I was just reading an article that sighted some data from Zillow regarding a list of America’s least affordable cities.
San Diego made the list….SHOCKER!!
Yes, San Diego is more expensive to live in than a number of other places in US. But, there’s a reason for that!
I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve met someone while traveling that says “Ohhhhh, you’re from San Diego? What a beautiful place. I hope that I can live there one day.”.
And there you have it….our real estate problem in a nutshell!
The reason that our real estate costs are so high is that we live in one of the most amazing cities in America. Actually, in the world!
But I digress…the article also made another point that actually was surprising to me.
When you compare the option of renting or owning your home in San Diego, guess which one takes a bigger bite out of your paycheck?
Drum roll please….and the winner (loser?) is…
RENTING! Yes, according to Zillow’s research, renting is more expensive in San Diego than owning a home. That’s not as shocking at the difference!
In San Diego, residents needed 35.5 percent of their income to afford a median-priced home and 42.6 percent of their income to afford the median rent.
OK…so what is it that I am getting at?
Now that you know you’re willing to pay a little more to live in continuous 72 degree sunshine, let’s look at one way to keep those housing costs in check.
A great way to freeze your housing costs is by buying/owning a home.
Home prices and rents are both going up these days BUT once you buy a home, the monthly costs stay the same (unless you refinance or sell your home) for the next 30 years! In addition, the best minds in the real estate business think that we’ll see somewhere around 20% in cumulative home price appreciation over the next 4 years.
So, it’s up to you. Which do you choose?
Option 1: Rent an apartment (which is currently more expensive) and you pay more now (and in the future as your rent goes up) or
Option 2: Buy a home (currently less expensive) and perhaps make 20% on your investment over the next 4 years for doing nothing other than making a smaller monthly payment!
Call us to learn more about how the process of buying a home works. We’ll answer all of your questions and even introduce you to a top-shelf agent if you’d like. We work with the best. 888-333-0075
