9 Astonishing Numbers On The Bay Area Housing Crisis In 2018
(CBS SF) -- With home prices and rents continuing to rise, affording a place to live continued to be one of the biggest issues of Bay Area life in 2018.
There were so many jaw-dropping figures over the last 12 months, here is a roundup of some of the more astonishing numbers linked to the housing crunch.
$117,400 That is what is considered "low income" for a family of four in Marin, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The amount, which is nearly twice the national household median income, jumped 10 percent from the previous year. In a report by the California Association of Realtors, they found a prospective buyer would need an income of nearly $350,000 to buy in San Francisco or San Mateo counties.
$1.23 million: That is what a teardown in Fremont sold for in March. Despite a listing that read "Beyond FIXER, Home is CONDEMNED, Enter at your own RISK," the home sold above its $1 million asking price.
And it wasn't the only uninhabitable property that fetched a high price tag, with a burned out home site in San Jose selling for $930,000 and a burned out Mountain View property selling for $1.6 million, above its $1.48 million asking price.
22 years The amount of time it would take for a median-income family ($118,000) to save up for a 20% down payment on a median-priced $1.2 million home in Silicon Valley, according to Zillow. A generation ago, a median-income San Jose family only needed 10.6 years to save up for a down payment.
3.5 : 1 The ratio of new jobs to housing units in the Bay Area, the MTC reported in September. Much of the housing crunch has been blamed on housing construction not keeping up with job creation. On the Peninsula, the housing / jobs imbalance is even worse. A report by the San Mateo Housing Leadership Council found San Mateo County added 72,000 jobs in the first half of the decade, but permitted the construction of less than 4,000 housing units, a ratio of 19 jobs for one new home.
$400/month That's what a new kind of landlord is charging to rent out RV's and park on the streets of Palo Alto, sources told KPIX 5's Len Ramirez back in October. These landlords buy old, used-up RVs and rent them to homeless people or low-income workers, who then live on the streets.
4,300 The number of students at San Jose State University who have experienced homelessness this past year, a school with a student body of 33,000. Earlier this month, students camped outside on campus to raise awareness.
46 percent The percentage of Bay Area residents that have considered leaving the Bay Area, according to a Bay Area Council survey released in June. The housing crisis was cited as the top reason why so many desire to leave for the fourth year in a row.
48 The number of Bay Area zip codes that are on a list of the 100 most expensive in the U.S. Five of the 10 most expensive zip codes were in Silicon Valley, including Atherton (94027), which topped the list with a $6.7 million median sale price.
90 minutes Length of time commuting one-way that constitutes a "super commute." Modesto and Stockton, which is just beyond the Bay Area, lead the country in super commutes, according to an analysis by Apartment List. Lengthy commutes stretching several hours have even gone up among Bay Area residents, with San Francisco having the 6th highest percentage of super commuters in the U.S.
Other Notable Bay Area Housing Stories Of 2018:
• Once affordable East Palo Alto has joined the Bay Area's million-dollar home club.
• San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera is suing a couple who are accused of illegally renting out a below market rate unit (BMR), while they lived in a $2.8 million home on the Peninsula.
• In response to the housing crunch, one startup is offering dorm-style living, with shared kitchens and living rooms. The company, Starcity, told KPIX 5 claimed it had thousands of people on its waiting list and had plans to build dorm-style residences in San Francisco and San Jose.
• The housing crisis is prompting numerous bills that will be considered in the state legislature. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has signed onto multiple proposals in the upcoming year, including Senate Bill 50, a revival of his previous proposal which aims to increase housing near transit.
Tim Fang is a digital producer for CBS San Francisco and a native of the Bay Area. Follow him on Twitter @fangtj.
