[cudgy]

> On the other hand, if you move out of the area and there are only a few employers who will hire you where you live at a salary you can live with, you do not have that ability. And good luck moving back -- if you spend a few years out of the Bay Area housing market, the cost of moving back would blow your mind.

If this was true, there would be few young developers and recent grads, which is not the case. Owning a home is overrated, especially with the current prices.

[twblalock]

> Owning a home is overrated, especially with the current prices.

You know what sucks? Renting in the Bay Area and seeing regular rent increases every single year, such that your rent today is 30% more than it was two years ago.

You know what's awesome? Buying a home several years ago and seeing it go up in value by 30% while your monthly mortgage bill has remained the same -- and also knowing that a significant portion of that monthly payment is going into your home equity and is still your money.

Renters are getting hurt far more by inflation than homeowners.

[cudgy]

You know what’s not awesome? Buying a home in the last year or two of a housing bubble, having your home drop in value 30-50%, owing $150,000+ more on a loan than the house is worth, losing your job, and being unable to sell your home to move to another area for a new job without walking away from the house or coughing up big money at a closing.

[jjav]

> having your home drop in value 30-50%

That might sting. But I don't believe it's ever happened in the bay area. Housing didn't drop 50% in 2001 and it didn't drop 50% in 2008.

I did drop, yes. Sometimes even underwater, as my home did in 2001.

The other factor is that "underwater" doesn't mean anything if you like the house and want to keep living in it.

[bradlys]

Except this has never happened within the Bay Area. Even in the 2008 pop, it never was that bad and you got your money back by 2011.