Top 10 Booming Small City Real Estate Markets 2021
People are leaving San Francisco again. Moves from San Francisco have increased 649% in the last 9 months of 2020. Population growth was already negative in 2019, but 2020’s pandemic made it so much worse. Why would remote workers stay in San Francisco when they can work from home anywhere else in the world for cheaper? With Covid-19 gutting jobs and the appeal of city life, postal records show San Francisco may have lost over 89,000 households just from March to November 2020. Some are calling this an unprecedented mass exodus, but historically San Francisco has stood the test of several exoduses through the last century.
Mass exodus? Maybe. Unprecedented? Definitely not. Mass exoduses happen a lot here, actually. While San Francisco apartments the size of shoeboxes may have waiting lists now, after 2001’s dot-com crash unemployed programmers fled San Francisco and apartments went empty. Looking back even further, the Gold Rush transformed San Francisco from a tiny 200 settler town into a 36,000+ resident boomtown in just a few years. But when the decidedly not gold dust of the Gold Rush settled, people spilled into small cities nearby to save money. These small real estate markets created more fortunes than the gold as tiny towns transformed into metropolises. Once again, people are leaving San Francisco. But they’re not leaving California. They’re just moving to smaller California cities with lower rents nearby.
This is known as a spillover market, or a small city close to a large metro area with lower prices. It’s also known as the destination for San Francisco’s ex-residents and an opportunity for anyone who wants to get into real estate. Spillover markets like Vallejo or Rapid City offer lower prices and growing local economies as people move from big cities like San Francisco or even Los Angeles. Here are some of the fastest-growing cities in California in order of real estate opportunity.
While a global pandemic may not sound like the ideal time to get into real estate, that’s exactly why it is. Fear means less competition. Buyers willing to jump through some hoops may find a real estate market with lower prices and fewer bids than any other time in their lives. Besides, small city real estate is especially easy to buy during the pandemic. First, small cities don’t usually have the same tight Covid-19 restrictions as big cities like San Francisco, eliminating lots of red tape and making neighborhoods easier to scope out in person. Second, properties in nearby small cities are usually within driving distance, saving buyers the hassle of a flight during the pandemic. Third, sellers have had enough time to adopt convenient technology like 3-D listing photos, 360-degree drag-and-move panoramic room tours, and complete virtuals tours to make showings a breeze. Remote showings have also allowed real estate agents to expand their selling range. Today, buyers get access to a wider agent talent pool eager to help find a home almost anywhere at low prices and historically low mortgage rates due to new laws like Prop-19 that offer tax breaks for moving into a new house.
Normal changes. San Francisco is one of the hottest cities today, but cities rise and fall with their workers. When lockdowns end, the en-mass move to these small cities will mean greater nightlife, entertainment, culture, and reputation. Many of the Bay Area’s small cities still offer a relatively short commute to work if IRL work even comes back at all. When masks come off and the immunized dust settles, one of the above cities might just become the next San Francisco.
LINKS TO OTHER BLOG ARTICLES
QUICK GUIDE TO BUYING A HOUSE IN SAN FRANCISCO
THINGS YOU CAN DO WHILE QUARANTINED AT HOME
HOW TO BUY A HOME DURING COVID-19
GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM’S EXECUTIVE ORDER EFFECTS ON REAL ESTATE
TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY IN SAN FRANCISCO DURING SHELTER-IN-PLACE
WHAT THE CARES ACT MEANS FOR YOU (CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT)
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES FOR SHELTER-IN-PLACE
CONFIRMING WITH THE IRS WHERE TO SEND YOUR STIMULUS $$$
SAN FRANCISCO: IS NOW A GOOD TIME TO SELL A HOUSE?
HOW SAN FRANCISCO REAL ESTATE GOT SO EXPENSIVE AND WHY SF REAL ESTATE VALUES HOLD
HOW TO CHOOSE A REALTOR TO SELL YOUR INVESTMENT PROPERTY IN SAN FRANCISCO: 5 ESSENTIAL TIPS
PROP 19 PROPERTY TAX CHANGES & ACTIONS TO TAKE
Commercial Real Estate Pros + Cons
ABOUT CRYSTLE
As the CEO of a San Francisco-founded, global tech startup, Crystle understands from experience what it takes to succeed. Her real estate experience spans from successfully managing multiple properties over the last 10+ years including residential, commercial, and mixed-use, as well as her time spent actively investing in flipping properties, tax liens, tax deeds, and other property types. As a native-born and raised in San Francisco, you can trust that you’re in the good hands of a local who can help you navigate the micro-neighborhoods of San Francisco. Crystle invests in relationships and you can count on her to walk with you through the process of buying or selling your property.
You might ask yourself, “What does a tech startup have to do with real estate?”
Good question! Everything about Crystle exudes intention. Her ultimate goal is to grow her tech company so that she can utilize its philanthropic arm to fund micro-housing for the homeless in partnership with key, long-standing, and successful social services organizations in San Francisco. Real Estate gives her the ability to network and learn about developing land to purchase in the future to develop micro-housing. Her time serving on boards for these nonprofits gives her the knowledge of what these organizations really need to be able to get more people off the streets for good.
HER CURRENT FOCUS WITH REAL ESTATE CLIENTS IS TO WORK AND PARTNER WITH CHURCHES, NONPROFITS, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPERS.
The same cornerstones that drive success in her tech company are the same cornerstones that make her the best real estate agent to work with: honesty, transparency, integrity, and a relationship-focused mindset toward life.
Crystle was born and raised in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond district and continues to choose to establish her future life in San Francisco as well. She is a woman of her word. She not only financially supports several not-for-profits, but also regularly serves in her community helping the homeless, youth, and those in poverty.
In her spare time, she is an active and current member of the Board of Directors of Lutheran Social Services of Northern California, the APA Heritage Foundation Committee of San Francisco, Board Member for Old Skool Cafe, and volunteer with Mobilize Love. She has previously and faithfully served on the Board of Directors for Zion Lutheran Church and School of San Francisco, the Board of Directors for Designing a Difference, the Board of Directors for APAPA San Francisco, a member of the Friends of Smuin Ballet, and as a Co-Chair for the Princess Project.