San Diego bubble 2.0 for 2016 (Berkeley: apartment, renters, car insurance)

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

If you insist on selling, fine, but no longer working may land you in a pinch unless you have some other income streams. Remember the higher price associated with RE taxes in Texas and the need for more AC/heat.


If you decide to move, let me throw my recommendation out for North Carolina from that list. It is a pretty state with a neat coastline. You could bank some cash, but temptation might set in and you might end up spending it. If you have discipline, ok. In any case, 350K will buy a nice home in NC. I still recommend working (or starting a business), however, if for no other reason, man must work lest he be become restless.

Oh, I hear ya brother. I'd work just to keep busy. What I'd like to be able to do is work in something I'd enjoy vs something that just makes good money. I'm a trust fund baby, have both a pension and 401K on top of what the Mrs. has bankrolled so that won't be an issue God willing.

[ndindy]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

You do realize people were saying the same things up until 2007?

I kept hearing today's high price will be seen as a bargain later.

People that want to own need to run the numbers to see if they still feel the same when faced with costs and location options.

ANYONE that says prices only go up is Dead Wrong... Real Estate has always been cyclical... boom and busts... the only difference is how wide the swing and how long the duration.

Already seeing more inventory all around California... my guess is enough people have come to the conclusion to get while the gettin is good...

Why have prices reached their peak?

Credit is tighter than 10 years ago.

It's cheaper to rent the same house than buy it, in many cases.

Incomes have decreased overall while housing prices have increased.

Yes, some lucky people will be able to sell their homes to Asian buyers who want to park their money here, or to someone who hit it big with a tech company and has money to spend, but overall, most of these prices are unsustainable. People will either lower the prices or not see their home sell.

[sdlife619]

I am actually surprised that CA, and San Diego residents aren't moving out of the state in droves yet. I know so many people that are young, and some going on into middle age, that still live with their parents, multiple people, or even their grandparents because they either can't afford to rent their own place, or because they have kids and they cannot simply afford to pay for an apartment on top of caring for their children, including the combination of other expenses that make it impossible.

These people work full time too, some making $15 an hour and up, and they still struggle immensely.

Many of us don't think about the unexpected, it's like what happens if your car breaks down, or needs brakes, and other maintenance items? As much as people here travel to work and back home, those grueling times in traffic and long commutes puts a huge strain and wear and tear on your vehicle. Eventually the miles rack up, and will take it's toll, and repairs will be imminent. But nobody saves for times like that, nobody ever saves for medical emergencies, nobody ever saves or plans for the unexpected, so when something drastically bad happens, they are constantly charging everything because their job that they work for doesn't pay enough to cover those extra things which we all will have to endure at some point in time.


This is all part of the COL factor besides for rent and a mortgage that nobody ever fully considers, which includes utilities, car insurance, car maintenance, monthly fuel cost, cell phone bill, cable TV, food cost, other bills, which can easily add hundreds of dollars or more each month to someone's expenses. If you have a family, it's even worse.

Therefore these people are always in debt and can never get out of it.

They can forget about ever purchasing a home here.

So the people that are able to afford these ultra expensive homes, are not making under $20 an hour, they are making upwards of $30 or more an hour, and those types of jobs are in construction, or professional lines of work. Anything less than that, you are renting, or owning a condo, not a house.

It's one thing to live comfortably whereas you earn enough extra income to splurge and do things you like without fuss, and then there's another way of living where you are always struggling to pay bills and basically Work to Live and your life is hard and stressful. Because you can never go out, and spend money on something as simple as going out to the movies, or buying that new bed you always wanted because everything that you are paying for, are basic necessities to live, not on extra luxuries.

From what I see, the majority of San Diegans Work to Live and are literally hanging on by a thread of a needle financially. One huge setback from a job or a major car breakdown, and it can be all over for some folks.

It's much easier if 2 people are working (pretty much required now days to live in SD) and are a couple vs someone who is single. I see couples doing well enough to make it by, but the single guys I know have it tough financially.

[Lockdev]

Originally Posted by sdlife619

I am actually surprised that CA, and San Diego residents aren't moving out of the state in droves yet.

It's starting.

I had a colleague already move out of CA due to his ever-increasing rent, plus the extra burden of more expensive health insurance and tax rates. Almost all of my friends talk about leaving. It's getting to the point where some are seriously considering the move.

I'm moving out myself after the lease is up.

Personally, I'm tired of handing over nearly 80% of my paycheck for necessities.

I lived like a king in Michigan on less than half the salary. Also getting quite sick of the liberal mindset. Liberals made sense back in the 90s. Hell, I used to be one. Now, who knows where their heads are at, and they are at the helm. So, time to eject.

[sdlife619]

Originally Posted by Lockdev

It's starting.

I had a colleague already move out of CA due to his ever-increasing rent, plus the extra burden of more expensive health insurance and tax rates.

I'm moving out myself after the lease is up.

I feel you, I've been fed up with the yearly increases in everything here as well. I don't plan on spending much more time in SD, It's been tough though since all my family is in CA, including my parents that are getting older and need help, so I have been battling that decision on either staying or going for a few years now.

Kinda of ironic knowing how hard it is for people to live here, yet I see tons of people driving brand new cars locally, mainly luxury cars that cost $50,000 on up, people out and about shopping at the malls walking around with bags of whatever in each hand. It's like life seems good for certain people, or it might be facade, while it's insanely difficult for others.

More and more people continue to move here from elsewhere however, that have money. Most people I come into contact with in SD aren't natives. Even the ones that have lived in the area for a very long time are all originally from somewhere else. I believe because the natives have all been pushed out and or have had enough with unaffordability of SD. The smart ones have cashed out and left already and are living fat n happy someplace nice in another state.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by sdlife619

I feel you, I've been fed up with the yearly increases in everything here as well. I don't plan on spending much more time in SD, It's been tough though since all my family is in CA, including my parents that are getting older and need help, so I have been battling that decision on either staying or going for a few years now.

Kinda of ironic knowing how hard it is for people to live here, yet I see tons of people driving brand new cars locally, mainly luxury cars that cost $50,000 on up, people out and about shopping at the malls walking around with bags of whatever in each hand. It's like life seems good for certain people, or it might be facade, while it's insanely difficult for others.

More and more people continue to move here from elsewhere however, that have money. Most people I come into contact with in SD aren't natives. Even the ones that have lived in the area for a very long time are all originally from somewhere else. I believe because the natives have all been pushed out and or have had enough with unaffordability of SD. The smart ones have cashed out and left already and are living fat n happy someplace nice in another state.

Most of those cars are leases and the people rent. It's part of the S Cal image people seem to think they need when they move here.

[TristramShandy]

Originally Posted by sdlife619

The smart ones have cashed out and left already and are living fat n happy someplace nice in another state.

If I had a dollar for every poster on this site who lived in San Diego, moved somewhere else, and is now bemoaning leaving San Diego, I'd be able to live fat and happy right here.

[Ultrarunner]

Being a renter here could very well mean renting elsewhere...

Texas is where several of my coworkers settled... they are renting... albeit homes and not apartments as they were in California. They also took significant pay cuts but say it was a good move because of what they can afford to rent.

Everyone has said if money was no object... they would still be here amongst those that still rent.

For property owners with equity to take with them it is different... they have settled in and have no plans to ever return...

One hard working ex military was working for UPS and was able to buy a 1940's 900 square foot home in California... he had seen a lot of the world and was not pleased with where he was... sold everything and bought 180 acres outside Tyler... now his parents and most siblings have moved to Texas...

Say what you will, but making the sacrifice to own a small California home made it possible to cash out and live the dream in Texas... married, horses, contractor's license with all the work he can handle...

[mixxalot]

For me, renting makes better sense right now. I will wait for the bubble to pop. Then buy at better price. If the prices don't drop then I can always buy a place for less money outside of San Diego and just keep a sailboat and visit.

[metoque]

This whole environment of Chinese buying up property here is so reminiscent of the late 80s / early 90s when everyone though Japan was going to own the US. Sure enough, Japan entered a massive, multi-decade recession, and property values here plummeted and didn't return for like 7-8 years. I wonder if the same exact thing is going to happen in the near future.