The most affordable are the places with the worst weather, pollution, etc.
Doesn’t this just translate into ‘valuable things are more expensive’?
It's exactly the kind of place I'd expect to start capturing some attention: in some ways the pandemic may be the best thing that ever happened to that region, because it forces a kind of reckoning around "what things are really _valuable_ in a remote- first world?". CA/SF are great.. but for a lot of people having a great quality of life _and_ having the financial security to pass more on to others or pay for things other than a house that costs 15x as much is a more fulfilling choice.
Is it better than it was? Comparably, it certainly is. Objectively? I think it's gotten better, too. It's not SF and it never will be, but you get a lot of time and space for your money there, comparitively.
I'm keeping my eye on the housing market around the area a little further out into the country.
Ultimately though, doesn’t the market just work this out? The areas where the most people want to live are the most expensive and visa versa. The trick is figuring out what matters to you and what doesn’t and then finding the cheapest place that offers what you want. With the obvious caveat that for many many people, being close to friends and family is a major factor in what they want.
Edit: drought, wildfires, income inequality on a huge level, horrible public transport, but there’s beaches, mountains and desert all within a days drive I guess?
Ended up buying a house for less than half what it would have cost in San Diego with a nice amount of land and about 20 minutes from downtown Raleigh on an average day. We lost the beaches and desert but still have mountains and lots of green areas nearby. My only complaint is I need to make California burritos at home as that’s not really a thing here (go figure) but we love it so far otherwise.
If you are arguing that California is objectively undesirable compared to other places on the list, then how do you account for the demand?
California is absolutely desirable and I never said it wasn’t. But your reasons for it being the top spots don’t jive with what people actually feel or think. A lot of houses are being sold sight unseen for cash, sometimes up to 25+% over offer, just to be rented out for a profit by someone from out of state the demand is propped up by this as well as normal migration in.
> But your reasons for it being the top spots don’t jive with what people actually feel or think.
Here you claim that people do not think the places with high housing prices in California have good weather, amenities, natural beauty and jobs.
> A lot of houses are being sold sight unseen for cash, sometimes up to 25+% over offer, just to be rented out for a profit by someone from out of state the demand is propped up by this as well as normal migration in.
Here you claim that housing prices in California are driven by out of state speculators buying housing as rental properties.
Is there any source for this claim?
It seems unlikely, given that rents are not keeping pace with housing prices.
Also if California is not desirable in the ways I said it is, why would people want to rent from these speculators?