Investing in Bakersfield? Worth it?

Question

Hi everyone! First time posting here! I know I’m pretty late to the game but have been giving bakersfield some serious thought in terms of buying a house and renting it out (I currently live in LA so not as easy to do here). I’ve heard the market is super hot there, just wondering if anyone has experiencing renting property and if it’s easy to do? I’d be looking in the west Stockdale area. Any advice is much appreciated!

Sanjeev Advani · Answer

@Ania Milaszewicz welcome!  This is a great place to get started!  If you are looking at rental property in the Bakersfield area, and looking for cash flow, there are definitely some deals to be had, but like @Gene Hacker said you are definitely going to have to be more careful than a few years ago.

If you are looking in the single family market to rent for cash flow, that is still possible, but in some cases the multifamily market will return better, again if the main objective is cash flow.  If you are looking for a combined cash flow/appreciation strategy, that might lend itself better to a single family approach given the current pricing and growth.

I would say that Bakersfield is poised to grow in the years to come as the development has grown so much, and not just in the residential sector.  There are a lot of changes at the local levels which I believe will also help move Bakersfield forward over the mid to long term as well.

Feel free to PM me if you would like to chat further!

Best

Sunny

Gene Hacker · Answer

Bakersfield is experiencing more growth than other areas of the state which I think is a good thing.  It is harder to get cashflow than in the past, but I still see serious investors taking down some really good deals.