Instructions:
Respond to the two discussion post posted by my classmates. It is very important that you are respectful while responding, giving feedback, and your own thoughts on the topic. Use MLA citations if you used
any sources.
Important:
BELOW is the discussion question that the responses are based on. DO NOT answer the question, this is
just for you to understand what the topic is.
The question we answered: (do NOT respond to this)
These are the best cities for middle-class families, by State:
It can be difficult to choose a place to live if you have a family. There is any number of factors you need to consider, from housing costs to education systems.
A recent report by Simple Thrifty Living looked at cities across all 50 states to find which ones were the best for middle-class families.
The site looked at data for more than 9,500 cities in the U.S. They analyzed seven factors, including, income, real estate taxes, home value, unemployment, college education, and school and job availability.
Cities were only ranked against other cities in their state, according to the report.
For each state, the website listed the 100 best cities (states like Hawaii had fewer than 100 cities listed).
Here are the top cities for middle-class families, according to Simple Thrifty Living, by State:
Huntsville, Ala.
Anchorage, Alaska
Phoenix, Ariz.
North Little Rock, Ark.
San Diego, Calif.
Denver, Colo.
Wethersfield, Conn.
Lewes, Del.
Tampa, Fla.
Atlanta, Ga.
Waimalu, Hawaii
Boise City, Idaho
(the list continues, but you get the point)
1. THE FIRST PERSON YOU ARE RESPONDING TO:
Area: Lake Tahoe California
Influential Factors: Celebrity News and Job Opportunities
For this discussion, I decided to study the region I grew up in, Lake Tahoe, because it has a very interesting Real Estate and financial climate. Arguably the most interesting area of Lake Tahoe’s Real Estate to observe is celebrity news and property. Many famous individuals own
or rent property in Lake Tahoe. I remember learning about how Oprah had a house just 15 minutes away from mine a few years ago and being starstruck. And I certainly remember the first time I was paddleboarding along the shore and somebody yelled to me that I was in front of Mark Zuckerberg’s house! In July, Forbes released an article detailing Mark Zuckerberg’s Lake Tahoe estate on the shores I grew up on. Forbes writers describe the Real Estate industry in the region, “Many locals are fleeing the area because of high prices, making it impossible to survive, and yet the wealthy continue to make this their private playground.” In 2018, Mark Zuckerberg purchased a massive lakefront estate for $59 million. After this, tech executives from large corporations like Google and Apple followed in Mark’s footsteps and it was reported that around 30% of new buyers of the lakefront properties were from the tech industry. Dipping into the luxury properties factor, the Forbes article details how a buyer could become neighbors with Zuckerberg if they are willing to face the $64.5 and $55 million price tags. The second factor to address is job opportunities. As previously stated, the technology industry is having massive impacts on Tahoe’s real estate market. An article by Detroit News describes how the tech industries shifted from Bay Area office complexes to online, work from home jobs during COVID. Because tech workers could essentially work from anywhere, they choose to work where they would typically vacation. Sharon Kerrigan, the vice president of the South Lake Tahoe Realtors Association stated that a total of 372 properties sold from June to August, up from 197 in the same time period last year. The lakefront community of Tahoe Keys saw its median home price jump almost 15% in one year up to $976,000. Real Estate Broker Ginger Nicolay-Davis said, “Inventory is very low, we are seeing multiple offers, cash offers, sight-unseen offers. It’s great, but you also worry: Can a market like this sustain that?” Two very large factors that are influencing the shifts in Lake Tahoe Real Estate are celebrity purchases, and shifts in job opportunities due to COVID.
2. THE SECOND PERSON YOU ARE RESPONDING TO:
City: Alameda, CA
Influential Factor: Local Housing Trends
Home sales in Alameda are down about 19% year-over-year for the month of August, however, it’s still a highly competitive market (Redfin, 2022). In fact, according to Redfin (2022), homes in Alameda are currently seeing about five offers on average, and sell within two weeks. Additionally, homes sell for about 14% above the list price (Redfin, 2022). Narrowing it down, the median selling price for a single-family home last month was $1.6 million, which is up about 16% from the same time last year, while the average price of a townhome is up, hitting about $1.07 million, which is about an 8% jump (Redfin, 2022). Meanwhile, condos are down 4% year-over-year, with the average sale price sitting at $733k (Redfin, 2022). According to Rocket Homes (2022), Alameda is a seller’s market, which I’d echo as well. While sales are technically down, demand is still here. I think a large portion of that is because homes in Alameda generally have fantastic walking scores. Every neighborhood seems to have its own little “downtown.” On a personal note, even though I live three blocks away from the city’s main street, on my block alone there are three restaurants, two liquor/convenience stores, and a laundromat. With all of this being said, interest rates are not really having a significant impact on home sales in Alameda, because of its popularity and location. For context, it’s about 20 minutes to downtown San Francisco, five minutes to Oakland, an hour to San Jose, an hour to Napa, and about 3/3.5 hours to Lake Tahoe.
Influential Factor: Transportation
Regarding transportation, some neighborhoods are easier to get to the freeway than others. For those who want to live near the freeway, I’d recommend Marina Village, Fernside, East End, or Bay Farm. Each of these is either close or a fairly easy drive to I-880. On the map, Bay Farm looks further away from the freeway, however, there’s a “back road” that you can take all the way past the Oakland International Airport with minimal traffic. It takes you all the way down, close to San Leandro, so commuters can skip some of the Oakland-area back-ups on the freeway. In terms of public transportation, there are bus stops all over town and can get you pretty much anywhere you need to go. For commuters, there’s a bus that takes people from the Alameda Landing Shopping Center into downtown Oakland, since parking there is minimal. This is quite popular among those who work in that area, and don’t want to deal with the hassle that comes with finding and paying for a parking spot. Alameda also boasts a ferry service, which commuters can take into San Francisco. This is a great option for those who are looking to skip bridge traffic. People can also take the ferry to both Giants and Warriors games, as there’s a service set up directly with the teams’ schedules. BART in Oakland is about a 10-minute drive and a 15-to-20-minute bike ride from almost any part of the island. Riders can take BART all the way down to San Jose/Milpitas, or all the way to the San Francisco International Airport. Alameda also backs up to the Oakland International Airport, so getting out of town is also relatively.
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