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How Long Will You Need to Save to Buy a Home In Your City?

theatlanticcities.com

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Re: How Long Will You Need to Save to Buy a Home In Your City?

#11

Post by ashray »

arocks wrote: post #8

In Indian cities (especially metros), housing prices have risen beyond the reach of the average wage earner. Despite several projects still languishing unsold, the prices have been artificially kept high by greedy builders. This puts tremendous pressure on single income families even if they earn well above median salary.

I think Indian cities are suffering from a serious real estate bubble. The value that you get out of a property is really questionable. I'm just talking about services (electricity/water/sewage), road networks, air quality, water quality, public transport, surrounding neighborhoods, etc. Not to mention build quality, finish quality, and other factors. A nice property in New Delhi can cost close to $1M USD. That's say a 3 bedroom apartment in an upscale area. Land, of-course costs a phenomenal amount more. Mumbai prices are even higher.

At that kind of rate, I'd rather put my money elsewhere (you can buy great property pretty much anywhere on the planet for those prices..), especially somewhere that can offer a better quality of life.

.. waiting for it to pop .. if it ever will sigh

Re: How Long Will You Need to Save to Buy a Home In Your City?

#12

Post by colmvp »

wherewhenwhy wrote: post #10
colmvp wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well on the plus side, with the Bay Area, there's plenty of other relatively affordable areas to purchase if one has a car.

Or rides BART. Of course, you then have to live near BART (or drive to BART) and then contend with the ZOMG GERMS!!1Eleven!

Well that and the fact that BART doesn't run 24/7 like New York's MTA. I have despised situations where I had to sprint to the BART station near closing time, lest I spend a ridiculous amount for a cab.

Re: How Long Will You Need to Save to Buy a Home In Your City?

#13

Post by ethank »

Los Angeles. You buy a house and its a trade off between commute and cost per square foot. I HATE LIVING HERE. Often.

I spend 90 minutes in a car every day, and while I love my house, my commute, gas cost, lack of public transportation, etc sucks. It also forces everyone to be so insular. No one socializes outside of work because we have to drive forever to get home.

I had a glorious three years where I lived .75 miles from work and it made the town better.

Re: How Long Will You Need to Save to Buy a Home In Your City?

#14

Post by nl »

se85 wrote: post #3

I live in Sydney Australia, so to me these prices look fairly reasonable in comparison. To give some of you non-aussies an example... The average price for 2 bedroom victorian era terraces (hundred year old plus buildings) with next to no real land except the land the property sits on in sydney can be anywhere from 800k (AU) to millions of dollars. Our interest rates are also higher then US.

According to [1], apartments in the Sydney City Center are $11K/sq m. If my math is correct, that is around $1000/sq ft.

Outside the city center the prices are roughly half that (so a little more that San Francisco). According to the same data source, average weekly pay is around $1064.

[1] http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country...

Re: How Long Will You Need to Save to Buy a Home In Your City?

#16

Post by rayiner »

Surveys like these always highlight how Chicago is underrated:

New York: $275 Los Angles: $236 Chicago: $112 San Francisco: $459 Washington, DC: $164

Housing here is comparable to places like Richmond or Raleigh, except it's got the public infrastructure of a world-class city with 10 million people. Even if you live in the suburbs, you can take the extensive commuter rail system straight to downtown.

Re: How Long Will You Need to Save to Buy a Home In Your City?

#18

Post by throwaway543 »

chao- wrote: post #7

Speaking from a team bootstrapping our company out of Houston, we wouldn't have stood a chance anywhere else, especially anywhere near the Valley. We were running off savings for the longest time, and so a month's worth of expenditures in most places lasted 2-3 months here, easily (the company and team's cost of living all combined, primarily rent). It gave us the time to figure out which way was up with our business…

I'm wondering if anyone else bootstrapping a (solo) company moved to a cheaper location in the U.S. to extend your runway? If so, how did it work out for you? Which places do you recommend?

Re: How Long Will You Need to Save to Buy a Home In Your City?

#19

Post by cageface »

rayiner wrote: post #16

Surveys like these always highlight how Chicago is underrated: New York: $275 Los Angles: $236 Chicago: $112 San Francisco: $459 Washington, DC: $164 Housing here is comparable to places like Richmond or Raleigh, except it's got the public infrastructure of a world-class city with 10 million people. Even if you live in the suburbs, you can take the extensive commuter rail system straight to downtown.

The weather is a deal-breaker for a lot of people, I suspect.

Re: How Long Will You Need to Save to Buy a Home In Your City?

#20

Post by heretohelp »

rayiner wrote: post #16

Surveys like these always highlight how Chicago is underrated: New York: $275 Los Angles: $236 Chicago: $112 San Francisco: $459 Washington, DC: $164 Housing here is comparable to places like Richmond or Raleigh, except it's got the public infrastructure of a world-class city with 10 million people. Even if you live in the suburbs, you can take the extensive commuter rail system straight to downtown.

I ride a motorcycle year-round...not happening.
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