Despite a struggling economy,, real estate prices in the San Francisco Bay Area are back up to levels seen during the dot-com boom. Area residents are concerned about the escalating prices.
"Housing in this region, some of the most expensive in the country, was already unaffordable to many and the problem is growing worse as wages and employment weaken," explains the New York Times." The phenomenon in Silicon Valley, however, is somewhat different from that elsewhere, where lower mortgage interest rates have easily outweighed the recession's effect on home sales. Here, an extreme shortage of housing and land is combining with leftover wealth from the technology boom and pent-up demand from buyers who feel the real estate market is a safer place to be than the stock market. And many people who did not try to buy real estate during the boom, figuring they could not afford it, have come off the sidelines and started making offers on property even if their incomes do not justify it."
Thanks to Ali Valenzuela
FULL STORY: Bay Area Real Estate Prices Too Hot for Some to Touch

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