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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 9 DEFAULT AND LOSS MITIGATION SERVICES FROM A NATIONAL TITLE COMPANY AVENUE365.com • 877-365-AVEN x1109 DISTRESSED ASSET TRADES "FORECLOSUREREADY" REVIEW REOTORENTAL SERVICES REO & SHORT SALES MORE LOANS. LESS TIME. NO BULL. TM HAS THE TECH BOOM IMPACTED HOME PRICES? A new analysis by Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko notes some interesting numbers for the housing markets of the top 10 "tech hubs" in the United States. Using Census Data, Kolko created a "tech score" for each of the largest 100 metro areas, averaging "the share of local employment in the software publishing; data processing and hosting; and Internet publishing, broadcast- ing, and search-portal industries," as well as the area's "share of local employees in the computer programmer, software developer, and Web developer occupations" compared with the rest of the population. San Jose, California; Seattle, Washington; and San Francisco, California, were the top three markets. Other markets at the top include Austin, Texas; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Kolko note month-to-month asking prices nationally were up 1.1 percent in January, the largest gain since June 2013. Despite recent protests bemoaning the fate of San Francisco's rising cost of housing, year-to-year home prices in tech hubs like the Bay Area remain fairly consistent with the rising national average of 11.4 percent, a 2 percentage point difference from the 13.4 percent gain in the 10 largest tech hubs. e slight increase from the national average is not based on technology businesses in the area, according to Kolko. Rather, tech hubs "had steeper price declines during the bust and have fewer homes stuck in foreclosure today—and both of those factors are driving the current price rebound." However, certain conclusions are clear: Homes, on average, are more expensive in tech hubs around the nation. e average cost per square foot of a home in the top tech areas is $242. Compared to the rest of the nation's cost per square foot of $133, homes in the tech hub represent an 82 percent difference in cost. Qualifying factors must be considered for current cost-per-square foot numbers in relation to pre-bust numbers, writes Kolko. In 1990, home prices in tech hubs were 52 percent higher than the national average. Major research universities, technically skilled workers, computer manufacturing, and nice climates made certain areas more attrac- tive to technology companies. Tech hubs were more expensive in the pre-Internet age, and the trend continues. San Francisco is often representative of all technology-centric markets, but San Francisco's unique geography makes purchasing a home particularly arduous. On average, out of 1,000 homes, a mere 117 new homes are new construc- tions. Other tech hubs such as Raleigh and Austin experienced new home construction at rates 10 times and eight times higher than San Fran- cisco, respectively. San Francisco's location near an ocean, on a bay, and adjacent to steep cliffs severely hampers new housing construction that could lower home prices for a growing workforce. Kolko notes that home affordability is not a new problem for tech hubs; rather, the rising cost of home ownership stems from low home produc- tion coupled with an attractive area.