San Jose Housing

In April 2006 the median house price in San Jose was $739 000, and the 25th percentile home was $599 000. Today, the median price is down to $530 000, and the 25th percentile is at $375 000 and falling fast.Source

This means I would have roughly needed a $185 000 a year income to afford a median priced house in 2004, but today it only requires around $132 000. A 25th percentile home would require around $93000 a year today. Still more than I am likely to make, but not so unreasonable as to be unattainable would put me into the right range. I better start saving, I see every reason to think my income will rise fast enough to intersect with the price of a median price home within a decade. A wife making equal income to what I expect to make next semester would even push me over the edge now, although I somehow don't see that happening.

I suspect at least another year of falling prices, followed by at least a decade where people are going to be thinking of homes as a horrible investment keeping new bubbles from forming.