Best Bay Area City in Terms of Economic Value

Martinez? Yuck! I'm not big on living next to a refinery that every so often has a chemical spill where everybody has to close their windows and wait for it all to clear up. Who knows what the cancer rates are for people exposed to that. As we've seen with the oil industry lately, they are not exactly trustworthy.

How about Lafayette. I know it is generally overpriced but I've lived here on and off my entire life and there are definitely some reasonable rents if you keep an eye on for them.

I was actually thinking more in terms of buying a home and settling in for the long haul. I think home prices in Lafayette are still a little bit pricey.

What's wrong with Orinda, NightOwl. You tired of all the trees and the quiant little town.

We've just sunk a lot of money into this house so that we can barely keep up. The took out our sewage lines about five years ago and then, because of our property agreement with the city we had to pay for repairing it--that was like twenty grand right there. Then our back porch started sliding downt he hill and we had to get that replaced ($50k more). Now this big oak has fallen over onto the side yard and we have to figure out how to come up with the money to clear that. Everything woudl have probably been alright had it not been for the recession. We suddenly had the perfect storm: lots of debt, high home payments and lowered income. My wife still had her job but I was just taking care of the kids and doing the stay-at-home-dad thing, so its been kind of a bumpy ride.

Poor Owl. I know what you mean. Things were going pretty well for me until last year. I had a job with a law firm in the City, was living in a great little Berkeley apartment and had my Jetta. I survived the period right afterwards, but just as I was starting to think I had weathered the storm I got canned. My car died. And then, most humiliating of all, I had to move back home with Moma Flower.

Now, here I am, back in the burbs. The best job I can muster up is a few hours a week at a coffee shop and random work here and there. Its pathetic isn't it?

It's just life, I think. You'll be alright. I can tell you're a smart girl. You'll land in the right place for you.

You too, Owl.

Wow, this conversation got emotional pretty quickly :/ In all seriousness, what are the most reasonable home prices? I am not quite in a position to buy yet but would love to live in the Peninsula (just like everyone else in the world), so whatever is more reasonable there would be interesting to me. Thoughts?

I don't know if their are reasonable prices in the Bay Area, but it seems like the farther away from the City you are willing to get the more reasonable the prices. A place like Antioch, for example, has very reasonable home prices, but since most people don't work there, you have to suffer through a possible 2 hour commute to get ot work. You can take BART from Pittsburgh, of course, but that is a bit of hassle.

Also, if you are raising kids, the schools are not all that great in Pittsburgh and Antioch. There is definately a bit of gang problem.

All this just has me more and more sold on Martinez--even if you have to live in fear of the Shell Refinery going Three Mile Island on you. South Martinez is actually very nice and the homes aren't quite as expensive in other comparable neighborhoods. The Amtrack station is right in northern Martinez and you could perhaps get your kids into the High School in Pleasant Hill or maybe take them to private school. Seems like a pretty good deal, overall.

I think that is misleading to look from large scale trends when it comes to purchasing a home. Individual transactions tend to be idiosyncratic and although the area can effect this it has more to do with individual pyschology. You can find "deals" in any location if you look hard enough.

@DocFrankenstein: But wouldn't how people perceive the neighborhood and the surrounding area change how they view the value of a home. I mean, isn't that the difference the price of the exact same house in downtown Oakland, versus in Marin County? I think location is a big factor. I haven't every shopped for a home to buy but is the old cliche: location, location, location!

I definetaly think that it is a good time to buy if you have the money and the abiltiy to borrow (harder and harder these days, everyone is afraid of lending). You can get one of those foreclosed properties, fix it up or maybe even live in it. It will cost you a lot less than the house normally would and in a few years when things rebound you can probably sell it for a good profit.

I know that just on my street in Orinda there at least 4 houses that people are trying to sell, but that noone seems to be buying. That includes the place right next door. I think that sellers are trying to stick to their guns and buyers are looking for deals. Eventually something will have to give.

Let's hope so...hopefully someday I'll be buying. Seems like the right time, yet no one has the cash flow (or maybe I should say it seems like the right time BECAUSE no one has the cash flow).

I just heard a report on NPR today where an expert claimed that even though people wanted to buy, homeowners were holding out for better deals. Apparently they still remember the prices their homes used to be valued at during the height of the bubble and now can't quite seem to let go. So maybe its not as good of a time as I originally thought.