A million dollar home isn’t what it used to be according to an article at usatoday.com:
The surge in high-end prices has happened quickly. The Census Bureau’s 2004 American Community Survey found 1,034,386 homes worth at least $1 million in 2004, compared to 595,441 in 2002 and only 394,878 in 2000.
I know this is the case with my mom’s house in the Silicon Valley of California. Homes on our block have been selling for $1 million or more and there certainly isn’t anything spectacular about them other than being in a “good location” – mind you these are track homes that are 30 years old that happen to be in a good school district, but don’t have any views of any kind. If I’m going to buy a million dollar home, it would have to look a lot better than the one I grew up in.
This all means that I won’t be moving back to the SF Bay area when I return from Japan. My sister and her husband who live in San Francisco (they rent) at the moment are looking to move out because they can’t afford to purchase a house there.
I was talking with my dad about prices in the SF bay area and I think you’d be hard pressed to find a home with land in the Santa Clara Valley for under $500,000. I would be surprised if there are more than a few and imagine they would be major “fixer uppers” Housing prices are really quite crazy in that area.