jobs will be more stressful than our jobs in our current city, with possible higher commute times, and hours per week worked, with roughly the same salary to slightly lower than our anticipated salaries in the Midwest. I'm in medicine, so salaries are actually much better in the Midwest than the West coast (as opposed to many other industries).

We currently don't have kids, but plan to have 1-2 kids in the next 5-10 years. We'd prefer to end up in the SF city proper...but with the median home prices sitting at 1.6 million, and the likelihood we would have to wait a few years to buy a home to save up for a down payment, we're kinda of discouraged about that possibility. We've thought about East Bay as well, though it seems the real estate market there is becoming just as competitive, and the "pull" of moving back to live in the East Bay (rather than the city proper) is somewhat less appealing, or rather "unknown?" to us.

Just wanted to gauge people's opinion about the possibility for settling down/buying a home in SF on the above income. I will preface to say that I realize we have a great income that is well above many other people living in SF. But as a current homeowner who really likes the idea of "owning a home" in SF, the current real estate market just seems overwhelming.

If you worry about living anywhere with that combined salary, you are poor money managers.

[ssmaster]

Originally Posted by Vic Romano

If you worry about living anywhere with that combined salary, you are poor money managers.

that is a comfortable salary in san francisco but a LOT of people make much more.
its not ferrari or bentley money
if they buy a nice noe adjacent home
https://www.sothebyshomes.com/San-Fr.../sales/0086972
$2.7 million


that's a $550,000 down payment
$12,000 a month mortgage
$25,000 a year per kid private school
retirement saving
college savings




and people living in cow hollow are buying places for $7-8 million