California Real Estate Makes Us Look Good

I will no longer tolerate any gripes about our real estate market after visiting the northern peninsula of California where I am helping my son get settled before he starts his first post-college job. Every clerk he encounters (Whole Foods, Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond) cannot figure out why he is moving here from Texas, and the chief complaint is the cost of housing. After having just read Richistan, I am seeing with my own eyes how a whole new breed of uber-wealthy individuals live: my son’s landlord has a Lamborgini and there is an Aston Martin dealership three blocks from his new home. The homes are stunningly beautiful, the small towns like Saratoga and Palo Alto just picture-perfect havens of easy living with Starbucks, Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table on every corner. What we are hearing, though, is that so many people are priced out they are looking elsewhere, and now I finally have proof that California investors are plunking money in Dallas because trust me, we are the bargain basement of real estate compared to this part of the Golden State!