【World Property Journal】Large Portions of San Francisco, Seattle Low Income Households are Rent-Burdened

According to national US property broker Redfin, 41.3% of households earning 80% of the local median income in San Jose and 42.7% in Seattle are rent-burdened. While high-income households living in those areas can afford to buy or rent a home, lower-income people like teachers and retail workers have a harder time paying for housing.

"Seattle is turning into Silicon Valley, with software engineers driving up home prices. That's especially true over the last year; Amazon and Microsoft employees are the winners of the recession, with stock prices increasing so much that many of them can afford down payments with proceeds from their stock alone," said Seattle-area Redfin agent Scott Petrich. "Even if people who earn less money find a home they can afford, it's almost impossible with so few homes on the market to win bidding wars against other potential buyers, who are often able to waive contingencies and waive the appraisal."
 

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