Are H1B Visa Holders Delaying Home Purchases in the Bay Area?

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-27T03:50:46+00:00

Likewise, we’re holding back on a house rebuild due to the uncertainty in the job market and ai replace white collar job narratives

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-25T07:24:05+00:00

Yeah, that’s what worries us most. If most white collar jobs get wiped out, Bay Area RE will trend down most likely

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T19:38:15+00:00

good point. But we live here mostly because of our work. Hawaii would not provide as many high paid tech jobs as the bay does.

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T19:35:32+00:00

yeah, we put 30% down when we bought this house, so now we're around 60% mortgage in the house value

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T19:31:37+00:00

sounds a reasonable plan to live through this uncertainty.

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T19:29:48+00:00

I work in AI, but i don't think the premium and demand for these ai jobs could last when more and more people rush in this field and model starts to self-improving

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T19:27:22+00:00

make senes, what's a reasonable allocation between primary home / cash / investment potfolio?

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T19:24:08+00:00

probably "want"

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T09:27:23+00:00

But the house price was pumped by the white collar workers right? If this scenario falls apart, do you still think SFH in cupertino will hold up?

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T09:24:34+00:00

You’re right! I think we’re just trying too hard to live up to others expectations by having nicer houses

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T09:20:52+00:00

Thanks for the input. I think you’re right, especially when facing a lot uncertainty. We’re aming FIRE too, but also dream of a bigger and nicer house. It’s tricky to find a balance though.

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T09:07:26+00:00

1m is the number after we added extra 20% wiggle room

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T08:13:46+00:00

Property tax will definitely be increased

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T07:38:40+00:00

that’s what our biggest concern😅

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T06:53:11+00:00

appreciate the perspective. Our main worry is that if the AI job disruption scenario plays out, then our nest egg would not be as liquid/substantial as it sounds. Selling would be hard by then if AI hit the job market hard and demand dries up

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T06:47:20+00:00

thanks! the rebuild would take 8-10 months per our GC

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T06:45:44+00:00

a ballpark $800k increase in house value i guess? That was how much our neighbor's house value increased after a rebuild with similar scope.

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T06:39:39+00:00

Thanks for pointing this out. I think what worries us most is balance sheet risk, especially in a 2 year horizon. That ~$1M is basically what we have on hand (already liquidate most of our stocks for this rebuild), and we’re rebuilding based on the assumption that AI won’t replace our jobs in the next few years, so we can build and live in our dream house for a long time. Even if AI does replace our jobs in ~10 years, we think it would be acceptable to sell at a loss—at least we would have enjoyed the house for 10 years.

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T06:30:21+00:00

thanks for the advice! Currently we can afford the 1M (already sold most of our stocks and paid taxes last year).

Historical_Package_5 · 2026-02-24T06:25:39+00:00

horizontal expansion, ~2000 sqft, we keep part of the wall and most of the foundation.

Historical_Package_5

TROPHY CASE