Residents Try to Make It in the Bay by Downsizing, Opting for Smaller Condos

There’s another hurdle for those trying to make it in the Bay long term.

More people who find they’re priced out of  buying a house in Silicon Valley are now downsizing, opting for a smaller condo instead.

That’s not saying that condos are cheap, especially those in South San Jose. They’re just slightly cheaper than buying a detached home with a yard. 

“Pretty much ridiculous. But what are we going to do?” said Jessica Cordero, a renter in San Jose.

She said a $1.1 million condo on Shutter Court is too rich for her blood and she’s having to rent instead.

But others are buying.

In fact, Alan Wang in the Silicon Valley Keller Williams office reports that condos are now selling at the same rate as single family homes.

“It’s a little bit surprising. Generally people prefer the single family home bracket in general, and prices have been dropping on that front,” said Wang.

Among the reasons, affordability. Down payments and monthly mortgages are lower.

You’ll need roughly another half million dollars to get into the single family home bracket.

Supply is another reason -- inventory is still relatively low for single family homes.

And then there’s the national economic uncertainty.

“I think people right now are emotionally scared to make a move fearing a deeper recession or layoffs,” said Wang. “That’s why they’re not making the move right now."

Across the valley are a few,  more affordable condos

One in a complex on Sunstone Drive in San Jose is $840,000. But it's only two bedrooms and a little under 1,400-square-feet.

Juan Diego Martinez said he can only walk by it, on his way to the condo he rents.

He said he’s already working two jobs just to pay the bills, and it's just getting impossible to live here.

And for those waiting for interest rates to drop, Wang warns that when that happens, home prices will go back up as well.

It’s the roller coaster ride we’ve learned to live with here in the Bay Area.