It’s difficult to have perspective with Bay Area real estate numbers. For example, the median price of a single-family home in the Bay Area is now $1.6 million, according to the SF Gate. That number is so huge that it’s difficult to visualize, even if you know it’s a 24 percent increase from the same time a year ago.

So here’s a better way to think about it. During just the past quarter (the period from January through March) alone, the average home price has gone up by $110,000. That’s an increase of $1,222 a day — over the period of only three months. When you think about all the things you could buy with $1,222, the statistic becomes pretty shocking and a little easier to visualize. 

A price increase this drastic is unusual to see from the fourth quarter of one year to the first quarter of the following year. Home sales tend to drop at the end of the year with the holiday season and people leaving town for vacations. 

Typical San Francisco Neighborhood, California

This isn’t the only recent news that is providing a serious wake-up call for interested Bay Area homebuyers. According to Newsweek, a home in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood that was almost destroyed by fire is selling for $800,000. Pictures of the home show that the burned roof is almost coming apart from the structure of the home. Despite the home’s conditions, the seller can still command a hefty price due to the location. Those who live in Willow Glen can easily commute to Palo Alto or head north to Mountain View and Menlo Park, where Google and Facebook have offices. The buyer can also tear down the home and build a brand new one in that highly sought-after neighborhood. 

While many may want to immediately blame tech companies for creating such a competitive real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area, they might be surprised to know that even the tech workers being recruited by these companies are having trouble affording homes. Engineers at companies such as Facebook, Reddit, and Apple should be prepared to spend approximately a third of their salary on a median-priced home located within 20 minutes of their workplace, according to the Los Angeles Times. Spending this much on a mortgage is discouraged by financial experts, but engineers have it a lot better than low-income workers who are being priced out of the region altogether. It’s no wonder that more and more Bay Area residents are seeking cheaper pastures in Sacramento or elsewhere.