Silicon Valley Housing Blues

Right now I am having serious housing anxiety. As most people know, a few years ago housing was really out of control in Silicon Valley. People were paying 10-20% over asking price for houses. It is not uncommon for a house that would go for $100k to $200k in other parts of the country were selling for $400k to 500k. On top of that it would cost $1300 a month for a one bedroom apartment.

That was two years ago, but things have not changed in the way you would expect. The rental market has really fallen back. Apartments have really come down in price. The problem is that the purchase market has stayed high. Houses have fallen a little but not much. My jaw drops to the floor when I hear how much my friends have spent on their new houses.

There are two factors that are keeping the housing market over inflated in Silicon Valley. The first factor is low interest rates. We currently have one of the lowest interest rates in the last almost 50 year. If you are borrowing a lot of money for a house, a low interest rate is going to save you a lot of money.

The other factor is that people who have been on the outside of home ownership here this might be their one chance to get in. There are still a lot of survivors of the dot.com boom and bust. Most of these people are still making good money. They are worried that they might miss their chance if they do not buy a house now.

I have been seeing lots of people buy houses. I think that buying houses. I think that buying a house makes a statement. You are saying that either you think the housing market will make its way back up. Either there will be another boom or this is the bottom and property value will go higher.

For all good sense I do not have the money to buy a condo. I have done really bad things to myself when it comes to money. It is almost like I enjoy doing bad things to myself in the financial world. When you get in that hole, it is easier to keep on digging. Even with that being true every one I talk to says I should at least look into it. People know it is crazy around here. They know they will have to make deals that make sense no where else in America so people can buy housing.

I am afraid of buying a condo and I am afraid of not buying one. I really think that renting an apartment is a waste of money. I am paying thousands of dollars a year to rent. That money would be better spent building equity. If I do not buy something now, it will take a big success with my stock option or winning the lottery (which are almost the same thing) before I could afford something.

I am afraid that I can only afford a condo that I would never be able to sell. I can only afford something on the bottom of the list. I can only afford something that no one would ever buy off me. I can only buy something I would not want to own or in a place I would not want to live.

All these ideas make we want to do nothing. I think that is just what I might end up doing. I should take care of my debts and save a little money. Those are the things I should be focused on.

No matter what, all these ideas make me feel blue. It it one of the problems living in Silicon Valley.

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