Some observers say that these suburban communities could become the new slums of America. As baby boomers age, they won’t need McMansions and will want to live closer to urban centers. And Generation X and Y already prefer walkable residences, according to Arthur C. Nelson, a University of Utah professor who projects there could be 25 million more of these suburban homes by 2030 than are needed.
(emphasis added)
sdduuuude, I’ve thought this to be the case for a VERY long time. The areas hardest hit are WAY overbuilt. There has been so much overbuilding in the last decade that I don’t see any reason to build any more tracts near CA’s urban centers, ESP inland urban centers.
I’ve driven thru Fresno and Stockton and all of their “children communities” several times and have determined CA’s once bucolic central valley is now heavily overbuilt, including outer Modesto and surrounds, Turlock, Tracy and Salinas. Just drove all the way thru the (formerly) “tiny farm community” of Los Banos last month, which has now turned into several miles long of endless tracts and franchises, literally overnite . . . lol! And there are not near enough inland jobs to support all these homeowning households.
Riverside county is no exception and I don’t see this empty-property problem fixing itself any year soon as tenants have to work and commute also.
For today’s CA buyer, there’s plenty of resale inventory available in ALL areas and absolutely no need to seek out new construction in the far reaches of urban counties.
The reporter is absolutely correct in that baby boomers DO NOT want to live in an airplane hangar in the far reaches of outer Mongolia, located 4-6 feet from the next hangar. We are a HUGE RE buying demographic who typically have far less problems with our buying transactions due to savings and long-term stability so our wants and needs deserve to be heard and heeded by the RE community.
I’m completely against urban sprawl and always have been. It’s absolutely ruining our state and sucking up our limited resources, most importantly, water.
