Where To Move In California If You Can’t Afford The Bay Area

If you’ve been waiting out the Coronavirus before buying a home, you might be waiting a bit longer. Despite the fact that fewer people are buying, home prices in the Bay Area are holding steady. Depending on the Bay Area county, median home prices range from nearly $500,000 to well over $1 million. The median home value in California as a whole is creeping up to $700,000.

While that may seem counterintuitive, it seems that one segment of the real estate market is doing quite well, and that’s single family homes. While people are reluctant to place themselves in close quarters with their neighbors, such as with townhomes and especially condominiums, single family homes offer the right amount of privacy and social distancing.

If you want to buy, but a half a million dollars or more is out of your reach, there are other California cities, but if you work in any of the Bay Area cities, they can have quite the commute.

Least expensive Bay Area city

If you want to stay in the Bay Area, the most affordable city is Vallejo, with a median home price of about $435,000.

A little further out

The fourth least expensive city in California is right here in the Bay Area, sort of. Vacaville, which is about 55 miles from San Francisco, has a median home price of around $350,000.

Least expensive Los Angeles Area city

Just about an hour north of Los Angeles, the most affordable Los Angeles Area city is Oxnard, with a median home value of about $330,000

Most affordable California city

If you want to maintain a California zip code, and don’t mind a commute, Yucca Valley is about two hours east of Los Angeles. The median home price is only about $266,000.

If you don’t feel like moving that far away, you might consider moving into a townhouse or condo. As the pandemic continues, look for bargains, especially among condos.