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Homes in Southern California See Near All-Time Price Highs

Southern California home sales dropped 5% in May 2017, yet home prices have still hit a record high in that areas.

According to recent real estate research in California, approximately 8.5% fewer homes were sold in Los Angeles County since March 2017, but home prices are still at a near-record high average of $485,000. This is almost as high as the all-time high of $500,000 in 2007.

Southern California is hardly the only part of the state where real estate prices are testing the ability of workers, families and real estate investors to afford homes. Prices in May 2017 in California hit a record high in Orange County, California, and San Diego County, California.

Also, Forbes reports that the San Francisco, California area is seeing soaring median home prices. Around San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara, the median home price topped $1 million in the first quarter of 2017. It was just $535,000 a year ago.

Why the Rise in Home Prices in California? 

The biggest reason this is happening is not enough homes are being built in much of California’s major metro areas to meet booming demand. This is because it is harder to get building permits in much of California.

On the other hand, Texas has a very liberal policy on building new homes. Both states feature cities with high job growth; San Francisco and Oakland added 356,000 new jobs in 2016, and in Dallas, there wee 413,000 new jobs added in the same period. But in San Francisco, only 20,400 new homes were built, and there were 120,000 new ones built in Dallas.

This difference in building permit policy has had various effects. Homeowners in Calfornia are enjoying huge increased in property values, which is great for them to pull out cash and invest in real estate. But for people who want to buy, it is extremely difficult to buy in current circumstances. Many home buyers and real estate investors are priced out of the market.

In areas such as San Antonio, Texas, prices only have doubled in the last 20 years or so, but many more people can afford to buy a home for themselves or for real estate investments.

As home prices in California have soared, we have seen increasing demand for under market value real estate investments in San Antonio. Investors want to see high-ROI investment opportunities in Texas. Many affordable homes are available in San Antonio for under $60,000 wholesale. With $20,000 in rehab, the home can be rented for $800 per month. That is the type of positive cash flow that many California real estate investors want to see.

 

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Strong Demand for Affordable Rental Properties Should Attract New San Antonio Investors

As the economic recovery gathers steam, many real estate investors in Texas are finding that there is even stronger demand today for affordable rental properties than a few years ago.

The San Antonio economy is doing well with low unemployment rates, rising wages and a growing population.  But there are signs that the prices of new and existing homes in San Antonio are taxing the budgets of middle-class families. Many of them have good incomes, but may not be able to afford rising home prices and down payments.

Last month, the National Association of Realtors stated that the sales of existing homes in San Antonio dropped 2.3% in April 2017. Prices have continued to surge, and sometimes multiple offers are coming in on some affordable homes.

The increase in prices in the last few years of existing homes has somewhat exceeded the rise in wages. So, how is this good news for investors?

Well, investors interested in buy and hold properties and high ROI investment properties in Texas should strongly focus on rehabbing under market value properties and renting them out.

There are plenty of San Antonio families who have enough cash to pay for a rental deposit and $1000 per month in rent, but lack the down payment or income to qualify for a mortgage. In our owner finance market, we are seeing many people who have the income to afford the mortgage payment, but simply lack the cash for the down payment.

This means there is a serious opportunity for the rental property buy and hold investor. Also, with San Antonio properties increasing substantially in value, the buy and hold rental property investor will have a serious chance to increase their equity.

Here is a really nice buy and hold rental property deal I am featuring:

Address: 106 and 110 Dewitt, San Antonio Texas, 78210

Description: Location Location, just south of downtown, short distance to the river walk and the new San Pedro creek river walk extension project (multi-billion dollar inner city revitalization): properties are going to double in value in the next 5 years. Both homes need to be converted into 3 beds 1 bath: estimated repairs for both projects: 80K-40K each, purchase price for both investments: 80K, Max After Repair Value: 119K each or 230K for both, Package deal.

Price: $80,000 cash

Exit Strategy: I recommend buy/remodel/rent then resale in 5 years

The under market value San Antonio investor can buy both for $80k and rehab each one for $40k each. You should be able to rent each property for more than $1000 each. And the increase in equity due to their location will make this a very high ROI investment opportunity.

 

 

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New York Times Highlights San Antonio’s Development Prowess

As most real estate investors in San Antonio know, billions of dollars of development have poured into San Antonio in the last 20 years. And the city is really starting to get on the national and international map, both as a tourist destination and also as a place to find high ROI investment opportunities in Texas and elsewhere.

The New York Times just wrote a new piece about taking 36 hours to visit San Antonio, and it highlighted much of the revitalization of the Alamo City in the last few years. For example, did you know that the River Walk, which opened in 1941, was expanded in 2013 from the three mile tourist section to a full 15 miles?

The downtown area of the River Walk is where all the tourists flock, and it’s great; there are many wonderful bars and restaurants along the narrow sidewalks. But the River Walk is now much bigger, and you can walk two miles down to the wonderful Pearl Brewery area. There you can enjoy a less crowded and less commercialized walk as you pass art installations, wetlands, and even an underpass that features a very cool soundtrack of singing birds.

For San Antonio real estate investors, this development has led to property appreciation, better investment opportunties, and more are slated for the future.

On the east side of town, the local developer Efraim Varga plans to invest $150 million into a mixed use development called Essex Modern City. It is going to include 80,000 feet of office space, 65,000 of retail space, 250 apartments, 150 condos and 80 townhouses.

Developers of this space are hoping that tech companies will move in to lease some of the creative office space. The site of the development is very close to the Alamodome, Hemisfair and the San Antonio River, so the development is expected to do quite well.

Meanwhile, I continue to buy  San Antonio fixer uppers, which are doing very well with all of the revitalization this city is seeing. I am seeing stronger demand for my end buyers with my owner finance program. Most of my neighborhoods are within a few miles of downtown and much of the revitalization that is taking place:

  • Address: 3118 Owasso St. San Antonio, TX 78211
  • Description: San Antonio investors, flip this house for a nice profit,  4 beds 2 bath, 1560 sqft, new homes on the same block, estimated repairs:60-80K, Price: 49K, Max ARV: 159K-189K, estimated profit: 40-80K, 3 month major project.
  • Cash Price on San Antonio Fixer Upper:  $49,000 CASH ONLY
  • Exit Strategy: Flip with 60-80k in repairs, profit 40-80k.