How safe is Vallejo housing market

from The PIN Magazine March 2020

trust lenders or the housing market The State Department of Justice to review LAPD for an alleged misuse of CALGANG database

HOW SAFE IS VALLEJO HOUSING MARKET HOW SAFE IS VALLEJO HOUSING MARKET CHARLES REYNOLDS

Housing experts and economists are not sure about the future of housing in the Bay Area in 2020. However, they are also telling us that we shouldn’t be hopeful of a crash bringing saner prices or slower prices any time soon.

Zillow conducted research of more than 100 economists and industry insiders in which it found that most of them think that the Bay Area median home values will rise more slowly than the national average. Over the last decade, we’ve seen prices soaring higher, but now, there should be some level of normalcy in the market with gains of less than three percent dominating the market in 2020.

“Pessimism is one way to put it,” said Zillow senior economist Cheryl Young while also noting that the local home prices have been flat over the last 18 months. She also noted that the decade long record-breaking escalation in prices “really wasn’t sustainable anymore.”

The first signs of a fatigued market began manifesting back in 2019. Sales and prices were falling in the core Silicon Valley counties. So, what is expected of the 2020 housing market is a soft market that could be characterized by ups and downs influenced by several forces, including low unemployment and interest rates and a likely destabilizing electioneering period.

But what will happen to the once safe haven for buyers in the Bay Area? Vallejo still seems to be at the center of it all. Economists say that there is a high chance that about 6 in 10 expected Bay Area home values will grow slower than the anticipated 2.8 percent national rate. However, the Vallejo area remains one of only four California real estate markets still among the nation’s hottest markets. While economists are sour on the state, with low expectations for the Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Diego Metro Areas.

Even though prices in these metros are dropping, to most first-time homebuyers, prices here might be out of their reach. That’s except Vallejo. The waterfront city in Solano County remains to be amongst the top and go-to options for most homebuyers. All through 2019, we saw unprecedented construction, with the city considering to reengineer Blue Rock Springs Golf into a community revolving around an 18-hole course. Most economists and housing market watchers are bearish on the California market, but one city I would bet on is Vallejo. High prices in most markets have pushed home buying out of the reach for many residents. However, low-interest rates and strong employment in the Bay Area stokes demand which means, while the chance of the market dramatically dropping is low, cities like Vallejo will remain to be a hot market, attracting more and more homebuyers.

“Vallejo still has quite a bit of capacity,” said Alea Gage, Vallejo’s Economic Development Project Manager. “The master plan for the waterfront approved for 1,200 housing units, and 2,300 units are approved in downtown. Both of those projects are in the core of our city.”

There are also some factors position Vallejo city for tremendous growth opportunities and one of them is Vallejo’s 2040 General Plan which leaves the door open for future housing developments on Mare Island.

The community collaboration in Public safety efforts and a centralized location have helped the city’s housing market boom in recent years. Typically, a house in Vallejo spends 50 days on the market in Vallejo before selling. For comparison, homes in a metro like San Francisco spend an average of 42 days on the market.

One of the things that potential buyers look for when house hunting is neighborhood safety. Supported by the city’s police division, the city enjoys a robust network of neighborhood watch organizations. In total, there are about 286 neighborhood watch groups that collaborate with the department’s community services division.

The median price for a singlefamily home in Solano County $448,395 according to Zillow. Over the past year, prices have risen up 1.9% and Zillow predicts that they will rise 4.5% within the next year.

“Vallejo’s average price for a single-family home is around $460,000, which compared to San Francisco and the East Bay is a bargain,” said Johnny Walker, president of the Solano Association of Realtors. “And Vallejo is centrally located between the Bay Area and Sacramento, so more and more buyers and tenants have chosen to take advantage of the relative affordability here.”

Sources & Works Cited https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/ Vallejo-s-real-estate-market-offersnew-homes-13316074.php#item85307-tbla-4 https://www.mercurynews. com/2018/06/12/vallejo-area-stillamong-hottest-real-estate-marketsnationally/ https://www.timesheraldonline. com/2018/07/17/study-vallejo-amongworst-cities-for-first-time-homebuyers/ https://www.timesheraldonline. com/2020/01/04/pessimism-seepinginto-bay-area-home-market-for-newyear/

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