Palo Alto's New School Superintendent Facing Sticker Shock Over Home Prices
PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- Palo Alto's new school superintendent is facing sticker shock in his search for a home in one of the Bay Area's priciest real estate markets.
Glenn "Max" McGee was offered an interest free loan from the district, but quickly found it wouldn't be enough to buy in Palo Alto.
"The initial offer was a million dollar, interest free loan, and it was a very generous offer. It sounds silly to say, but there's nothing for under a million dollars," McGee said.
Michael Repka markets homes in the Palo Alto and Atherton area.
"Palo Alto prices have really gone through the roof, even by Bay Area standards," Repka said.
Repka's representing the kind of homes that would be a fit for the superintendent, who makes well over $300,000 per year, but those homes are selling in the $5 million range.
"We're relegated to marketing mostly to tech buyers, or international buyers. People on salaries just can't really afford to buy in Palo Alto anymore," Repka said.
McGee went back to the board, and got his housing loan increased to $1.5 million, but he's finding even that isn't enough.
"I think it's a good investment. We want to put down roots, but it really is frankly cost prohibitive, at least for us to try to do this on our own," McGee said.
McGee says he is resisting the temptation to look outside of Palo Alto because he wants to live within the district boundaries, and will probably settle for a condo.
