San Francisco, 1995: the down payment that became generational
Before the first boom, the argument was already “it’s too expensive.”
In 1995 a $250,000 San Francisco house already felt like a stretch — that is the eternal San Francisco condition. The index puts it at $1.27M today, 5.1×.
The generational part is the leverage: $50,000 down at that year’s average 7.93% rate leaves about $1.28M of equity — 26× the cash. This is how families who “just bought a house” in the 90s became families with a house worth more than their lifetime earnings.
It is also survivorship in city form: the same logic bought houses in metros that went nowhere. The rankings page prints both ends.
The 1995 San Francisco numbers
Figures are index-derived estimates for the metro market — not an appraisal of any specific house. FHFA data; this site is neither endorsed nor certified by FHFA. Not financial advice.