Menlo Park home prices WOW

[easybay]

Speaking of a 600k-1 mil house yes, with good incomes (circa 200k-300k)

I don't think there are many homes in Menlo Park in this price range. I have a friend who lives there, and their home is 2+ million with the added bonus of $30,000 in taxes. I don't know their exact incomes but can assume each are making the 250-300k - so household income of about 500k. No kids either - so yup, they are comfortable.

[jbunniii]

Originally Posted by ccm123

Many folks traded up, or used Silicon Valley stock options to afford the down payment, or paid in cash for their homes.

Or, like the "average Joe tech worker" co-workers I know who live there, they bought a couple of decades ago when it wasn't quite so out of reach for mere mortals.

[ccm123]

Good point!

Originally Posted by jbunniii

Or, like the "average Joe tech worker" co-workers I know who live there, they bought a couple of decades ago when it wasn't quite so out of reach for mere mortals.

[checkup]

Originally Posted by StandingRoomOnly

Speaking of a 600k-1 mil house yes, with good incomes (circa 200k-300k) and some thriftiness you can absolutely save for a downpayment in a few years. Stocks are a faster means of reaching your goal without having to pinch pennies (for those who know where to invest their money, other than sticking it in the bank). And at the 2 mil house level, those buying most definitely have used stocks as a means of paying a down payment or all cash.

600k-1M, are you trying to buy a 2 bd condo in Menlo Park?

Did a craigslist search today. First off, there's almost no available inventory. Second, among the dozen or so houses that were listed, a 2500 sq ft, 4bd house is about 2-2.5M now. 1.5M is a starter home (i.e., 1500 sq ft).

At this point, the only ppl buying houses in Menlo are principals at VC funds, big law/consulting firm partners, doctors, directors and c-level execs at big tech companies, successful startup founders, or the top 5% of engineers at big tech companies...preferably families with two earners with these types of incomes

[StandingRoomOnly]

You didn't understand my post, I was commenting regarding a poster who said it was easy to save for a downpayment "the old fashioned way" in a few years time with two people making good incomes--without the use of stocks. I was not referring to menlo park or any particular city.

[EdJS]

Originally Posted by StandingRoomOnly

I once asked a saratoga realtor how people in this area afford houses (Saratoga, Los gatos, Los altos, etc...) and she said most use/cash out stock. So those "rich" people living in the 2-4 million dollar house likely have a lot of money in stocks

I believe it. I don't live in such an expensive area, but still in the Bay Area. About five years ago the company I was working for was acquired by another company. As a result I was forced to sell all of my accumulated stock options, and I had been working there for many years. As it turned out, the proceeds were more than enough for me to completely pay off my mortgage.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by checkup

600k-1M, are you trying to buy a 2 bd condo in Menlo Park?

Did a craigslist search today. First off, there's almost no available inventory. Second, among the dozen or so houses that were listed, a 2500 sq ft, 4bd house is about 2-2.5M now. 1.5M is a starter home (i.e., 1500 sq ft).

At this point, the only ppl buying houses in Menlo are principals at VC funds, big law/consulting firm partners, doctors, directors and c-level execs at big tech companies, successful startup founders, or the top 5% of engineers at big tech companies...preferably families with two earners with these types of incomes

Craigslist isn't good for real estate searches in the BA, use Redfin to see everything on the MLS.

If you do a real estate search for Menlo Park, the cheapest ones you'll see are typically east of 101, which is incorporated MP but is borderline ghetto and kind of its own city. Next is North Fair Oaks, which is unincorporated and uses Redwood City schools. Anything else is considered "real" Menlo Park; out of that, the affordable area tends to be The Willows, where you can get quite a nice house for $1 million and the schools are still quite good. The only catch is you might be next door to "west" East Palo Alto.

If you want to go west of Middlefield, add $1 million for each major road you cross on the way to 280.