California's Inland Empire: Hard times hit, and we slowly disappear

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California's Inland Empire: Hard times hit, and we slowly disappear



<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-straight8-2009mar08,0,480698.story">http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-straight8-2009mar08,0,480698.story</A>
 
We went touring open homes this weekend (Costa Mesa/Newport).



House one: vacant foreclosure needing paint, carpet, floors, new kitchen, new roof, a couple walls knocked out and all bathrooms redone, but hey, the pool wasn't green. Your basic, original 1960s update.



House two: vacant foreclosure, partial 60s update done before the previous owner busted out, new granite on top of old cabinets. The rest of the work and the update remain, another $500K rental-grade foreclosure needing $100K+ of work.



House three: vacant, a deceased. A widow who obviously lived out her years with the house as her handy-man husband had left it. Last update, including major addition done in the 1970s. Every single room needs to redone including massive landscaping and repair.



At that point, we headed over to Newport to oogle some out of our comfort zone pricing but still inhabited abodes.
 
[quote author="Anonymous" date=1236652288]California's Inland Empire: Hard times hit, and we slowly disappear



<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-straight8-2009mar08,0,480698.story">http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-straight8-2009mar08,0,480698.story</A></blockquote>


I don't get it, was that story fictional? It was absolutely frightening and I'm sure it could be true but at the end I saw that the author has written a novel which makes me doubt that it is true.
 
From the Op-Ed pages, the LA Times was soliciting accounts of the recession/depression "from your own neighborhood," so it's supposed to be non-fiction. I don't suppose we can really know the accuracy without the LA Times investigating every submission.
 
[quote author="tmare" date=1236683746][quote author="Anonymous" date=1236652288]California's Inland Empire: Hard times hit, and we slowly disappear



<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-straight8-2009mar08,0,480698.story">http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-straight8-2009mar08,0,480698.story</A></blockquote>


I don't get it, was that story fictional? It was absolutely frightening and I'm sure it could be true but at the end I saw that the author has written a novel which makes me doubt that it is true.</blockquote>


The woman is a professor at UCR and I think grew up in the area... It's very possible that most of her tale is/was true.



Near where I went to high school, this is what one square mile of RE looks like today:



<img src="http://www.ipoplaya.com/berdoo030909.jpg" alt="" />



Just imagine the stress, desperation, and crime an environment like that would cause...
 
I still remember a co-worker who lives Riverside Co. shared stories about his unemployed neighbors. How they would drink and leave empty beer bottles on his porch while he's at work. And often, they would set off his home alarm. The poor fellow had to drive from Orange Co. to check on his home.



And this was when the economy was not as bad as it is now.
 
The author almost certainly lives in either Eastside of Casa Blanca, the two bad parts of Riverside which would be considered "the hood", if you will. There has been a flight to quality, even on the low-end, so many foreclosed Eastside and Casa Blanca houses won't sell at any price now, and just sit vacant. There's a house in Eastside that sold for $285k at peak that's now an REO with no takers at $50k, for example. People who use to be able to only barely afford a house in these places can now buy one in a better part of town.



Not all of Riverside is like that. The newer sections could be mistaken for Irvine, although the lot sizes (in general) tend to be larger. Some of the older areas are quite beautiful, with lots of trees and very nice antique houses with lots of character. It's like describing a section of South Central LA and expecting Beverly Hills to be the same.
 
[quote author="Geotpf" date=1237879149]The author almost certainly lives in either Eastside of Casa Blanca, the two bad parts of Riverside which would be considered "the hood", if you will. There has been a flight to quality, even on the low-end, so many foreclosed Eastside and Casa Blanca houses won't sell at any price now, and just sit vacant. There's a house in Eastside that sold for $285k at peak that's now an REO with no takers at $50k, for example. People who use to be able to only barely afford a house in these places can now buy one in a better part of town.



Not all of Riverside is like that. The newer sections could be mistaken for Irvine, although the lot sizes (in general) tend to be larger. Some of the older areas are quite beautiful, with lots of trees and very nice antique houses with lots of character. It's like describing a section of South Central LA and expecting Beverly Hills to be the same.</blockquote>


Geo, sounds like you live in Riverside.
 
[quote author="nefron" date=1241096621][quote author="Geotpf" date=1237879149]The author almost certainly lives in either Eastside of Casa Blanca, the two bad parts of Riverside which would be considered "the hood", if you will. There has been a flight to quality, even on the low-end, so many foreclosed Eastside and Casa Blanca houses won't sell at any price now, and just sit vacant. There's a house in Eastside that sold for $285k at peak that's now an REO with no takers at $50k, for example. People who use to be able to only barely afford a house in these places can now buy one in a better part of town.



Not all of Riverside is like that. The newer sections could be mistaken for Irvine, although the lot sizes (in general) tend to be larger. Some of the older areas are quite beautiful, with lots of trees and very nice antique houses with lots of character. It's like describing a section of South Central LA and expecting Beverly Hills to be the same.</blockquote>


Geo, sounds like you live in Riverside.</blockquote>


Yup; see the 1992 rollback thread.
 
[quote author="nefron" date=1241514862]I can't believe how the Inland Empire is getting killed.



This place looks like a POS, but there were still no takers for it at $38,000 on the courthouse steps today. Isn't the lot worth more than that? The neighboring houses look okay.





http://www.cyberhomes.com/homes-deserthotsprings-ca-92240/10705ambrosiodr/56509556.aspx</blockquote>


In the market in Desert Hot Springs, this lot is worth less than zero. You cannot build a home on the lot and sell it for a profit because properties are selling for less than construction cost. Someone would need to bulldoze the house and pay you $50,000 to build a house on it.



It must not be in good enough condition to rent. It would only take about $400 a month rental income to make this cashflow positive.
 
[quote author="Geotpf" date=1237879149]The author almost certainly lives in either Eastside of Casa Blanca, the two bad parts of Riverside which would be considered "the hood", if you will. There has been a flight to quality, even on the low-end, so many foreclosed Eastside and Casa Blanca houses won't sell at any price now, and just sit vacant. There's a house in Eastside that sold for $285k at peak that's now an REO with no takers at $50k, for example. People who use to be able to only barely afford a house in these places can now buy one in a better part of town.



Not all of Riverside is like that. The newer sections could be mistaken for Irvine, although the lot sizes (in general) tend to be larger. Some of the older areas are quite beautiful, with lots of trees and very nice antique houses with lots of character. It's like describing a section of South Central LA and expecting Beverly Hills to be the same.</blockquote>


I am sorry to hear this. I am familiar with the nice neighborhood that you are referring to. To many badly designed houses and neighborhoods can drag down even a nice community.



There are some portion of OC such as Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Cypress, and Westminster have nice historic homes from 1900's but way too many were lost to remodels and tear-downs for modernization. The historic fabric were not cohesive and contiguous. The cities did not have a vision back in the 50's and 60's in preservation and issued tear down and remodel permits to homeowners in building their dream homes and multifamily units. These neighborhoods are worth very little today compared to Irvine.
 
[quote author="IrvineRenter" date=1241517571][quote author="nefron" date=1241514862]I can't believe how the Inland Empire is getting killed.



This place looks like a POS, but there were still no takers for it at $38,000 on the courthouse steps today. Isn't the lot worth more than that? The neighboring houses look okay.





http://www.cyberhomes.com/homes-deserthotsprings-ca-92240/10705ambrosiodr/56509556.aspx</blockquote>


In the market in Desert Hot Springs, this lot is worth less than zero. You cannot build a home on the lot and sell it for a profit because properties are selling for less than construction cost. Someone would need to bulldoze the house and pay you $50,000 to build a house on it.



It must not be in good enough condition to rent. It would only take about $400 a month rental income to make this cashflow positive.</blockquote>




If only that was the neighborhood I wanted to buy a house in....
 
My mom was born and raised in Casa Blanca. She had seven sisters and one brother and their home, I think, was on the corner of Madison and Lincoln. The little red house was torn down and a Cirle K was built there, but now it is a genric type mini-mart. It was on Madison or Monroe, but I think Madison. I have a few cousins, (and second and third), who still live in Casa Blanca. They would be quite scary if they were not my cousins. Some are the old school lowriders and some are just gangbangers. Funerals, weddings, and quinceaneras are fascinating. One of my uncles by marriage to my mom's sister was part of a family business called the Mendoza market which I think was also on Madison and the biggest seller was Manteca lard. It was definitely in Casa Blanca. My grandfather, who never learned English, was a foreman in the orange groves along and around Victoria Avenue. My grandmother had red hair and green eyes even though she was Hispanic and she was prejudiced against those who were partial Indio, and she was pregnant sixteen times. The story goes that when it came time to give birth to my mom, who was the last of the nine children, my grandmother, (Abuelita - I have no idea what her first name was), interrupted doing the laundry in the yard of the little red house on Madison, went inside, squatted, and delivered my mom without the help of the midwife/curandero, and then went back outside to finish the laundry.









When someone is referred to as Mexican, it is like referring to someone here as American. Mexican is a nationality, but the person is possibly a mixture of many different ancestries, not just Spanish and native North American, (Indio). My grandfather was Spanish and Indio and my grandmother was a mixture of French, Italian, Spanish, and some Indio, although she would not admit that either her or my grandfather were part Indio.
 
Here is a great post from Housing Kaboom:



<a href="http://housing-kaboom.blogspot.com/2009/05/prices-by-city.html">Prices by city</a>



City......................Sales...Median...2008median...% drop





Riverside County 4,390 $179,000 $295,000 -39.32%

AGUANGA 2 $125,000 $277,000 -54.87%

BANNING 38 $105,500 $217,500 -51.49%

BEAUMONT 96 $199,250 $287,500 -30.70%

BLYTHE 4 $187,500 $190,500 -1.57%

CABAZON 8 $42,500 n/a n/a

CALIMESA 7 $194,000 $275,000 -29.45%

CATHEDRAL CITY 83 $150,000 $245,000 -38.78%

COACHELLA 62 $140,000 $235,000 -40.43%

CORONA 447 $300,000 $395,000 -24.05%

DESERT HOT SP 154 $90,000 $174,500 -48.42%

HEMET 271 $115,000 $193,000 -40.41%

HOMELAND 3 $60,000 n/a n/a

IDYLLWILD 7 $220,000 $233,500 -5.78%

INDIAN WELLS 23 $500,000 $830,000 -39.76%

INDIO 172 $170,000 $290,000 -41.38%

LA QUINTA 99 $340,000 $566,000 -39.93%

LAKE ELSINORE 215 $170,000 $285,000 -40.35%

MENIFEE 133 $195,000 $275,000 -29.09%

MIRA LOMA 41 $276,000 $416,500 -33.73%

MORENO VALLEY 458 $135,250 $235,000 -42.45%

MURRIETA 296 $225,750 $310,000 -27.18%

NORCO 30 $394,500 $450,000 -12.33%

NUEVO 9 $140,500 $241,000 -41.70%

PALM DESERT 145 $278,000 $354,000 -21.47%

PALM SPRINGS 125 $210,000 $238,250 -11.86%

PERRIS 237 $136,000 $226,250 -39.89%

RANCHO MIRAGE 52 $355,000 $537,500 -33.95%

RIVERSIDE 505 $175,000 $300,000 -41.67%

SAN JACINTO 159 $130,000 $220,000 -40.91%

SUN CITY 154 $140,000 $246,500 -43.20%

TEMECULA 223 $257,000 $333,000 -22.82%

THERMAL 3 $171,000 $85,000 101.18%

THOUSAND PALMS 14 $110,500 $187,500 -41.07%

WHITE WATER 2 $111,000 $173,000 -35.84%

WILDOMAR 64 $224,000 $327,000 -31.50%

WINCHESTER 45 $244,000 $329,000 -25.84%





















San Berdu Co 3,060 $138,750 $265,000 -47.64%

ADELANTO 91 $84,500 $179,000 -52.79%

APPLE VALLEY 169 $115,000 $207,250 -44.51%

BARSTOW 38 $55,750 $157,500 -64.60%

BIG BEAR CITY 24 $132,000 $257,500 -48.74%

BIG BEAR LAKE 34 $262,000 $329,500 -20.49%

BLOOMINGTON 50 $136,250 $220,000 -38.07%

CEDAR GLEN 2 $63,000 n/a n/a

CHINO 72 $316,500 $431,000 -26.57%

CHINO HILLS 76 $395,000 $455,000 -13.19%

COLTON 72 $115,000 $227,500 -49.45%

CRESTLINE 14 $115,000 $184,000 -37.50%

FONTANA 430 $188,136 $315,000 -40.27%

GRAND TERRACE 11 $237,500 $263,000 -9.70%

GREEN VALLEY 2 $146,250 $172,750 -15.34%

HELENDALE 21 $140,000 $260,000 -46.15%

HESPERIA 232 $106,000 $215,000 -50.70%

HIGHLAND 65 $120,000 $325,000 -63.08%

JOSHUA TREE 22 $90,000 $123,000 -26.83%

LAKE ARROWHEAD 33 $260,000 $437,500 -40.57%

LANDERS 4 $67,500 $65,000 3.85%

LOMA LINDA 12 $299,500 $349,500 -14.31%

LUCERNE VALLEY 6 $66,500 $174,500 -61.89%

LYTLE CREEK 2 $79,250 n/a n/a

MENTONE 17 $165,000 $315,000 -47.62%

MONTCLAIR 31 $215,000 $350,000 -38.57%

MORONGO VALLEY 3 $70,000 $155,000 -54.84%

NEEDLES 6 $46,500 $53,000 -12.26%

ONTARIO 150 $180,000 $305,250 -41.03%

PHELAN 15 $130,500 $230,000 -43.26%

PINON HILLS 8 $202,500 $230,000 -11.96%

RANCHO CUCA 172 $315,000 $400,000 -21.25%

REDLANDS 44 $200,000 $322,500 -37.98%

RIALTO 158 $133,000 $240,000 -44.58%

RUNNING SPRINGS 2 $111,500 $180,250 -38.14%

SAN BERNARDINO 370 $73,000 $190,000 -61.58%

SUGARLOAF 13 $140,000 $142,000 -1.41%

TRONA 2 $44,750 $45,000 -0.56%

29 PALMS 23 $82,000 $110,000 -25.45%

TWIN PEAKS 4 $102,500 $215,000 -52.33%

UPLAND 67 $379,000 $450,000 -15.78%

VICTORVILLE 376 $111,500 $222,000 -49.77%

WRIGHTWOOD 5 $290,000 $137,000 111.68%

YUCAIPA 51 $222,000 $287,000 -22.65%

YUCCA VALLEY 49 $95,500 $154,500 -38.19%
 
Because you have your eye on a place in Blythe, and you are happy to see it is holding steady?



The following post is better.



I still think that he is too optimistic, though. As the prices in nicer areas go down, prices in the IE are going to be hammered *more* than 50% off.
 
The percent drop is from the 2008 median. I'm under the impression that the IE and SD started their downward march sooner than OC. The median in '09 for some of the really bad places is already over 60% decline from the peak.
 
[quote author="stepping_up" date=1243581076]The percent drop is from the 2008 median. I'm under the impression that the IE and SD started their downward march sooner than OC. The median in '09 for some of the really bad places is already over 60% decline from the peak.</blockquote>


For an insane example, see the Palm Springs thread for a house with a 92.8% drop from it's peak 2006 price.
 
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