Californians - What $/sq ft would make you want to go back? (Austin: real estate market, new home)

[tashina]

Hard to fit a lot into the title but this post is for all people from more expensive markets who moved to Texas because of housing prices.

I see the prices starting to come down on the coasts. Wasn't planning on going back, but with my husband's company headquartered in California, it would be an easy move. I'm in Austin and like it here just fine but miss Japanese bookstores, craft galleries, palm trees and the ocean.

I paid about $100/sq ft in Temecula in 2002 and about $100/sq ft in Austin in 2006. I might think about buying back in California if prices in reasonable but not expensive areas like Temecula or Pleasanton fell back to $100-$120 sq ft.

Is there a price point at which you'd buy back into the state you came from or are you a Texan for good?

And just for fun, if you're from Texas or less expensive markets, would you buy in San Diego or San Francisco if prices came down enough - and what's your price?

[Roma]

Good question!

Yes, We are going back to CA. We want the prices to go lower but that will not stop us if they don't. We plan to move back in a year or so.

I wish prices were what they were say in 2001. Wouldn't that be great!!! WooooHoooo!!!! I can dream can't I.

[texasdreamin]

Know the song "Gone Country" where the guy says, "Heah she comes"? That's me. Can't wait to get there. Leaving Cali in the dust.

[graffixjones]

I agree with texasdreamin... although I'm taking baby steps toward the move rather than jumping in head-first.

My wife and I are going to fly out for a brief visit in July just to make sure that Texas is a good fit, but from what we've seen so far, there's not much keeping us from making the move.

As far as the question goes... I'd say that in order for me to stay in California, housing prices would have to drop to $75 sq.ft. within a mile of the coast. And we all know that ain't ever gonna happen.

Also, the current soft real estate market is simply a result of the slight increase in interest rates. As soon as the rates drop again, say goodbye to any chance of affordable housing. I also don't like the fact that new homebuyers are saddled with the majority of the property tax burden, just so that folks who bought their homes in the early 80's can get by on the cheap.

Plus the educational system has gone completely down the toilet... we used to be the model for the rest of the U.S., and now we're rated among the lowest... all thanks to Prop 13.

So... to get me to stay, California would have to resemble Texas. But it's a heckuva lot quicker to just move to Texas than it is to wait for hell to freeze over.

[Trainwreck20]

Just curious what the prices are in CA. You are talking about $100-120/sqft, but that is what we would sell our current home for (if we were selling) in SW Austin. It is appraised at ~$111 and we would expect to get ~$120. Just over a year about, I sold my old house in NW Austin (1977 construction, only partly updated) for $110/sq ft. Neither of these are downtown, although both are in the city limits and are downtown 'accessible'.

Given all that, I was under the impression that houses were way more per sq. ft....what am I missing here?

Also, as far as moving to CA...I have nothing against CA, but I have a good job, like the weather here, have a network of friends, family within 100 miles, and good schools for my kid. I don't know that I can be 'drawn' to CA, but if, for some reason, I was 'forced' out of Austin (lost jobs, etc.), then I would have to evaluate not just the cost of housing, but also job availability, schools, etc. I have to say I don't necessarily have a preference for CA over any other place. I really don't mind weather extremes that much, so MN and CO, and various places in New England kind of interest me as much as CA.

[BearBranch]

Houses typically are between 200-500 per sf

[tashina]

Well, I bought my house north of Temecula as I said for right about $100/ sq ft in 2002 (near the beginning of the big run-up). Sold in 2004. Temecula (in comparison to San Diego) is a cheap bedroom community inland area where people generally only live because they have kids and want a big house. It's a nice place though and within an hour of San Diego and Palm Springs and 1.5 hours of Orange County making it ideal for a work-at-home person like I was. Comparable houses with the same floor plan, same lot size, same community, are currently listed (none are selling) for about $182/ sq ft. This is for a 2700 sq ft place.

Sold my father's 1300 sq ft house in central San Diego for $270/ sq ft in 2002. Same house has been on the market for the last few months starting at $450/ sq ft and now priced down to $375/ sq ft.

I consider $100/ sq ft pretty reasonable for a newer 2500 sq ft house in a nice area of Austin or Temecula. I would consider buying back into the Temecula market at that price and maybe up to $150/sq ft in northern San Diego. Prices are still about double what I am interested in. I don't need to move so am just watching with interest.

[achtungpv]

I'm a 7th generation Texan and would be in CA in a heartbeat when prices become reasonable. I'd love to live on the Central Coast, but since we're too young to retire and need jobs we'd probably move to SF since my wife is from the Bay Area.

[graffixjones]

Originally Posted by achtungpv

I'm a 7th generation Texan and would be in CA in a heartbeat when prices become reasonable. I'd love to live on the Central Coast, but since we're too young to retire and need jobs we'd probably move to SF since my wife is from the Bay Area.

I hate to say it, but the words "reasonable" and "prices" probably won't ever be in the same sentence in the Bay Area. There's simply too much "new money" due to the tech sector in the Silicon Valley, and more keeps coming in all the time.

For instance, my grandparents bought a property in the area of Los Altos Hills, which borders Cupertino, Mountain View and Palo Alto, back in the early 70's. They paid around $48,000 if I remember correctly, which was actually rather high in that day. The house they were living in had deteriorated in the past few years due to neglect, since they had gotten too old to properly care for it, plus it still had some structural damage from the 1989 earthquake, so essentially it was a "scraper".

The house sat on one acre of land, which is the minimum lot size due to zoning restrictions, which was sold last year for $2.25m, and this was in the 'soft' real estate market we're currently in. Their new neighbors were Silicon Valley CEO's and entrepreneurs. One had just finished building a $6m home, and the other was in the process of a $4m renovation to their existing $3m home... and this is about 45 miles outside of SF.

It doesn't get any better in the city.

[seahawksweetie]

I'm with texasdreamin', nothing could make me stay here in San Diego. Somehow I don't think the climate would ever change enough so that I could experience rain/thunderstorms here in San Diego on a regular basis and I hate palm trees.

CA is just not for me. I miss being back in the central/south of the US