The California town with stunning nature and a train station where property bargains are easy to find
A California city known for its breathtaking scenery and easy transportation connections is one of the last affordable places to buy in the Bay Area.
While average home prices in San Francisco have passed the $1 million mark, Bay Point offers the chance to purchase a home for a fraction of that price.
The city of 24,000 is located in Contra Costa County, just over an hour by BART train from the city of Golden Gate.
And while Zillow data shows that home prices have risen nearly 27 percent since 2020, Bay Point still remains relatively affordable.
“Since I moved here, I don’t feel like living on the peninsula anymore,” new resident and first-time buyer Florence Arkin told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Bay Point is quickly becoming one of the last affordable places to buy in the Bay Area, with its beautiful coastline pictured here
The city has green hills like these in the east, and swamps with great biodiversity in the north
The city of 24,000 is located in Contra Costa County, just over an hour by BART train from the city of Golden Gate
She bought a 2,200-square-foot property before it even hit the market.
“I just felt like if I didn’t get in when I got in, it would be impossible (later),” the single mother of two added.
Like many, Arkin was pushed out of more central areas amid skyrocketing house price inflation.
Currently, a typical Bay Point home sells for $541,000, impressively less than half of the $1.2 million homes in the San Francisco metro area.
But there are even bigger bargains to be had. One Zillow listing for a two-bedroom, two-bath home with a spacious porch is listed for just $229,000.
Meanwhile, a “meticulously maintained” three-bedroom, two-bath home is currently on the market for below average, just under $500,000.
The increase in home prices in Bay Point is a reflection of increased demand, which has remained high since the pandemic.
Remote workers who no longer needed access to the office discovered they could get more bang for their buck by heading to the quiet town.
This two-bedroom, two-bath home is for sale in Bay Point for $220,000
At less than $500,000, this three-bedroom home is less than half the cost of an average home in the San Francisco metro area
Although the price of a typical home is relatively affordable, it has increased 27% in the past four years, according to Zillow.
While value for money appeals to many homeowners, Bay Point has a wealth of other attractions.
The city boasts breathtaking scenery, including green hills in the east and biodiverse swamps in the north.
Within easy reach is the Bay Point regional coastline, offering fishing, bird watching and stunning views of Suisun Bay.
The BART station also keeps residents well connected, although commuters who work in Oakland or San Francisco can expect a round trip of up to three hours.
While the city counts a Walgreens and a few supermarkets among its stores, most people head to shopping centers in nearby Concord and Pittsburg, just a fifteen-minute drive away.
However, increased demand for real estate in Bay Point has some residents concerned about gentrification.
Bay Point’s only high school closed in 1976, and many people living in the area struggle to get jobs in the city because they have to commute elsewhere in the county for work.
Eduardo Torres, a lifelong local resident, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the area has “potential” with the right investments.
The BART station is a big draw for new residents, along with shopping centers in neighboring cities
“What does (people moving here) mean in terms of the long-term impacts of this community?” said Torres. “Is that going to push us out? … We’re kind of stuck here and waiting to see what happens.”
Nearly half of Bay Point residents are renters, and many fear they will be pushed out by landlords looking to cash in on high resale prices, or evicted for higher-paying tenants from the city.
But a lack of new homes in the Bay Area means potential buyers have no choice but to keep looking further and further, said Daryl Fairweather, senior economist at Redfin.
Housing in California became so expensive last year that San Francisco residents were willing to spend $900 on a four-foot pod to live in.
The housing crisis drove a mass migration out of the state, with 500,000 more people leaving than arriving over a two-year period.
Brownstone Shared Housing came up with a creative ‘solution’ for overpriced housing with their communal living pods.
Each capsule is 4 feet wide and 4 feet high – barely big enough for a double mattress and not nearly high enough to stand in.
The idea of small pod houses came from Japan’s “coffin house,” which was Tokyo’s solution for housing the unemployed during the country’s 2009 recession.