Families earning $117,000 now qualify as "low income" in California's Bay Area

[Deleted]

SAN FRANCISCO -- A report out this week from the Department of Housing and Urban Development finds the median price for a single-family home in the Bay Area is now $935,000. A family earning $117,000 now qualifies as "low income" in the region.

CBS News went to see California's red-hot housing market with realtor Larry Gallegos. He showed us a house you would think he couldn't give away. But Gallegos says the home, complete with leaks in the roof, sold for $1.23 million. The buyer beat out six competing offers, all above the asking price.

"It's a little mind-blowing, but it is the norm around here," Gallegos said.

That norm is fueled by thousands of well-paid tech workers who have driven up the median price of a San Francisco house to $1.6 million dollars, the highest in the country. While housing prices are rising faster than incomes nationwide, nowhere is it more evident than in the Bay Area, where home values have soared a staggering 64 percent over the last five years.

That could explain how a 1,000-square-foot shell of a house in the heart of Silicon Valley sold for close to $1 million dollars. Also recently listed? A burned-out home near Google and Apple.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/familie...inkId=53544816

[MatthewOU2015]

OT: Also the foreign investors that come in and buy up all the property. I would love to move to California but Alabama is cheaper and I have access to beaches.

[Deleted]

So that's a yearly income of $58500, or in EU terms, 4211€/month, per person, and you're "low income"?

Sure. OK. I'll be "low income" with a 4211€/month salary. Please, give.

[ldev]

So that's a yearly income of $58500, or in EU terms, 4211€/month, per person, and you're "low income"?

Sure. OK. I'll be "low income" with a 4211€/month salary. Please, give.

That's before tax. In germany that's 2.5k eur/month. I wouldn't want to live in Germany with such wage.

[Independent voter]

One of the problems is that San Francisco is on a peninsula so the city can't expand. Another problem is that it's built next to an earthquake fault so it's harder to build up and a lot of buildings are just 1 or 2 stories.

[Unholyground]

low income where I like is 19k or under lol.

[Deleted]

That's before tax.

Yeah, income typically is. I mean, the amount of income is typically given before taxes.

[Coombs]

It's like "The Jungle". They always find a way to keep the poor poor, no matter what the jump in salary is. Fuck the west coast housing market. Million dollar homes look like disheveled dumps. Meanwhile in the south you get a mansion in comparison with a god damn pool for 200k.

[HolgerDK]

OT: Also the foreign investors that come in and buy up all the property. I would love to move to California but Alabama is cheaper and I have access to beaches.

If only Florida didnt steal almost all of Alabamas coastline!

[ldev]

Yeah, income typically is. I mean, the amount of income is typically given before taxes.

Cute. When you agree to work for 2.5k/month net salary.

[Minikin]

This is insane. That amount would have you living not lavishly but at least comfortably up here in the GTA.

[Deleted]

Cute. When you agree to work for 2.5k/month net salary.

Do you know anything about wages in Finland.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Well, what's so odd about it? If I lived in Stockholm I would have to live in the no-go zones in some 1-room apartment.
Where I live now, I can have a giant, custom-built apartment at a lower rent. Has it not always been like that?

[The Stormbringer]

One of the problems is that San Francisco is on a peninsula so the city can't expand. Another problem is that it's built next to an earthquake fault so it's harder to build up and a lot of buildings are just 1 or 2 stories.

You can artificially expand peninsulas and islands by hauling in boatloads of rock, dirt, and sand and pouring them onto the coast.

EDIT: An oversimplification, I know. Normally you have to pack it down and stuff too.

[ldev]

Do you know anything about wages in Finland.

"The median monthly income among PhD holders was 4,900 euros.". That is all I need to know regarding this topic.

[Daedius]

First world problems, living in a rich area
... $117k considered low income...

Will they be getting food stamps? lol

[Katchii]

You can artificially expand peninsulas and islands by hauling in boatloads of rock, dirt, and sand and pouring them onto the coast.

EDIT: An oversimplification, I know. Normally you have to pack it down and stuff too.

While true, it costs a shitload of money, takes time, if not done correctly is incredibly dangerous and fucks with the currents in the area which could alter the shape of the untouched landmass, among other things. I'm not sure how the development in the area has been shaped by the natural current up to this point, but I wouldn't want to mess with it either.

[The Stormbringer]

While true, it costs a shitload of money, takes time, if not done correctly is incredibly dangerous and fucks with the currents in the area which could alter the shape of the untouched landmass, among other things. I'm not sure how the development in the area has been shaped by the natural current up to this point, but I wouldn't want to mess with it either.

Eh, you've got places that do it all the time, though mostly it's to create breaks against the ocean. They'll build up an 'ocean wall' of dirt around their coastal areas, but out a bit and with openings for shipping lanes and such.

I'd personally be interested to see coastal cities do this more often. Expanding out towards the sea instead of just inland could open up a lot of opportunities for them.

[classic username]

That's before tax. In germany that's 2.5k eur/month. I wouldn't want to live in Germany with such wage.

you can live pretty good with 2.5k a month

[cuafpr]

yep saw this on the news and reminded myself while i'll never live there less some company offers me 7 digits, and even then idk... I live alone my 1400 sq/ft house is packed with my collection of pop culture, gaming and geek stuff.. hard to imagine getting enough space in a place like that. I would just rather make "less" but have more room and more disposable income.

- - - Updated - - -

You can artificially expand peninsulas and islands by hauling in boatloads of rock, dirt, and sand and pouring them onto the coast.

EDIT: An oversimplification, I know. Normally you have to pack it down and stuff too.

won't happen in cali, the environmental impact plus messing up established views of the shore.

- - - Updated - - -

First world problems, living in a rich area
... $117k considered low income...

Will they be getting food stamps? lol

they might depending on the state and how its done... if they are truly low income they could likely apply for benefits