All Your Questions Answered

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Okay kiddies, are you ready to hear what a house in San Francisco costs?

Last month, the average price of a single family home in the city of San Francisco was $997,000 That's nine HUNDRED ninety-seven THOUSAND dollars, (or just three thousand dollars less than a million).

If you're going in for a standard mortgage, you'll have to come up with a down payment of 20% ... a mere $199,400.

Your monthly payment (including taxes, insurance and interest) will be $5,800

And that adds up to $69,600 a year.

Over the course of a thirty year mortgage, you'll pay $2,287,400.

That's two MILLION, two hundred eighty-seven THOUSAND, and four hundred dollars for that average house.

(Sure you could say that the 997 K house ends up costing 2.28 million, but that hardly conveys the immense cost.)

I have joked for years that the only house I would ever be able to afford is a cardboard box on the side of the road. And I'm not even sure Robb and I could afford that in San Francisco.

Good thing we love Oakland.



Like this painting? It's from Carol Aust's Painting-A-Day Blog.

Comments

cath said…
um--THAT IS INSANE!!!
I knew that SF was insane, in the same realm of insanity as NYC--but even from the perspective of New England, where the cost of living is high, that number boggles the mind! Who are these people buying houses?
Lisa said…
I can't imagine.
Anonymous said…
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!

You have GOT to be making that up!

Good one, Lisa!

I never thought in a million years, for a million dollars that a place in earthquake-prone, mudslide-prone, burn-down-in-a-riot-prone area would EVER cost that much!

Just for the record, our place in PA cost us $131,000, and it comes with a house, barn, and a bit of land. Can't you come work for a theater place out here in Gettysburg? It's affordable, and I'll help you garden!

I thoght the prices for housing were DOWN. What does a house cost there in a GOOD economy?

By the way, I broke our tractor 2 days ago and Gary (with no mechanical training at all) fixed it. I forget sometimes that his Dad was a NASA Technician.

Tell you what, Lisa and Robb. I am still putting in gardens all over the neighborhood. Later this year I am going to rent a metal detector to go over these same people's properties. If and when I uncover that missing Civil War Gold- ($10,000 in local stolen bank gold from 1863 is a hefty sum today) I will personally BUY you a house in San Francisco. But I would not hold your breath! Now I'm off to go digging! Keep your fingers crossed, and spray them with gold paint for good luck!

Annalisa
Fluffy Cow said…
Well, whaddya know! I was closest without going over!

Do you think there is a market for my talent??

And yes... it IS insane.
Unknown said…
it's a good thing i was sitting down or i might have hurt myself. really? 2.8 million? SIGH. i will never be a home owner.
Kellyann Brown said…
....and that's just the mortgage, you haven't even broached the TAXES on that property!
Anonymous said…
How can people buy homes over there? Is the pay that much higher than over here in Florida. Holy cow!

Kaaren
Anonymous said…
I guessed a little high at $1.1M. My uncle was offered a job (promotion) in SF more than 20 years ago, and he turned it down. He said the cost to buy a comparable home at that time was about $1 million dollars. He lived in the MONO (middle of nowhere Ohio).

These costs don't even include regular maintenance costs - should budget 1% for new homes, 3-5% for older homes, and ??? if you want to tear down and "make it your own."

~speedsquare
mamakin said…
INSANITY to the max! But I now want to move to Gettysburg PA with Annalisa cuz you can't rent a garage out here on Long Island for what she paid for land AND a house. Annalisa, get ready, I'll be planting with you soon. We actually gave alot of thought of moving when the market fell since the kids are getting older and don't neeed the school district anymore. I just can't imagine the move til I'm up and running again. By then, it may be smarter to stay. Then I look at 16,000+ in taxes each year and start looking again. grrrr

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