Investment in East Palo Alto

[Anil Bansal]

I have bought 2 SFR in East Palo Alto for around 800K and 900K and have rented both of them. They are both cash positive. This was during last 1 year. What do people think of East Palo Alto in terms of further appreciation of real estate. Real estate has taken a dip during last 6 months but now has begun to show signs of again coming up. I have seen that EPA is one of the very few places in Bay Area where rents are high as compared to the price you pay for the property. This is in comparison to other cities in the bay area. Would like to get in touch with other people who have invested in EPA and know their opinions.

[Jay Hinrichs]

Originally posted by @Arlen Chou:

@Anil Bansal EPA is an interesting market. As you are probably aware there is strong RC in EPA. There has been a steady increase of gentrification in the city for many decades, but it has accelerated over the past few years. The city itself was very limited in tax revenue for decades because of its small size.  However, they have done a great job of building up the area on both sides of the 101 near Palo Alto. If you follow the growth of the tax base, the infrastructure of the city has gotten much better. All of this has lead to lower crime rates and increasing property values. Million dollar homes are becoming the norm in what was considered the "hood". I am sure your 2 homes have seen great appreciation since you purchased them! If you have the cash to invest in this town to make your properties cash flow positive, I think the appreciation play is strong in this little city.

I can hardly stand to read this..  I bought a home in 1979 in EPA for 8k  it was a wreck of course and you took your life in your hands going there.. but man what a play that would have been to stack up on all those sub 30k homes back then :)