Is West Oakland The West Coast's Brooklyn?

In 2004 my son left to go to college at New York University which is in the Village. At the time, the Village was The place to be for not only NYU students, but young professionals as well as the artists struggling in NY. When he graduated in 2008 the financial market was in crisis so rents were dropping, and young graduates could still afford (although barely) to live there.

However, by 2010 Village rents were up again, and by 2012 most young people not working on Wall Street had left for Brooklyn. Brooklyn is now the center of the universe for 20 somethings (as evidenced by Girls and everyone I know under 30) The investors who own rental properties in Brooklyn are now blessed with an endless stream of ready and willing renters.

I see the same thing happening in West Oakland. San Francisco is so overwhelmed with start up companies and techies making pretty high salaries, that finding an affordable rental in San Francisco is very difficult, even with rent control in homes built before 1978. Many young people who simply cannot afford the sky high rents of most of SF are moving to West Oakland. This is especially popular for young artists and others in non tech-related fields.

So my advice to Silicon Valley investors looking for rental properties, maybe it is time to look at West Oakland for your long term rental property portfolio. There are plenty of 20 somethings looking for rentals, and your return on investment is better than in many other cities in the Bay Area.

If you have any questions about buying investment properties please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
www.marcymoyer.com
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194