Thanks @bookworm
SF market seems to have cooled, but is quiet this time of year. Hoping when the houses pop back on the market the prices will not be as ridiculous as they have been. The are ridiculous, but recently they were mega-ridiculous.
And you think I do too much magical thinking, Jym. 
Agreeing with you it would be nice if the area were affordable.
Well DS and his fiancee are gonna end up with something. Think ridiculous, double it and then add a few zeros. Crazy prices there.
Frankly, with exception of selected areas(and JYM your son is), the Bay Area prices have not risen to the pre-2007 level. Was at a fixer upper, the previous owner had a REVERSE Mortgage of 600K on a small house. Right now, it is offered at $425.
Where is that house located? Everything in the city seems to be way high.
Thank goodness we were retirement house hunting 3 years ago and finally found the one we bought then. So many more available then compared to now in our nice area. We were able to search many months and get a fairly good price after the downturn, we were also able to get what we liked and not settle just to be able to move.
We were visiting in the downtown- South Lake Union area of Seattle in November- I counted 8 building cranes from our hotel window. Condos as well as office space. High density living- ugh. Many will lose any light they had. I wonder how prices will be affected in the next few years. I can’t encourage son to buy because who knows what it will be like once the boom is done. btw- we were at a museum about Seattle that included a “Will the last person to leave please turn out the lights” circa 1970’s(?) sign.
Fremont
But there are areas in the city you DO NOT wish to enter that is cheap. Tenderloin and those along third ave…etc.
We drove through some parts of town that are not where they plan to start a family at this point…
Just got an email from the listing agent of a fixer upper. She received 28 bids and obviously I was not the winning bidder.
That stinks. The real estate market around here is getting goofy. There is very little supply. Doesn 't anybody want to move to Texas? 
Do you think with 28 bids the price is probably too high and the profit is out of the deal for the buyer?
Apparently they do. We just solidified our retirement by selling a large piece of property to a big corporation that is moving its headquarters (and many of its employees) to Texas. 
Obviously not enough to help out real estate in glitzy markets like NYC, San Fran, and similar, but we’re trying to do our part to help you out. 
Lol!
Don’t know the final contract price, but the list price is only 50-60K below market and the home require:
Kitchen
Bath
Electric
Plumbing
Roof
Floor
Sewer
HVAC
Paint
And it was marketed as “Modest Cosmetic UPGRADE”. The only redeem value is there is a 100ft space for expansion so it can be re-marketed as “attached garage”
If so, I’d rather buy a house at the market value and not worry about the “modest cosmetics”… LOL
Oh, I forgot the appliances, of which, I spent $6000 for the home I am selling also to spruce up the “cosmetics”
:).
So are you pricing under market to cause a bidding war?
My wife and I just turned down a mortgage deal. We turn down everything.
I priced the home I am selling 20-30% below the market and everything there is new except the basics:
Stainless Steel Appliances
New Paint
Carpet
re-finished floor
Cleaning to the Nth degree
Full Staging
Professional photo and video
And since it is a condo, there is nothing to talk about regarding the plumbing. sewer, roof etc. They are all in great shape, I also replaced all the malfunctioning lighting fixtures. Termite report show some loss grout, that is all.
I am selling it as if it is a “modest cosmetic upgrades”
Wow!
You are going to receive a ton of bids.
We are (fingers crossed) about this close from closing on a house after looking for months. Not the area we originally considered, but the land size, the house size and the price are what we wanted. New appliances, but not the upper end of the price scale. Staged, beautifully.
It is turn key. Recently renovated with all the bells and whistles. Having looked at a fair number of fixer uppers, complete tear downs and custom builds, we have seen huge differences in the spectrum on what’s out there in this market.
I have no idea how many bids came in, but the renovation was worth it. It made us put in an offer.
Also - if you have to go through the mortgage lending process these days, it is a major hassle. So much more difficult to do than just 5 years ago. Even my banker says so.
SamuraiLandshark, good luck.