On the plus side of the exorbitant real estate prices in the San Francisco Bay Area is that those fortunate enough to actually own a home are the most equity rich in the United States. Currently the five zip codes of the most equity rich properties include: San Francisco 94116 (86 percent), Sunnyvale 94086 (84 percent), Mountain View 94040 (84 percent), Sunnyvale 94087 (84 percent) and San Francisco 94122 (84 percent).
On the other side, 1 in 10 homes nationwide is still “underwater,” meaning “combined value of the loans on those homes exceeds its market value by at least 25 percent” (San Francisco Business Times. Areas with the most homes “underwater” include: Baton Rouge (21 percent), Toledo (20 percent), Scranton (20 percent), Youngstown, Ohio (19 percent), and New Orleans (19 percent).
Continued job creation that are well-paying is generally considered a prime reason for the Bay Area boom.