Image via Darin Marshall.
There's a lot to love about San Francisco, but it’s not perfect. This is especially true on the housing front, where insane rent and astronomical home prices can make you feel like owning a home is beyond your reach. But there’s good news. If you're tired of paying someone else’s mortgage for them or just ready to start the next chapter of your life, here are four big reasons to buy in the sister city across the Bay.
1. You get 2x as much house in Oakland
Surprise! Oakland homes are currently half the price of San Francisco ones. According to stats from Redfin, homes in San Francisco that sold in September 2015 had a median price of $1.12 million ($923/square foot). In Oakland, September homes sold at a median price of $550,000 ($432/square foot). Instead of buying a tiny, 1-bedroom condo in San Francisco for $800,000, you could be the happy owner of a 1,100+ square-foot 2-bedroom (or even 3-bedroom) condo around Jack London Square. We know which one we’d rather buy. But Oakland home prices may not stay low for long. Today’s Oakland home prices are about 20% higher than a year ago, and are poised to grow further due to high demand and low inventory.
2. Your SF rent can probably cover your Oakland home’s mortgage
The median rent in San Francisco for a 2-bedroom apartment is now $4,400 per month. That would cover mortgage payments on a $1 million house! If you put 10% down on a $1 million dollar house at an interest rate of 4.125%, your monthly principal and interest payment on 30-year fixed rate mortgage would be about $4,360. If you opted for a 7/1 adjustable-rate mortgage instead, your monthly payments would be even lower. Those numbers don’t include property taxes or homeowners insurance, but don’t forget that mortgage interest and property taxes are generally tax deductible and could largely offset those costs. Why pay your landlord’s mortgage for them when you can start building equity in your home?
If you’re splitting rent with roommates today, you can also find roommates to rent some of your extra rooms in your new digs to help with the mortgage.
3. Big companies like Uber are moving to Oakland
You’re not the only ones feeling the pinch from higher rents - companies are too. Uber shocked everyone when it announced that it purchased the 330,000-square-foot Uptown Station in Oakland for its future headquarters. But Uber’s not the only one. So far in 2015, there’s been over a dozen San Francisco-based companies that have relocated or purchased office space in Oakland, and more to come. With thousands of employees relocating with their companies across the Bay, It’s not hard to imagine that housing demand in Oakland will soon hit a new peak.
4. Your commute may actually be shorter
With more and more people moving into San Francisco, the delays and congestion around the city will only get worse. But if you live and work in San Francisco right now, living in Oakland may actually shorten your commute. There are six BART stations around Oakland, and it takes 15 minutes to get from 19th Street station to Montgomery Station. That’s shorter than most delays on the N Judah line, and faster than taking a bus from the Haight to SOMA. For you car owners, it’s usually much easier to find parking around Oakland than San Francisco.
Thinking about buying in Oakland? See what SoFi can offer you in 2 minutes. It’s the new, modern way to get a home loan:
■ Put as little as 10% down with no PMI instead of the standard 20%. That's way less saving when you're already paying for rent, student loans, transit and who knows what else.
■ With SoFi's flexible debt-to-income limits, you may qualify for more financing than what other lenders can offer. That means you can already have student (or other) debt and may still qualify for a mortgage on your dream place.
■ Skip tons of headache with a common-sense online application process.
You may be able to buy a home sooner than you think. Learn more at SoFi.com.
This post is a sponsored collaboration between SoFi and Gothamist staff.
SoFi Lending Corp. NMLS # 1121636. Terms and conditions apply. See SoFi mortgage eligibility and licensing details here.
