One million dollar tear-downs. Bidding wars. House hunts that last for years. Life in the Bay Area real estate market has long been harsh for buyers.
That's why it may not surprise you to learn that RealtyHop's Housing Affordability Index shows four Bay Area cities placing in the top 20 in the country for worst affordability. RealtyHop analyzed factors such as the median household income, the median home listing prices, local property taxes and mortgage expenses in the 100 most populous cities.
In a dubious honor for the Bay Area, San Francisco ranked at No. 4, Oakland takes No. 6, San Jose comes it at No. 15 and Fremont placed at No. 20. Consider the region a hub for the housing crisis.
San Francisco lives up to its reputation as one of the most expensive cities in the country. Only beaten out by Los Angeles, New York and Miami, the City by the Bay stinks at home affordability. Despite its impressive tech salaries (median income $96,265), San Francisco qualifies as one of the least affordable cities in the nation.
In fact, given San Francisco's jaw-dropping median sales price of $1.4 million, a household would need to spend about 80% of its annual income to afford a home in the city, given mortgage and tax rates. That's as steep as Nob Hill.
Across the bay, Oakland came out a little brighter. With a $63,251 median income and a $699,000 median home price, a household has to shell out 63.7% of its income to afford a home.
San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley, performed even better in this ranking. Buoyed by a robust tech sector, there's enough folks with high incomes (median is $96,662) in the South Bay that more can afford to buy a home here, with a median cost of $875,000. That means a household must cough up 51.4% of its income.
Fremont, known for Mission Peak and its vibrant Indian community, comes in at 20th place. The suburb's median income is $122,191 and the median home price is $975,000. That means a household needs to fork over 44.7% of its income to pay the mortgage.
