Why are historic houses in Santa Ana so cheap compared to other places? (San Diego: low crime, safe area)

[dexter14]

Originally Posted by blam

There is a couple of houses near Downtown Santa Ana built in 1920 or before. Huge and very pretty. Some of them recently restored. Prices are around 550 and some even below 500. Why are those so cheap compared to other parts of Orange County?

those houses in Santa Ana

1. no hoa
2. looks awesome/historic
3. huge house
4. huge lot
5. 500k

while houses in Lake Forest

1. hoa
2. looks like crap
3. big size for 800k+, normal size 700k, apartment size 600k
4. small lot


Is the only drawback here that its in Santa Ana? Or am I missing something else here?

Because its still in dirty ghetto Santa Ana, thats why. Have a look at the crime rates, demographics and education levels of both Santa Ana vs Lake Forest and it will become clear. Not to mention LF is MUCH nicer and cleaner than SA. No felons and drug dealers roaming the streets either.

[RudyOD]

Originally Posted by bowneline

I think there are a few contributing factors:

1. Schools are terrible. Good schools can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to a houses' price, and bad schools can subtract hundreds of thousands of dollars.

2. Neighborhood still a little run down. French Park, for example, has a great housing stock, but the area is still a little run down. Peppered among the neat old houses are over-crowded, run down apartment buildings, and a lot of the old houses are showing serious signs of age (pealing paint, sagging roofs, etc). Compare this to Old Town Orange, where most of the houses are fixed up.

3. Bad Reputation. Santa Ana has a bad reputation in Orange County. A lot of people are weary of taking on a Santa Ana address.

5. Small size of gentrifying class in OC. Unlike places like LA, Brooklyn, Oakland, etc..., Orange County lacks the large group of young, hip, artsy types who have the desire and means to take over an old neighborhood. There is obviously an effort underway to make downtown Santa Ana more of a hip, artsy place, but I just don't see enough people willing to move into the area to change tide -- at least in the short term. Millennials are much more interested in living in a place like French Park, and as the generation matures and starts buying houses, maybe French Park will become more of a hot spot. We may look back 10 years from now and kick ourselves for not buying into French Park today, when it is still cheap.



Let me introduce you to James Musik Jail, a part of the Orange County Jails system. It's located in Irvine, a stone's throw from family orientated track homes in Lake Forest.

Great point, plus, if I made add to that, a lot of OC's creative yuppies end up moving to Los Angeles, to those exact neighborhoods that are being gentrified over there. I do have a few friends who had made the move to downtown Santa Ana to be among the young professional/artsy culture, but many more who have moved to LA. I think the problem is also a lack of public transportation, which even LA does way better than OC, especially in those neighborhoods that are being invested in and sought after this same demographic group.

If we could find a way to connect our pedestrian friendly neighborhoods via light rail (Old Town Orange, DT Fullerton, Anaheim/Platinum Triangle, DT Santa Ana, Little Saigon...down to the South Coast area (Costa Mesa/Santa Ana/Newport)), we would create an incentive for the type of people looking to root themselves in more dynamic cities/neighborhoods to stay or move here. Of course, those places aren't necessarily where the job centers are, so there will still be a disconnect. All pipe dreams I guess.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by bowneline

I think there are a few contributing factors:

1. Schools are terrible. Good schools can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to a houses' price, and bad schools can subtract hundreds of thousands of dollars.

2. Neighborhood still a little run down. French Park, for example, has a great housing stock, but the area is still a little run down. Peppered among the neat old houses are over-crowded, run down apartment buildings, and a lot of the old houses are showing serious signs of age (pealing paint, sagging roofs, etc). Compare this to Old Town Orange, where most of the houses are fixed up.

3. Bad Reputation. Santa Ana has a bad reputation in Orange County. A lot of people are weary of taking on a Santa Ana address.

5. Small size of gentrifying class in OC. Unlike places like LA, Brooklyn, Oakland, etc..., Orange County lacks the large group of young, hip, artsy types who have the desire and means to take over an old neighborhood. There is obviously an effort underway to make downtown Santa Ana more of a hip, artsy place, but I just don't see enough people willing to move into the area to change tide -- at least in the short term. Millennials are much more interested in living in a place like French Park, and as the generation matures and starts buying houses, maybe French Park will become more of a hot spot. We may look back 10 years from now and kick ourselves for not buying into French Park today, when it is still cheap.



Let me introduce you to James Musik Jail, a part of the Orange County Jails system. It's located in Irvine, a stone's throw from family orientated track homes in Lake Forest.

There are such persons in OC and I was once one of them. I am just too old and too tired of putting up with the crap required to improve an area. Just a few examples of gentrification requirements includes enduring break-ins, having tires slashed, having windows broken, putting up with incredibly loud music, risking being attacked randomly at night, having to paint over graffiti almost daily, having to pick up fast food bags, beer bottles and other trash (often large) daily.

And this also assumes that the hardy souls moving in have no children (and likely will stay childless) since we know what kind of schools these districts have. This leaves mostly young gay men as the best candidates for this work and Santa Ana would be wise to work to attract them to Santa Ana to do the work needed. There are some there I am told, but too few. OC was not been very welcoming of the very group it needs desperately in Santa Ana. Besides, voters in Santa Ana are arguably even less welcoming of gays than OC as a whole, yes the Vietnamese the folks there too.

Don't count on most young bearded, flannel shirt wearing, straight, 20-something hipsters to do this work for you. These guys usually want to find a mate at some point and when they do, a baby will likely follow soon making them too transitional to take on a gentrification effort. Most women will not put up with the conditions in these 'hoods especially when there is a risk to their child. The areas have to be on the upswing before Mr. and Mrs. Hipster will brave it there.

Last, there is the Highland Park anti-gentrification movement which is new and frankly scary. Years ago, those of us brave enough to endure living in filth since we saw the amazing potential somewhere did not have to worry about these sorts of organized anti-gentrification efforts (which can be interpreted as anti gay too). The effort to "genteify" not gentrify, is also racist, but I don't see any media attention on this problem.

Then there is another social phenomenon that is working against Santa Ana. Many younger gays can live safely in other areas due to wider acceptance and thus the appetite to create/reinvigorate an amazing 'hood in Santa Ana is lessened.

[RudyOD]

Originally Posted by matzoman

That is because it is LA. A cultural, vibrant star on the world stage. OC is still kind of a suburban backwater.

I agree about what you said about L.A., but I wouldn't go as far as calling O.C. a backwater. I think part of it is that we suffer a creative brain drain...meaning the best of O.C.'s creative types end up moving to L.A. Being in such proximity to LA has both its pluses and negatives.

[matzoman]

Originally Posted by RudyOD

I agree about what you said about L.A., but I wouldn't go as far as calling O.C. a backwater. I think part of it is that we suffer a creative brain drain...meaning the best of O.C.'s creative types end up moving to L.A. Being in such proximity to LA has both its pluses and negatives.

It will take awhile. It still has a strong boomer suburban mentality that is reflected in it's politics and policies. Many of the young do leave for more free lifestyles. Good public transportation, walkable neighborhoods, places that stay open past 8:00, real diversity, not just based on surface differences but countercultural points of view and lifestyle. These are just some of the reasons.

[dexter14]

Originally Posted by matzoman

It will take awhile. It still has a strong boomer suburban mentality that is reflected in it's politics and policies. Many of the young do leave for more free lifestyles. Good public transportation, walkable neighborhoods, places that stay open past 8:00, real diversity, not just based on surface differences but countercultural points of view and lifestyle. These are just some of the reasons.

LA is a dirty city filled with illegals, homeless, drug addicts and filth. You can keep it See, I can generalize too!

[Fast Cat]

It is interesting to compare Lake Forest to DTSA, but these two areas would appeal to distinctively different types of home buyers. It is perhaps more appropriate to compare DTSA to other older urban neighborhoods, like Silverlake, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Lincoln Heights, etc.

Nevertheless, I concur with Bowneline's assessment. Particularly these comments

5. Small size of gentrifying class in OC. Unlike places like LA, Brooklyn, Oakland, etc..., Orange County lacks the large group of young, hip, artsy types who have the desire and means to take over an old neighborhood. There is obviously an effort underway to make downtown Santa Ana more of a hip, artsy place, but I just don't see enough people willing to move into the area to change tide -- at least in the short term. Millennials are much more interested in living in a place like French Park, and as the generation matures and starts buying houses, maybe French Park will become more of a hot spot. We may look back 10 years from now and kick ourselves for not buying into French Park today, when it is still cheap.

DTSA is primarily comprised of government administrative offices and law firms and bails bondsman that provide a support system to the courts. Other than a few businesses like advertising firm DGWB or television and video producer AkornTV, there lacks the critical mass of creative industries that would invigorate energy into nearby housing stock.

[matzoman]

Originally Posted by mbell75

LA is a dirty city filled with illegals, homeless, drug addicts and filth. You can keep it See, I can generalize too!

You can find all of those things in OC as well, Laguna Beach, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach. Especially the homeless drug addicts and now legals.. LOL!

[dexter14]

Originally Posted by matzoman

You can find all of those things in OC as well, Laguna Beach, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach. Especially the homeless drug addicts and now legals.. LOL!

LA is far worse. Dirtier, more crime, more illegals, many more homeless. This thread has nothing to do with LA and you live in NYC (the trendsetting city for dirty filthy streets and neighborhoods, homeless , crime and drug addicts), what are you even doing in here? Bye

USC study: 1 in 10 L.A. County residents is in U.S. illegally - Los Angeles Times

[Fast Cat]

LuvSouthOC

There are such persons in OC and I was once one of them.

Where did you live during your gentrification phase?

this also assumes that the hardy souls moving in have no children (and likely will stay childless) since we know what kind of schools these districts have. This leaves mostly young gay men as the best candidates for this work and Santa Ana would be wise to work to attract them to Santa Ana to do the work needed.

What could SA officials do to attract more people who to live in its downtown who want to upgrade its conditions?