I never thought I would say this.... (Los Angeles, Orange: middle-class, short sales)

[RedJacket]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

That's all relative to your income. I'm sure Warren Buffett finds it quite a good bargain.

If he did, he'd probably move out of his Omaha home he bought back in the 1950's.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by think first

If he did, he'd probably move out of his Omaha home he bought back in the 1950's.

He also has a house in Emerald Bay worth about $4 million. Not Newport Coast but not far.

[Mr. Fantastic]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

You seem to be associating the problems seen in inland areas with the coast. They're two different worlds and a good example of the bifurcation of our modern economy. The wealthy are doing quite well right now, thank you very much.

Oh I see. You're going to play the "I'm an imaginary rich guy who is doing well so I'm going to use my 1st hand experience to prove the rich aren't doing badly in this economic weather."

The reason that won't work is because I am actually well connected with many of the wealthy in SoCal, but more than that, I actually have real data that says, in OC, a large portion of strategic defaults occur at the $1,000,000+ range.

The rich are hurting just as much as the middle class. Granted, they are able (in most cases) to shoulder some distress more than those with less liquid assets, but that doesn't mean they're doing "quite well".

[RedJacket]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

He also has a house in Emerald Bay worth about $4 million. Not Newport Coast but not far.

He's certainly one person in California who can afford it. With wages again on the decrease, I'm pretty baffled to as how and why home prices there are relatively stable.

Making $60-$80 thousand a year and paying $400,000-$500,000 for a home makes no financial sense.

[Mr. Fantastic]

Why is Warren Buffet even in this discussion?

There are less than a dozen billionaires in OC that consider the area their home, and I know 2 of them. Of course these people can choose to live where ever they want in OC, or any other place in the country. Is this the demographic you're trying to use to gauge the economic health of coastal OC?

The fact is, I've seen raw data that shows record increases in defaults in the usually "secure" beach cities of Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, San Clemente, Dana Point and Huntington Beach. In fact, I saw 5 homes in zip code 92660 alone worth over $2,500,000 each go back to banks in less than 2 months. That's unheard of considering the type of people who live in that area.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by think first

He's certainly one person in California who can afford it. With wages again on the decrease, I'm pretty baffled to as how and why home prices there are relatively stable..

Supply and demand. There's only so much coastline and ever more folks who want to live near it.

[CalifornicateTexas]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Ya mean in CA they now charge ya ta tour a parkin' lot? Next up they'll be chargin' for an' taxin' the polluted air ya breathe -- the more the pollution the higher the tax!



But would you be earning enough there to live like that back there? Wages usually seem to ebb and flow with housing prices.

Wages in Austin and Dallas are similar (maybe very slightly less) to what you would find in Southern California (at least in the industry I work in), its the price of housing in SoCal that is out of wack, My jaw dropped at what I would be able to afford in big Texas cities. I would probably be able to afford a nice house by myself in Austin after two years of working, something I couldnt do in CA. It seems the only people buying houses in CA my age are married couples with high dual incomes or people getting help from mommy and daddy.

Yes California does have the weather etc but the weather has never made me a single dime yet.

[Mr. Fantastic]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

There's only so much coastline and ever more folks who want to live near it.

Real estate myth #129

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fantastic

Oh I see. You're going to play the "I'm an imaginary rich guy who is doing well so I'm going to use my 1st hand experience to prove the rich aren't doing badly in this economic weather.".

I'm on the East Coast where the economic weather is pretty good for the well to do. I won't argue the point with you since you're more familiar with what's going on there. I do know folks here at least are sitting on a lot of cash. Would be beneficial if more of it were circulating.

[Mr. Fantastic]

Eh, according to my MLS account, there are some historically wealthy areas on the East Coast that are doing even worse than Newport Coast.