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My sense is that the folks buying $2M+ homes in the Bay Area or $1M+ homes in Tahoe have enough money in the bank that they could just rebuild in cash on the off chance that their home gets burned down. At that price point you're largely paying for the land. Cheap structures (which abound in Tahoe) can be built for ~$250K, while even a really fancy 4000+ square foot mansion in Los Altos can be built for < $1M. Most of the mid-level FAANG employees and ex-startup/growth folks easily have that much in liquid assets.


You’d be wrong.

It’s pretty easy to find prime plots of land in the Tahoe area for less than $250k.

The problem is building: there is a shortage of construction labor (they can’t afford to live in the area anymore), and the building season is short.

Building cost per square footage is higher than in the Bay Area, often exceeding $600/sq.ft.




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