The Buying Conundrum for Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley’s technology dominance has continued, despite markets like Los Angeles’ “Silicon Beach” and Austin clamoring to achieve that same allure. The boundaries of “Silicon Valley” have traditionally been Mountain View, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Palo Alto, but they have since expanded to include the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area and San Mateo County. The real estate market in these areas remains an extraordinary anomaly for California and even the U.S.
Sky-high prices make communities close to the tech corridor unaffordable to the average employee of these companies, with scarce inventory simply compounding the problem. So how do you reap the rewards of home ownership if you can’t actually find a property to buy that doesn’t require an unreasonable commute? You have to get creative and look at the situation differently.
While a 3BR/2BA single family home in Palo Alto has an average list price of $1.8 million, and Sunnyvale averages a bit less at $1.2 million, you can find the same size home in Watsonville, for example, for an average of $801,129 and Gilroy for an average of $685,523. All are located in Santa Clara County, but there is tremendous price diversity if you expand your parameters or criteria for a home purchase. Consider, too, the appeal of the beach or mountains. In Santa Cruz, where you can find both beautiful beaches and stunning mountains, the average home price is $1.1 million, but in Boulder Creek (in the same county) the average for a 3BR/2BA home is $736,000. Your investment is also better as growth in Santa Cruz County has remained strong. In June of this year, the region had the biggest gain – nearly 30% in total sales dollars, compared to the same period in 2016 (of the five markets tracked by MLSListings, which include Silicon Valley communities). Home ownership in Silicon Valley doesn’t have to be an impossible proposition. If you open your mind to the possibilities, you can find the home of your dreams. You may be adding to your commute time but with flex hours and potential reverse traffic patterns, the trade-off in the ability to buy versus renting, it may be a worthwhile investment. Talk to a real estate professional who has access to MLSListings data and you can get a comprehensive look at your options and determine where the smart buys are.