How do people actually afford buying homes in the bay? 270k HHI with no kids or debt living in east bay and it seems like there’s no hope for buying unless I want to move to the burbs.
Yes I realize that is “low” compared to what a lot of people here bring in.

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I live in the East bay, It’s really either the burbs, an ungodly commute, or a super old overpriced house that was recently painted but needs a bunch of work. pick your poison.

likesmart

They make more money. (Yes, that means most people are priced out)

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Buy early and keep upgrading…

A number of “options” in descending order of likelihood:
- earn ungodly amounts of money, preferably as a DINK;
- inherit the property outright or have family money;
- have access to a mortgage program with a lower interest rate (offered by some employers)
- get really, really, really lucky.

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This is what I’ve seen as well, particularly double FAANG incomes or successful startup exits. The equity/RSUs add up. Anyone else I know who has bought with less money is buying in suburban areas of East Bay.

People in tech make stupid amounts of money (because they’re lucky), and are financially unsophisticated, so they pay whatever asking price is for housing and don’t think about whether it makes sense vs renting. This bids up prices to something that’s unreasonable relative to the potential rental cash flows. Rent, don’t buy — it’s the single most important financial decision in your life.

smart

One way to do it is to save up more for down payment. I put down 40% so I could make my monthly payment more manageable (I suffer from lifestyle creep and did not want to impact my lifestyle).

smart

Also wondering this! I can’t afford and we make good money. I don’t feel like commuting over an hour.

Owning a home nowadays is a luxury for the rich. So get rich first, THEN buy a home. If you just don’t like apartments, then maybe look into renting a home since it makes more financial sense to rent as opposed to buying

Tech employees can easily make at least 270k / person. Cashing out $1M of RSUs after 5-7 years of employment is common.

Also, a lot of my friends have families overseas (India, China) who help with the down payment (50% ish).

Well of course we aren’t talking about the median Indian or Chinese family. The % who come are by definition among the elite who can afford the move

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Tech RSUs, Family help, a partner, partner's family.

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