I agree; Southwest Riverside County (Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Sun City, Winchester, etc.) is in a HUGE bubble. Even though the homes are cheaper than SD, OC, or LA counties you’ll burn up all of that savings and more in commuting costs (not to mention wasting 2-4 hours per day of your life sitting in traffic). Here are the reasons I think this area is EVEN MORE overpriced than SD, Orange, or LA counties now:
1) With $3-4/gallon gas and wear and tear/depreciation on your car, the commute just isn’t worth it.
2) Not only is the commute expensive but it’s a massive waste of TIME. If you take your hourly salary and multiply it by the numbers of hours you’d spend behind the wheel and at tire and car repair shops waiting for maintenance to be done on the car your driving 30,000+ miles per year, you’ll see that it’s like working a part-time job as a cab driver and not getting paid for it.
3) Not only is the commute bad but the local traffic is horrible also due to horrible urban planning in the area. The traffic lights are not synchronized and are not sensored. You’ll find yourself in a line of cars waiting at a red light trying to get to the mall when no one’s coming the other way! DUMB! Plus, everyone DRIVES their kids to school in the SUV’s they bought with their home equity loans.
4) There is really no public transportation to speak of save for a few bus routes that really aren’t practical to use at all. The area was totally built for cars ONLY.
5) It’s HOT here. You’ll spend several hundred dollars a month in air conditioning bills during the summer – and’ that’s if no one’s home during the day. Plus it gets cold in the winter compared to the coastal areas – higher heating bills.
6) There is really NO local economy outside of housing/real estate/construction/mortgage loans and CARS. All declining industries at the moment.
7) Sure the costal counties cost more but when their prices drop, Inland Empire prices will drop even more.
8) There is not much culture locally, altough it’s improving in Temecula.
9) There are no good colleges or universities in the area – a pre-requisite for attracting innovative high-tech companies.
10) The area sits in between two international airports but 60 miles away from each. There is no good way to get to the area – you are forced to sit in traffic.
11) The mello roos cause the annual property taxes for most homes to be extremely high – 1.8% – 2%. In a lot of cases, your tax bill would be LOWER in SD or OC, I think.
12) There has been MASSIVE overbuilding during the last 5 years, fueled by speculators. There are many vacant homes for sale or for lease – with no takers!
13) Many people are living beyond their means in this area and there will be massive foreclosures within the next 1-2 years.
In spite of everything I’ve said, I live and this area and still like it BUT I sold my house a few months ago and I’m now renting a house. I’ll have to see how the character of the area changes over the next few years and what happens to housing prices before I can decide whether I’d buy into this area again. Right now, I’ve put my money into CD’s and I don’t plan on buying ANY real estate for at least 5 years or so. I’ll adjust that timeline as I see conditions changing.
Also, there are a lot of really good people in Southwest County and I hope those that are on the edge either sell their houses, get out of bad loans, or both before it’s too late. One of my major concerns is that if housing prices really do fall 50% like I’m thinking they might, what socioeconomic group would move in here. Would it become another Moreno Valley? If that happens, I won’t even be renting here anymore!
