Most Expensive City In America: San Francisco Most Unaffordable City For Home Ownership (PHOTOS)

[AsahinaKimi]

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While housing prices around the country have certainly slipped from their pre-Recession peak, home prices are far from within the reach of many American households--even those with solid incomes.

According to a study conducted by Interest.com, in half of major American cities, a family making the median household income isn't able to afford a home at the city's median price. Dense coastal cities are the most expensive: San Francisco's 32.7 percent gap separating income and housing leads the pack when it comes to unaffordability.

Even though San Francisco's median household income of nearly $72,000 a year is second highest in the country (to Washington, D.C.), the city's median home price of $552,600 is almost $200,000 more expensive than San Diego, the second-priciest metropolitan area.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/22/most-expensive-city_n_2002532.html

As a San Francisco native, I can personally say this city is expensive... and it never seems to stop getting more expensive. I maybe forced to leave here someday, but I hope not.

[bemildred]

1. It's the foreigners, they keep moving in and making the economy hum.

All that industry and ambition, it just makes everything here suck.

[arcane1]

2. I'm going to stick around as long as I can, but...

I'm not sure this is the place to grow old and retire. Methinks I'll have to find some place less expensive when that day comes

[CountAllVotes]

3. My old saying about living in SF

It is indeed one of the best places to live if you got lots of bucks.

However, if you don't have lots of bucks and are living on the edge, there is probably no worse of a place to end up.

Paying $1,000.00+ a month to live in a one room dump. I gave up and left. It was not worth paying more than 1/2 of my take home pay for rent in an apt. that was not even up to code!

Sad the way old Natives like myself have been forced to leave.

[Auggie]

4. The entire Bay Area is up

S.F. Chrionicle / January 16, 2013

Sale prices of Bay Area homes surged in 2012 at a pace that accelerated throughout the year, according to DataQuick, a San Diego research firm. In December the nine-county median rose to $442,750, an astounding 32 percent increase compared with the prior year - the highest jump in 25 years of record keeping, DataQuick said Wednesday.

That benchmark is heavily influenced by a changing mixture of homes sold. About half of the increase represents higher values, while the other half stems from fewer bargain-priced distress sales and more high-end homes changing hands.

Foreclosures and short sales comprised about a third of the resale market in December; a year earlier, they were 52.4 percent of sales. The number of homes sold for more than $500,000 rose 61.2 percent, while the number sold for less than $500,000 fell 12.6 percent compared with a year earlier, DataQuick said.

LINK: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Bay-Area-home-sales-prices-surging-4200912.php

There's a lot of income out there.

[RevStPatrick]

5. Ah, the painted ladies!

40-something years ago they were practically giving them away.

[CountAllVotes]

6. a lot of those old houses

They were bulldozed down in some cases and the amount of work they needed was so extreme that it was pointless to try to restore many of them.

The foundations were eaten up by termites and a termite job could cost thousands of $ even 40 years ago.

All said and done, many, including my old grandfather's house in Noe Valley was split up into several flats.

At least it is still there but my gawd ...

And those old Vickies aren't cheap to keep up nor heat. That will finish one off right there, a heating bill of over $500+ a month on top of the outrageous bills.

I could go on and on but I won't ...

1st place I ever lived in in SF was on Grove st and it was a nice old Vicky yup. Cold as hell though.

[EC]

7. Never noticed how close together they are before.

Really no use having windows on those side walls.

[Gormy Cuss]

8. The low density and built-out nature of the city will perpetuate this affordability gap.

It's not just the city either. Much of the SF bay area is loathe to increase density.