Look at this sign I saw in San Francisco

Posted at 6:49 on Friday December 15, 2006 | Filed Under Miscellaneous

I saw this on King St. in SF while driving a little while ago:

What pictures do you have of funny/weird/interesting personal-finance things? Maybe a hairdresser with $200 haircuts, or a homeless man trying to find $1 to eat, or the bill when you last went out with your friends?

Send them to me and I'll feature them next week (anonymously, if you want).

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Comments (38)

1.: You really have to be nuts. Half of a million for a shoebox 1BR?

Posted by AvatarKava at December 15, 2006 07:11 AM

2.: Ah the joys of Bay Area housing prices.

Posted by Dave at December 15, 2006 07:20 AM

3.: Ouch!

This is why I live in the midwest.

Actually, I'm going to be out of the midwest shortly, but it'll be to move to New Mexico.

I've always known people living in the Bay Area and New York and such. I'm sure they're fascinating places and I wish the areas I'd lived in had better museums and restaurants and employment opportunities, but it's definitely not worth that. Around here, you can get a respectable full-sized home (not a new one, but a liveable one) for $100k.

Posted by Susan at December 15, 2006 07:29 AM

4.: wow, and I thought the Boston area was bad...

Posted by Serena at December 15, 2006 07:36 AM

5.: What on earth is "funny/weird/strange" about a homeless man trying to find some money to eat?

Posted by Bo Williams at December 15, 2006 08:06 AM

6.: I looked at the picture and thought to myself - What's so funny? Half a million for a 1B is great!

Living in NYC I forget that these prices are absurd for the rest of the country. Half a million will get you a studio in NYC!!!
I guess I see the humor.

Posted by Sunshine at December 15, 2006 08:32 AM

7.: I've been living here too long: I had to read the comments to find out why this picture was significant. :(

Posted by Sean Casey at December 15, 2006 09:08 AM

8.: I couldn't figure out what was funny about the picture until I read the comments. It's amazing how where you live (NYC) changes your perspective on what is a reasonable price.

Posted by Jon at December 15, 2006 09:27 AM

9.: Clearly the prices are unreasonable, but living here in NJ only a few miles from NYC (I can see the skyline from here) these prices seem just about on par with the lunacy around here. Might actually be a bargain if you can see the water.

Posted by Adam at December 15, 2006 09:39 AM

10.: This is out of the ordinary? Ive lived in SJ my entire life, I see nothing unusual with this. And yes...I know thats sad

Posted by Scott at December 15, 2006 10:31 AM

11.: They'd probably be cheap in Manhattan :)

Posted by moom at December 15, 2006 11:11 AM

12.: It makes me sad that I've only been here a year and a half and I didn't get what was strange about the picture.

Posted by MooBob42 at December 15, 2006 11:14 AM

13.: Egads! My mother is about to sell her twenty year old, five bedroom log cabin on 6 acres of land for, get this.... $160,000.

And that's a good price here!

Posted by Stephanie at December 15, 2006 11:26 AM

14.: Supply. And Demand.

Posted by Catch a Gideon at December 15, 2006 11:31 AM

15.: I know its not USD, but 1br places easily go for that much AUD almost anywhere nice in sydney.

Posted by Lrr at December 15, 2006 02:03 PM

16.: Clearly the time to buy investment properties in SF is after the next major earthquake.

Posted by j at December 15, 2006 02:33 PM

17.: Wow you have to be a millionaire or in a lot of debt to live in those apartments.

Posted by iportion at December 15, 2006 04:02 PM

18.: Wow. Just...wow.

When I moved to the Chicago area from central Canada, I sold my three-bedroom, two-story, finished-basement home for $50,000, and made a decent profit on the sale.

At least, I thought it was a decent profit, until I saw what the going rate for houses in the Chicago suburbs were. I just about flipped seeing $150-300k homes, depending on the neighborhood and how far you're willing to commute for gainful employment.

It amazes me that some people don't think a housing market crash is on it's way, when you see things like this. You're paying for status, and that has a funny way of devaluing overnight, without any notice.

Posted by Edward S. Marshall at December 15, 2006 04:44 PM

19.: Awesome! Just dugg it

Posted by Anita at December 15, 2006 06:33 PM

20.: I've heard some homeless people in my area make hundreds of dollars a day by standing on their little corner.

Even if all they made was $4 every 10 minutes at a busy corner, that's $24 an hour just for standing/sitting outside. I bet half the people aren't even homeless.

Posted by Jonathan at December 15, 2006 07:56 PM

21.: I couldn't agree with Edward more.

I see the same crap in Ft. Lauderdale, FL... and some of the downtown Tampa, FL area (Bayshore, for those who know the area).

It's bound to happen, no longer an "if", but moreso a "when".

As always, thanks for your articles, Ramit. Always a pleasure to read.

Posted by Bryan at December 15, 2006 09:34 PM

22.: Haha, $520,000 in Kansas City will get you a 5 bedroom house in the nicest suburbs with the best schools on about 1/2 and acre of land.

Posted by BrianS at December 15, 2006 09:46 PM

23.: My 4BR 2 Bath house will fetch about $190k. For $520k, I'm up on the hill with all the rich snobs.

Posted by Don at December 16, 2006 10:09 AM

24.: sadly, the pic didn't even phase me.

Posted by harvey at December 16, 2006 10:37 AM

25.: I too had to read the comments to see what was 'funny' about this. That should tell you something. The disparity between those that have, and those that don't is growing at a fantastic pace. It's call wealth inflation, and it is truly scary to the 98% of people in the world who look at this and are shocked. The prospects of catching up with the rich are becoming dimmer. Invest wisely and consistently.

Posted by Jon at December 16, 2006 01:22 PM

26.: Well, that's not all SF-- That's close to downtown.

Yes, I live in Tallahassee,Fl in 5 acres and worth $250,000.

Posted by Enrique at December 16, 2006 02:22 PM

27.: In the Great State of Tennessee, where I'm from, $520,000 will put you in the same neighborhoods as professional football players. It's funny how there can be such a range in real estate prices across the country.

Posted by Landon at December 16, 2006 09:32 PM

28.: I think that location is critical part of the wealth building decision.

I once got offered a transfer to L.A. I looked at the offer and turned it down due 100% on the price of housing. I knew that I could make the same salary in a city with a lower housing cost.

Now I'm semi retired and if I want to spend time in L.A., I fly there and rent.

Posted by Kimber at December 17, 2006 12:11 PM

29.: I don't think it's that funny nor should it be. Prices aren't outrageous they're just a function of what people are willing to buy at. Salaries in SF/NYC are higher and more people desire to live in those areas so therefore it costs more. It's nothing to be sad or embarassed about -- it's normal. It just sucks if you live in Kansas and decide to move to New York, but besides that it's no big deal.

Posted by Eugene at December 17, 2006 02:00 PM

30.: Here in Atlanta, I work next to a building going up with a sign that reads, "93 residences from $1 million+". It never occurred to me to take a picture! I just always want to know what it is people do to make the money to live in these places (yes, I understand some live beyond their means). I scrimp and save and (at 37) it seems I'll never even have enough for a 1br, 1ba shack. But wait, is this strange b/c it's actually cheap for SF?
I don't have signs of weird/funny financial stuff, but the stories I hear every Friday when I volunteer at the consumer action center never cease to amaze...

Posted by Carol at December 18, 2006 11:07 AM

31.: Wow! Those are staggering, I'll bet you the one bedroom is a whopping 500sq if that.

Posted by Matt at December 18, 2006 12:49 PM

32.: I don't have a picture, but there's a guy on the Venice boardwalk with a sign that reads "Will work for marijuana"

Posted by kms2 at December 18, 2006 03:48 PM

33.: I honestly wasn't sure what I was supposed to be noticing when I first looked at that sign. I guess working as a real estate broker in San Francisco would do that to you!

Check out these charts on my site that show the median prices and prices per square foot for San Francisco condos.

Some of the new condo buildings, like the Infinity and One Rincon Hill, start around $950 per square foot and get well over $1000 for the units on the higher levels.

Posted by Andrew Maury at December 18, 2006 09:03 PM

34.: oh, honey, that's nuthin. I lived on Wisconsin Ave in DC up through July. In June 2005, when I moved into the building, there was a condo building going up across the street with a banner strewn across the front: "Luxury Condos from the Mid-$700's." About 5 months I was coming home I noticed a subtle change: "Luxury Condos from the Low-$800's" Amazing! The price went up 50k and they weren't even finished yet.

Posted by anacoluthia at December 22, 2006 01:41 PM

35.: so you don't notice the "1 bedrooms" ?

bedrooms ... rooms ... sss ...

or not?

Posted by L at December 24, 2006 12:03 PM

36.: Is a guaranteed parking spot included in that price?

Posted by Marcus at January 1, 2007 07:51 AM

37.: Cheap by Manhattan standards for Luxury new construction. A One Bedroom at 240 Park Avenue in Manhattan is going for...$1.4m!

Posted by RJ at January 2, 2007 09:04 AM

38.: #35: I saw that at first too (I assume you're talking about the plural "s" on 1 bedroom). But, it is indeed correct grammar, because the "s" refers to apartments. As in "We have 1-bedroom apartments for rent." Sorry, I'm a grammar nazi.

Posted by EmptySet at January 16, 2007 05:35 PM

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