Is it time to buy in Fremont?

[Jane Dang]

Is it a right time to buy SFH in Fremont, Ardenwood area? With recent news from Facebook and Tesla, they are going to expand to Fremont area, housing prices are increasing crazy in the area. I am sending my daughter to private school but thinking about moving her out to public therefore I am looking to buy in Ardenwood area. Currently I pay $1600/month for private school. I am checking out some houses I like in the area and they are all in the price range of 1.5M. It is way too pricey and I am scared if it will fall down soon. Is housing price in this area at the high peak? Should I buy or should I wait? I am worry I am trying to save $16k/year but if the housing price drops a few hundred thousand then it will defeat my goal. Any advice would be appreciated. Jane

[Marcy Moyer]

Jane the Fremont market is very overheated right now but the reason is quite different than before the last house crash. It is overheated from too many people who have money and jobs. Homes are bought with cash or high down payments. Before the crash homes were bought with no down payments and adjustable loans so the financing started out shaky. I am not saying there won't be ups and downs in the market, there always are, but the chances of people abandoning homes where they have put so much money into them, as compared to 2009/10 when people abandoned homes with nothing invested in them is low. People have more often just held on till things got better supporting the neighborhood values. So if you are in it for the long run, buying in Fremont now could be a good idea. If you have short term plans it is much riskier.