http://finance.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=GOOG

sophie,

i went to ucdavis and bought a house in east davis right after graduation. we loved it there and thought we’d stay forever. we didn’t make much money since there is way too much land to develop still. hence my bullishness on sf, forever!

Eddy

or just plain saving, as long as you can discipline yourself as seriously as a bank loan payement.

The point of my rant was that it is ridiculous to throw around these proclamations that housing will never be affordable again, especially when viewed through the eyes of someone like myself. Trying to induce a panic that housing is booming or crashing is good internet fun, but those arguments don’t hold much water in the real world.

[Editor's note: Care to join us as a "contributor"? We really like your level-headed thinking and applaud your statements.]

All this refi talk is great for people that have lots of equity and can justify the cost / benefit of their home ownership. But these refi’s and the fed’s moves are all just bandaids for those whose homes are in debt for more than they are worth (or can afford) and is prolonging a larger problem. I suppose it’s the correct economic policy to not let the US sink into a massive recession, but some pain here is inevitable. If people start losing their jobs the unsecured debt (i.e., credit cards and banks) are going to get killed when people stop makng payments. And the housing bubble will deflate as people start to default at an panic rate. As much as I’d like to see housing prices fall back to a better equilibrium, I personally do not want this since the broader market impacts would be really bad. But it is what I think will happen. The government is going to hand out a few grand to certain famlies to help out, but this is just another band aid. If anything they should reduce corporate taxes and help companies preserve jobs. People need paychecks to keep this market from getting really bad,

—–

This news is all a Band-aid for a larger problem. Good for owners in lousy mortgages. Too bad it doesn’t lower the value of your purchase price. Unlike years past, this would have further fueled a bubble, but this is just slowing the burst. I think it’s a good move, but I still fear the worst is ahead.

had my savings (in a year of working, I saved about 25% of the price – I have to add that the RE prices went up a good 15% between I set my goal and bought, lessening my down payment from “big” to only 25%). Had some money from grandpa (another 25% of the price). So even without grandpa, I had my 25% downpayment after a year – and no, not san francisco, but Paris, which is not the less expensive market around.

(I was not undergrad, but grad btw – and I chose the condo over a PhD at UCdavis which was actually the first reason I was saving for)

Just got the sfnewsletter, so I was looking for examples to back up my says.

below market units aside (altho some “bitter renters” might still qualify – OR fresh from college who are just under the threashold – why not use it if possible?), there is 1401 Eddy – foreclosure asking 345K closed at 330K. 20% downpayment is 66K. If you can probably save 22K a year, in three years you can pay your downpayment. Now I know my example was not typical – but there are so many untypical kiddos in the bay areas. Some still earning today over 100K their first year of work.

Another one is 195 7th street. closed at 289K. and guess what. NO parking – which translate into up to 20K more savings in those 3 years by forcing you not to have a car. Who needs a car anyway if you dont have kids cars seats or other needs? not when citycar share, zipcar and whatever luxury car rental give you much more.

We waited until married and bought together. I would have bought on my earlier but thought (mistakenly) that my large law school loans would prevent me from getting a mortgage. The neighborhood that we ended-up buying-in 3 years ago, turned out to be the same neighborhood that my husband lived as a renter 10 years prior. He kicks himself b/c he could have bought three buildings on our street 10 years ago for what it cost for us to buy one single-family home in 2005 (he had the finacial means and credit, just no desire to own). That being said, I think it is great that you are thinking about ownership so soon after graduation (I wish I had been more focused on it). I think it is also great to learn what your options are so that you can be ready if the right deal becomes available.

I know it’s hard to read some of these posts by realtors who own “several investment properties” and who have enjoyed unprecedented appreciation levels in the past couple of years. However, you have time on your side (you are younger than most of us) and it sounds as if you are very financially mature. Best of luck to you!