A couple of weeks back, we here at DQYDJ tried to get some Bay Area street cred with our screed on how Bay Area house prices make more sense than one might think (please read that article if you are genuinely interested in our model). After being informed by the readers on the Bay Area home site Burbed that our definition of the Inner Bay Area (the ‘Real Bay Area’) was too large, we’re back for another pass. Thanks to Burbed’s super-intelligent head editor Madhaus and a huge amount of comments we’re back with two calculators we’re titling “The Burbed and DQYDJ Real Bay Area Calculators!”. Since all Bay Areans hope for 7.2% annual home value returns (check it – doubling every ten years!), we hope everyone will enjoy this little demonstration of the absurd amounts of wealth that the place we call home generates.
Real Bay Area Income and Home Calculator, 2011 Edition!
Refinance Your Mortgage and Pay the Same Amount? A Calculator to Determine if it’s Worth It!
There is a mortgage strategy variously described in different corners of the internet where a mortgage is refinanced… and payments stay steady. For this strategy, a borrower is currently paying some monthly payment, and will continue to pay the exact same monthly payment after their mortgage is refinanced. The benefits are usually explained as an acceleration of mortgage payments and a “guaranteed investment return”. You may find yourself in a situation where you are considering this form of accelerated mortgage payments. Is it worth it? Let’s run the numbers and find out!
Should You Refinance Your Mortgage? A Calculator to Help You Decide!
Conceptually, it’s easy to grasp why and when you should refinance your mortgage. In practice, inertia is the main reason people hold back from refinancing. With that in mind, we present these mortgage calculator which will allow you to see how your current mortgage will compare with the mortgage you are considering. Perhaps if the math is enticing, you’ll shop around? Enjoy!
We’d like to thank Hugh Chou for compiling the equations that we needed to create this calculator, and Ironman at Political Calculations for providing the calculator framework.
Bay Area Home Pricing – and Why It’s Probably Not a Bubble
The San Francisco Bay Area, generally agreed to include the nine California counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma, is one of the wealthiest regions in the United States. From its powerhouse engineering and business schools to the Venture Capital firms in Menlo Park and Palo Alto; from the financial buildings in San Francisco to the tech firms in Silicon Valley, the region has an immense capacity for generating wealth (and a history of massive booms and devastating busts).
There is a part of the Bay Area, which I’ll call the Inner Bay (although I know it is sometimes called the “Real Bay Area”) which has an especially concentrated amount of wealth. That wealth is reflected in home prices which are among the top in the nation. In the Inner Bay, consisting of Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara County, it’s not unheard of for houses around 1,000 square feet to sell for close to a million dollars (or more, in places like Atherton, Saratoga, Los Altos and Palo Alto).
Home Price Affordability Calculator
In our last article, we promised you a calculator so you can copy our methodology and calculate ‘affordable’ houses by determining what an acceptable monthly payment would be. In our current article, we deliver! Thanks to Ironman at Political Calculations for the calculator creation script, it was very useful once again!
How Much Does Noise Affect Real Estate Prices?
Ever wonder how much better a house would be if it was in a better location? Ever complain about a house because of its proximity to a highway or main street? Throughout my housing search, I saw numerous houses which hit every mark – except being located on a busy street, or too near a highway. Post-house search, I saw an interesting web site linked from Redfin’s Bay Area forum. Yes, there actually is a study measuring how much an increase or decrease in average 24 hour day night sound levels, Ldn, affects the values of a home.
