When Alex Hudson moved to the Central Valley to escape the high housing prices of the Bay Area four years ago, he thought that he had found paradise.
He didn’t mind the commute to work four days a week – he telecommuted on the fifth – and with the money that he saved on rent he was able to buy a better car that made the commute even somewhat enjoyable.
But as more and more people are moving into the Northern San Joaquin Valley to escape the high cost of living in the nine Bay Area counties, Hudson has watched his rent increase year-after-year to a point that’s close to what he was paying in the Bay Area when he first moved here.
“It’s kind of crazy – I thought that it was going to stay close to the same, but it’s gone up so much in just that short amount of time,” Hudson said. “Granted, it’s a lot more expensive where I used to live – that’s gone up as well – but I’m thinking that maybe it’s time to buy a house because at least those payments are stable.”
As homes spring up in what was once farmland to serve the growing communities that dot the freeways that provide access to the sprawling San Francisco Bay Area, what were once affordable options for Central Valley natives are becoming fewer and father between.
Since 2012 – when the Central Valley housing market began to stabilize after bring crushed in the economic collapse of 2008/09 – some apartments in Manteca have gone up as much as 70 percent, while the trend across the board has been to renovate existing apartments to cater to luxury-minded renters that appreciate modern and stylish amenities.
While the move to modernize buildings has created higher-quality housing options for those who don’t want to be tied down to a traditional mortgage, it has taken away opportunities for affordable housing – even with subsidized apartment complexes now part of the citywide inventory.
“We had our name on the list for two years to get into one of those places,” said resident Mary Daly, who has two children. “Right now, we’re staying with friends because we can’t afford the deposit to get into a place of our own right now.
“It’s a lot of money to save up for the first month and the deposit and everything that you need for a new place – it’s cheaper to rent a room and keep your stuff in storage.”
And even older apartment complexes aren’t immune to the increases.
While the cost of a 1-bedroom apartment at Paseo Villas has gone up almost 70 percent since 2012, a 1-bedroom apartment at Stonegate has nearly doubled in the same amount of time – going from $775 in 2012 to $1,539 at current rates.
Those spikes, Hudson said, have come much sharper in recent years, and he and his girlfriend are now looking at other options.
“My pay hasn’t increased as much as the rent so there’s less money to go around,” he said. “I guess that’s just the way things are now for everybody.”
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
