California is taking it on the chin again.

No, the Terminator hasn't given Gov. Gray Davis a stiff uppercut -- yet.

Home buyers in the Golden State, however, do feel the acute pinch of high prices.

San Jose, as the nation's least affordable city, San Francisco as No. 2 and Los Angeles as No. 9 make California the state with the most, least affordable places to live among the Top 10 "Most Overpriced Places," according to Forbes magazine.

Based on housing affordability, home prices, job growth and other factors, Forbes magazine's second annual roundup of money pits said San Jose has become an example of "the bigger they are" syndrome.

Once considered among the most desirable locations, San Jose is considered the capital of Silicon Valley and fell victim to a downturn in the same economic sector that gave the national economy the longest expansion on record -- technology.

The company perk parties are over, venture capital is scarce and joblessness continues to grow, but so do home prices. That's good news for owners and bad news for buyers and Forbes ranking. Forbes ranked San Jose 145 out of 150 for housing affordability (the median price listed by Forbes was $565,000, which isn't far off the local MLS's official $550,000 for July) and 144 out of 150 for job growth.

A 45 minute drive (when commuters aren't swallowing road rage) to the north, No. 2 San Francisco checked in with a $509,000 housing price, negative job growth and a smaller population than it had during the dot com Gold Rush.

From San Francisco in the north to San Jose in the south the San Francisco Bay Area has learned the true meaning of reversal of fortunes.

Also on the list of the most overpriced markets, which some say are also bubble markets waiting to burst, were:

Published: September 3, 2003

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A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.