Is Victorville a good place to invest? (Santa Ana, San Bernardino: foreclosures, luxury)

[CmpEngineer]

Is Victorville a good place to invest? My friend bought a house there 2 years ago, and it went up so much in value. He said Victorville was booming.

[Thunderbird]

Hi CmpEngineer!


Home prices have doubled out here since 2004. The market is still good, but not as hot as it was during this last spring and summer.

Currently, a home that sells for $250,000 or less, is a hot buy.

Property for less money can be found out in Lucerne Valley. Not as hot as Victorville, but slowly getting there.

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

Same happened 15 years ago, when another boom in house values along the coast pushed people north and east. By the mid-90s, it was more foreclosures and rentals in the Victor Valley. No matter how many On the Borders and two-story houses the area adds, it doesn't have enough mid-level and above jobs to support another generation of professionals. The bust clock is ticking.

[Thunderbird]

In June 2004 we were told at a city volunteer meeting that it was going to be like another Orange County out here. House prices would raise, population, businesses popping up, etc. In 2005 it did, and dramatically it did at that!

Recently I went to another meeting for city volunteers, and information supplied at the meeting showed that it is still booming here and will continue.
Like any other area, not as much during the Spring and Summer time, but still...

[UB50]

My folks lived up there for quite awhile. It is a boom/bust area. They lived up there off and on since the late 1950s.

Unfortunately, a lot of the jobs are down the hill through the Cajon pass. When it snows in the winter, it's a "multi-hour detour" to try and get down the hill -- if you can get down at all.

[Thunderbird]

UB50, I bet your parents had some stories for the area.

I've heard some doozies and some pretty good ones myself.

My parents lived out here in the early 50's, and had not my father been transferred to another military base, they could have bought the house in Victorville that they lived in with all the acreage surrounding it - which is now the Green Tree Golf Course.

Yep, if someone wants to commute down the Cajun Pass, they really need to keep in mind that it’s not always a smooth trip.

The pass get’s heavy fog, snow, ice, and traffic jams, get's closed down every now and again.
Matter of fact, Interstate 15 and Interstate 215 interchange this weekend, beginning
today from 9 a.m. and continuing through to 1 p.m. Sunday because of roadwork.
To top it off, there is an Aerosmith and Motley Crue concert "down the hill" tomorrow.

[UB50]

My parents bought their house in Phelan in the 1950s. They finally sold it in the early 1970s. They didn't make much money on it.

Re: Cajon Pass -- also gets fire, accidents, heavy duty Santa Ana winds down at the bottom (the worst I've ever seen in California on I-215 into San Bernardino).

Personally, if I was buying for "really long term investment" -- say 30 years or so, I'd buy land out in the Victorville area. For a shorter term, I'd think about buying "down the hill."

[dodgerdogsforall]

The pass is an issue at times but not as bad as the local up her want to make it out to be. I commuted through the fires, snow, fog (exaggerated, not that bad if you can drive with a brain). The trip down has no stop and do unless it is an accident or weather, then you have some but not like an LA or Orange County commute at all. I lived down the hill for 14 years before I moved to the Desert and the AM drive on the 60 or 10 westbound from the inland empire is 10X worse. Not to mention the 57 or the 91 in the AM. Also, the trip back up the hill is the issue, but the construction projects have added lanes and created truck lanes so the truck accidents have decreased quite a bit. More new construction is ongoing and on the way to ensure that the area will remain accessible. Basically people are moving her due to economics, here you can own a house for cheaper, but that has changed. Now anything that's a 4bed three bath below $330 is a steal. The new homes that are going up have lowered the boom a bit due to surplus (plus the investors have been selling after the leveling out). After all the first and second phases are over and the inventory starts to drop a bit, then the area will rise again so it is a good time to buy. This is not the 1990's when Rancho and the areas down the hil were just beginning to develop. Those areas are established and doing well. We are gettingthe overflow from down the hill and this will not stop. next up is probably Barstow after Victorville and Adelanto push north and west. This may very well be the next Ranho or Orange County. People think those areas are somehow perfect and crime free but hardly, and the same is true here. Much has been made of the crime problem in VV, but what is not considered is that VV is where everybody goes to eat, shop, etc. Phelan and Adelanto are just now starting to develop retail-wise, and frames are up that confirm that it is not over by any stretch. I've been up here 4 years and it has grown tremendously. No end in sight for now so long as the down the hill prices remain stable or rise.

[PCGURU]

To simply state this in reply to this POST , the Pass is the only way Many people who Work from the Desert and want to Live in the Desert get to Work from the Desert if they want to afford their Luxury Home which cost Half of what it would in OC. I agree with the POST earlier by LivingLikeAGradStudent , if you read that simple statement and Open your eyes to the obvious reality of the Job situation up Here in the Desert, you will see that there is no major job base up here BUT RETAIL, you state it yourself that there are Retail jobs. Excuse me, Retail jobs don't pay squat ! I am a Technical professional and I just moved to VV last July and there are not many if some High Tech jobs up here or Executive or any Mid level education required positions available in the Desert. Management , Sales ... oh yeah Doctors and Laywers (not many of them either I bet) so what else besides these ? Not everyone is a Salesperson and not everyone makes a big salary even if they are a Manager of Fast Food restaurants. Sorry there are builders too, yeah once it has been built They will all be looking for work. How much new development is going to keep these guys employed 52 weeks out of the year?

The majority of the jobs are DOWN the HILL , I did it for 7 months and now I am out of a job that I can not find out here. I can't afford to live here or there. Sure rent is cheap out here but to own a home you still need 80k in income. Where are the jobs up here that pay that salary or let's say half of that for a 2 income family? I don't see too many of them.

More manufacturing or Industry that will support better paying jobs is what the Desert needs, not more houses to bring in thousands of people to over populate the area with commuters through the PASS.

Sorry but you won't convince me otherwise until I see change, I would more likely move back into OC because of the stress and strain of the Pass and the commute from here.

Think about the total impact on the area, prices of housing is just one factor but if people can't make enough money up here then it is going to be another L A city and county. Poverty and Gangs, I know there is enough of it already, now it will just get worse.

Thanks to greedy Builders and people who see nothing but $ $ $ no more beautiful views of the mountains and on and on ...

Originally Posted by dodgerdogsforall

The pass is an issue at times but not as bad as the local up her want to make it out to be. I commuted through the fires, snow, fog (exaggerated, not that bad if you can drive with a brain).

a BRAIN HE SAYS ! , excuse me if I am not a Bachelor Degree holder but I think traffic is simple enough for me to handle.

I lived down the hill for 14 years before I moved to the Desert and the AM drive on the 60 or 10 westbound from the inland empire is 10X worse. Not to mention the 57 or the 91 in the AM.

Wow , 14 yrs ... I grew up in OC try 40+ so you think you saw enough in that time to compare to the Desert? And yes the 60 and the 10 are likely worse but where do you think the people from up the Hill come down to to Work? For me it was all the way into Irvine, wise guy.


Also, the trip back up the hill is the issue, but the construction projects have added lanes and created truck lanes so the truck accidents have decreased quite a bit. More new construction is ongoing and on the way to ensure that the area will remain accessible.

Yes they did add a few miles combined directions to have a Truck lane, I think that is all we can expect them to be able to do though.


Basically people are moving her due to economics, here you can own a house for cheaper, but that has changed. Now anything that's a 4bed three bath below $330 is a steal. The new homes that are going up have lowered the boom a bit due to surplus (plus the investors have been selling after the leveling out). After all the first and second phases are over and the inventory starts to drop a bit, then the area will rise again so it is a good time to buy.

Yeah , that is the ONLY REAL REASON I MOVED OUT HERE. Otherwise there is nothing to offer me. Well except cleaner air, but don't don't expect that to last either with the amount of houses that are being built. People also sold their pieces of junk in OC for tidy profits and now can put down cash on these cheap things and then they don't need to work a high paying job anymore. Ever consider that? Why else is everyone driving all these new cars? Is everyone working a high paying job but me? Don't answer that, I do not have a college degree but the work I do does pay well into 60k and up without the paper. There just are not the same type of jobs out here for people like myself, how are we expected to Live here and support families without having to commute the HILL? Answer that with a realistic answer. And don't try to tell me to start my own business, if I were so inclined to I would have done it. Not everyone is an Entrepreneur, some people will always work for a living and that is just how it is. Not everyone in life is cut out to do the same things that some other people do. Common sense tells you that.


This is not the 1990's when Rancho and the areas down the hil were just beginning to develop. Those areas are established and doing well. We are gettingthe overflow from down the hill and this will not stop. next up is probably Barstow after Victorville and Adelanto push north and west. This may very well be the next Ranho or Orange County.

You are right, it is not the 90's and this is not going to be a Rancho for quite some time if at all. Look at the freight situation and the cost of doing business further away from major transportation hubs. Why don't you just propose they put an International Airport up here and we would all be saved!!! And the push into Barstow and West? Adelanto so far is the only area that really has any Manufacturing jobs but what do they pay and what are they making?


People think those areas are somehow perfect and crime free but hardly, and the same is true here. Much has been made of the crime problem in VV, but what is not considered is that VV is where everybody goes to eat, shop, etc.

I have been visiting up here on an almost Monthly basis until last year when I moved up here. I can't say too much about this except that crime is going to be a factor of the type of people who are migrating in from other areas. Who is coming here, not everyone can afford to live down the hill any longer. I am a victim of that, economics has forced me to find a reasonable solution for housing. And many people up here are doing the same and I will bet a lot of them make less money than me. Where did they come from and what walk of life are they from? Do you think everyone who comes up here is just a hard working, clean and respectful Joe or Jane? Not to say the area does not have enough of them already but tell me that you have not seen more of the type of people who do not have simple regards for their fellow community members or show respect for their neighbors they live next to. Sure you can say that those people are everywhere, and I would agree with that. And by the way , what does the fact that everyone goes to Eat and Shop have to do with the crime? That just confirms that there are not enough things for people to do(work or hobby, whatever) and so they are robbing and stealing because they see opportunity. What you are overlooking is the fact that the inner cities are elevating the cost of living so much that the Middle class can no longer be a middle class and are forced to going to areas that are more affordable ex. VV, Hesperia, Adelanto and so on. Do you see real improvement up here or has there been a downgrade in the mainstream of social interaction?



Phelan and Adelanto are just now starting to develop retail-wise, and frames are up that confirm that it is not over by any stretch. I've been up here 4 years and it has grown tremendously. No end in sight for now so long as the down the hill prices remain stable or rise.

OMG , 4 yrs now and how many of those have you had to commute down the hill to work? Well that is not so much a point I want to make but more people do than don't, I would bet on it. RETAIL , the whole community up here can not be supported by RETAIL business. What do you think everyone is going to do, SHOP all day? Buy buy bye .... we can't always be just consumers. Well anyway the Bottom will drop out of this mess if it has not already begun, but hey I am just skeptical and pessimistic so maybe none of what I said is really going to happen ... just yet. We will have to wait and see I guess.

[natronacounty]

Good rebuttal, PCGURU. I can sense the logic in your last post; it seems very realistic and believable to me. This statement is so telling:

Thanks to greedy Builders and people who see nothing but $ $ $ no more beautiful views of the mountains and on and on ...

Avarice knows no bounds :-(