I grew up in Bay Park and I’m currently renting in the area in anticipation of buying again in a few years. Personally, I would stay away from that area. As mentioned, its a little hit and miss with regards to the houses being run down, plus the location is in Tecolote Canyon, so there are no views. The problem that I’ve found with anything in the lower elevations of Bay Park is that the houses can range from giant, newly rebuilt homes, to 70+ year old shacks.
I currently rent up the hill just north and east of the church (St. Mary Magdalene) and it is, and has always been a nice quiet neighborhood. Plus, in the right locations, there are spectacular views that range from Soledad to downtown. Obviously there are different strokes for different folks, but for me Bay Park has a very relaxing, nostalgic feel, plus my wife and I have family here in the houses we both grew up in.
After selling our home in Summer 2006, We’ve been watching the BP market, and in the past few months, it has come to a screeching hault in sales. This is obviously a good sign for us, however, most sellers are priced WAY too high and not budging. Luckily my wife and I are prepared to be patient as we’ve found a great rental with a wonderful landlord.
Its really difficult to even begin to justify purchasing a house for anything north of $300-400k in a neighborhood where the majority of the homes are occupied by the original owners or were purchased in the 80’s and 90’s for prices ranging from $150k – $250k. Below is a great example of a poor bastard that has either had a job change or just realized that they paid WAY too much for their house:
