> > I'm no statistician, but aren't you comparing apples/oranges here. > First of all the median income includes all residents while the median > home prices include only homeowners.
But, affordability indexes usually compare this. It's true that, nationwide, about a third of households are renters. But, the person buying the property to rent has to make money on the rent, so rents are also higher. I realize that there were some goofy disparities between rental property prices and homes in the last 10 years. Here, it's the other way around. I think we are spending more on housing for a 1350 sq. foot apartment than our buyers are spending on their mortgage and real estate taxes (after the tax deduction...without counting that, they are paying about 5% more for 3000 sq. feet than we are paying for 1350 sq. feet). >Second it looks to me that > median home prices doesn't include condo prices. > I'm not sure about the last, but I know that in my parent's home town > (Santa Cruz) UCSC students vote in the local elections and I would > imagine that that makes them residents. I found another resource, and it said that students living on campus, even if they can vote in the next election, are not counted, but grad students (the only ones who can live off campus) living off campus do count. The median family income is much higher than the median household income: 350k. So, it is a community where the average household is in the top 2% of the nation. That means that as long as those very very high paying jobs are there, the housing prices might stay up. But, I think this recession will hit everyone, and a sinking tide lowers all boats. I know that investment bankers are nervous now. Engineers certainly can't afford to buy those houses, unless they are paid far above average....and then the company that hires them are at a great disadvantage....which is why HP will keep shifting work to Houston's Compaq campus. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
