I see at least one Financial Samurai fan. Out of all personal finance bloggers, he’s the only one I read semi-regularly. I like that he’s in the big league himself, aka our beloved Bay Area. Sorry for being snobbish, but penny-pinching in some flyover states is not my style of personal finance success.
There is another gem in the article, and that’s FS’ theory we are past the peak in this RE cycle, and we will see a 10-15% correction in the next year or two. So he’s planning to buy in 2017/8. We have a few folks here said a correction is due in 2017, most notably @elt1. But so far I have not seen anyone bet on a recovery date. If true that’s a very short dip.
I agree. Bought my first house at 22…But 40 years later I am still buying…Buying is a lot more fun than selling…Never sell is the mantra…But life circumstances make that difficult. .Real estate is not stocks and bonds…So if you think a downturn is coming wait to buy…But don’t sell unless you have to with the 3 Ds…death, divorce, dislocation
2017 is the predicted end of the up cycle. …The high end has peaked. .the exburbs are still going up…the bull cycle is tired…But external factors may be the key…A Trump election, Brexit, China loan defaults, earthquakes, terror attacks, global economic collapse all can affect local real estate values…As far as lower prices, it will vary across the board…no way to predict how much or how long…Best case 10% and 1 year…Worst case like 2008…but that was a once in a lifetime event and the BA has recovered nicely…The key is to live below your means and make sure your job is secure…
Watch the unemployment rate in your county…still looks bullish .But can’t possibly go much lower…
The unemployment rate was 2.9 percent in San Francisco County and 2.6 percent in San Mateo County. Between April 2016 and May 2016, the total number of jobs in the San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco MD, which includes the counties of San Francisco and San Mateo, increased by 4,700 jobs to total 1,080,800.
Agreed, bought shortly after getting a job after undergrad and paying off any remaining student loans. If you don’t like how Uncle Sam takes that huge chunk from your paychecks, then you have to do something about it. One way, is to buy real estate. Start small or fixer if you have to. Sweat equity. It is hard work but a PROVEN way to wealth accumulation (especially around here). And quite frankly, you need every advantage you can get if you want to survive in these parts.