by Emilie Goldman | Jul 5, 2019 | Buying a Home
As Bay Area housing prices continue to rise, many residents—the ones who aren’t planning their escape to Arizona, Oregon, Washington or Texas—are opting not to jump into fray.
Instead of squirreling away their dollars in hopes of being able to amass a six-figure down payment, they’re embracing the freedom and better cash flow that comes with renting instead of buying.
For many people, this approach makes sense emotionally and financially. The median price of a Bay Area home is $830,000 – more than three and a half times the median sale price of $232,700 for homes in the U.S. Anyone who’s visited an open house on the Peninsula, in San Francisco, the East Bay or San Jose knows that homes sell quickly and often above the asking price. (more…)
by Emilie Goldman | Apr 27, 2018 | Buying a Home
In most parts of the country, buying a home is a rite of passage for a young or newly married couple or someone who has settled into a career.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that at the end of last year, 64.2 percent of Americans were homeowners, but that percentage varies dramatically by age. Of people age 65 and older, 79.2 percent owned homes, but among those under 35, slightly more than one in three—36 percent—were homeowners.
If you live in the Bay Area, you might be chuckling at those statistics. Housing prices in this region are stratospheric and steadily increasing. Between the fall of 2016 and the fall of 2017, the median price for a single-family Bay Area home jumped 15 percent, to $825,000, a new high, according to CoreLogic. The dream of home ownership remains out of reach for many people, even when couples are each making six-figure incomes. (more…)
by Emilie Goldman | May 31, 2013 | Buying a Home
by Lois A. Vitt, Ph.D.
Few events test relationships and decision-making skills more dramatically than the search for your dream home. In deciding to buy or sell, move or stay, downsize or expand, most Americans do not realize how complex this decision-making process really is.
However, a successful and fulfilling housing result is more likely when you consider your housing psychology—that intersection where the role of “place” in your life, human interaction, and finance all come together.
A housing decision is the watershed of everything in your life: the physical aspects of where and how you live; your livelihood; your physical, emotional, and financial well-being; your safety and security; your intimate and social relationships; your sense of community; and your greatest pleasures and your deepest pain. (more…)
