However, those housing stock gains were totally puny when compared to how dramatically the median home values for those cities jumped. From 2000 to 2005, the median value of a San Jose house shot up 47% to $625,400 and the median value of a San Francisco place surged 51.7% to $726,700. It's no wonder that San Francisco has the second-lowest rate of owner occupancy among the nation's 15 biggest cities (New York has the lowest), but we're totally intrigued by San Jose's hefty 61% rate of owner occupancy, as that makes them No. 3 in the big-cities group.
Some renters made out slightly better -- San Francisco median rents rose 6.3% to $1118. However, San Jose rents actually dropped by 9% to a median of $1153. So, cheaper rents, higher rates of owner occupancy ... would-be landed gentry (or the landed poor) might have done well to scope out the commute on the 280 or 101.
SFist Lisa S. contributing
(Image of I-280 in San Jose by by Sean O'Flaherty, viaWikipedia.)
