Why are Orange and Ventura Counties More Expensive

[Anonymous]

Although there are some nice areas south of the 8, in general, areas south of the 8 are less desirable. I was also told the same advice when I moved here over 10 years ago. The fact is, basically all of the ghetto areas of SD are South of the 8. It boggles my mind that people are paying 700K+ to live in these new developments in Chulajuana. These areas will surely take a major beating in prices, ahead of the more desirable areas.

[lindismith]

dead – I’m not sure you’re right about that. There are plenty of areas all over the county that are less than desirable. Every pocket has them – San Marcos, Rancho Penasquitos, Mira Mesa, Poway, Oceanside, – no area is immune to poverty. Heck, right across the street from some million dollar condos in Solana Beach are some houses I would have thought would have been torn down by this building boom. I’ve seen the same in Encinitas.

Plus, when was the last time any of us drove through these so-called “ghetto” areas? My factory used to be located off Market St, right in the heart of Encanto. Did you know there’s a huge Starbucks in the heart of the ghetto?

Our factory is now located in Chula Vista. We’ve got all the massive chains down here – Costco, Target etc.

It remains to be seen how they’ll do in this downturn, but I can tell you there are very wealthy Mexicans living here, helping to keep prices high, and no one is driving beat up cars. I see more Hummers and massive SUVs than I do in N. county. Not saying they didn’t all do Helocs, just trying to point out that the standard of living you’re bashing isn’t as low as you think, and the neighborhoods are clean, and have really come along way since a lot of us last saw them, (on our way to buy a cheap mattress apparently.)

[Chrispy]

I WAS kidding about Mt Helix and Kensington. My first house was in El Cerrito Heights – south of the 8, east of Kensington, with lots of well-maintained homes and canyons surrounding it. When people came over they all had the same comment – “I never knew this neighborhood was back here!”

Speaking of south of the 8 – don’t forget Burlingame. Many of the houses are on the Historic Register, yet it is close to North Park. South Park is also very nice, with lots of TLC and established homes.

I learned long ago not to question where someone lives, especially if that person just ponied up their life savings to make a down payment.

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

Point Loma is South of the 8.
Definitely would not ever want to live there (tongue-in-cheek).

But, lets forget about desirability, for a moment. The answer to the original post is … (drum roll please) ….

1. J.O.B.S.
&
2. SALARY

[smfj]

There’s been an odd increase in police activity in Cardiff over the past week, at least judging by cop cars and sirens. Looks like even NC is going to hell.

On a serious note, my impression is that there are more opportunities in Orange County (no experience with Ventura). When I moved here, I was offered more money by the same company to move to OC over SD (didn’t take it- I was obsessed with the idea of living in SD- everyone wants to live here I guess). When I was looking for jobs, it seemed that OC had more available. I’ve known people to give up looking for a job in SD and then find one easily in OC. Just antecdotal, of course, and these would be mostly entry- to mid- level financial positions in the consumer products/financial services sectors.

[PerryChase]

lindismith, I concur with all your comments.
People have preconceived notions. They like the spic-and-span look of track developments so can’t appreciate the more charming look of older neighborhoods.

In reality, there are plenty rich legal Mexicans and plenty of nice places South of I8.

[aguho]

We’ve lived in The South Bay (Chula Vista) and owned a business in National City,since we moved here from Tempe,AZ.in 2001.I actually like where we live in the western part of Chula Vista.Our house was part of an in fill project that complemented the area and with it’s proximity to the bay,it is NEVER hot and we never tire of the cool refreshing bay breezes.I really like the neighborhoods of central Chula Vista vs. the ones east of the 805.Also,the further east you go,the hotter it gets.I grew up in the desert and the main motivating reason to move here was to escape the heat once and for all.

That being said,my wife and I really like Orange County a lot! Especially the coastal areas…. San Clemente,Dana Point,Laguna Beach,Newport Beach and Huntington Beach.We were in Dana Point a couple of weeks ago and the one thing that really stands out is the overall cleanliness of the area( No Graffitti or litter etc.). The South Bay could do a better job in these areas,but it will take discipline……………

We will definitely buy a home in coastal Orange County once we near the bottom of this real estate cycle(5 years or so).I think the OC would be a great place to live !

aguho

[powayseller]

So those two counties have higher paying jobs? Each County has a median price of 10x median family income then?

What kinds of jobs exist in those counties to account for the higher pay? And why was the other poster offered a higher salary to live in OC? Different job, same job?

When my in-laws moved here in 1999, they were told that housing is cheaper south of I-8. North County housing costs more. That is what they found, and they moved to Chula Vista. There are some very nice and expensive new areas down there.

Poway is 1/4 low income. Most of Rancho Penasquitos looks like a decades-long rental neighborhood. Poverty is everywhere. We have several trailer parks in Poway. The low income areas are where I see 95% of the NODs.

[smfj]

PS, it was a large financial services firm – same company, same job, but more clients (and more offices) in OC therefore more need for me.
I ended up in SD with a small financial consulting firm (which I have since left) – we did a lot of business development in OC because, as I remember, there were more public and large private companies. I tried to dig up some of my old research but I don’t think I’ve kept any of it.

[rankandfile]

Simple supply and demand are the reasons for the higher prices. Orange County has some 30+ cities and LA County has 91+ cities. San Diego County has something like 17 cities. I don’t have exact population figures, but do the math. There are simply more buyers looking to find homes in those areas.

You also have to factor in all those people who now live in the Inland Empire because of the job opportunities on the other end of the 91 and 10 freeways. They are likely adding to the demand of housing in LA and OC.

[CardiffBaseball]

I used to look at 805 at quitting time (I work around UTC) and now way was I going to move south. I get back and forth to Cardiff most days in less than 30 minutes. Plus the demographics fit us a little better. I’d also didn’t want to send my kids to some HS where there are like 30% white kids like Madison which isn’t terribly far away.

Rancho Penasquitos and in particular areas that fed into Westview HS was where I was targeting. The furthest south I looked was San Carlos, and it was just too far away. I am sure the South is fine, and depending on your work location it might make sense.

[powayseller]

This WSJ inventory graph for several cities shows why Orange County still has pricing power: inventory is slightly under San Diego’s 10K level. Meanwhile, the highest inventory in the country is in Los Angeles, at 7x San Diego’s inventory. Chicago, Miami, and LA have the highest inventories at 50K – 70K. Unless their cities are 5 – 7 times bigger than San Diego, I see lower prices coming soon.

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

SD @ 20K not 10K
The graph shows SD inventory at 20,397, not 10K.
The labels are above the very faint axes making it difficult to read. However, when you select a particular metro area the actual number shows up at the top of the page in the figure title.
OC inventory : 15,990
LA inventory : 80,129

LA is 4x SD inventory. The population ratio for the LA vs SD is probably > 4x (not sure precisely how it’s defined), so anticipate that the per capita inventory is closing in on SD.

[Author]

Posts