The University of California at Riverside (UCR) and the Real Estate Market
My family and I first moved to the Riverside California
area when my husband accepted a position in the UCR physics department. Having just come from a tiny condo in
Santa Monica, we were excited at the prospect of at last owning a spacious home with room to garden and play Frisbee with the dog. On our very first day of looking, we fell in love at first sight with a house only a few minutes from the campus and blocks from an excellent high school. We wrote up the offer that day, had it accepted, and moved in as soon as escrow closed. Needless to say, the market has changed a lot since then, and junior faculty now have a much harder time, but they’re still great buyers due to their motivation and employment at the university.
As a faculty spouse, I’m keenly aware of faculty and student housing issues and how they affect the neighborhoods around the UCR campus. Homes in the UCR area have doubled in price in the last few years, and this increase reflects general real estate market trends in
Southern California. To compound matters, older residents in the area like it so much that they generally don’t move out even long after their children have grown up and left home. Thus, even while many houses to the north and east of the campus were typically built in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s and might be considered “starter” homes in other parts of the city, they have become life-long homes for residents who don’t want to move “up” to larger and newer properties. Then there are fraternities and sororities competing for the few houses that come on the market to the north of the campus. I’ve been asked about the possibility of buying houses that are currently rentals, but only a few of them have been coming on the market. Investors bought these houses when prices were low and even though many of these homes are earning about 5.5% annually in rent of what they would if they were sold, they represent a dependable income for owners who don’t feel ready to sell and invest in properties with higher income potential.
With their starting salaries not increasing at nearly the same pace as the few homes on the market, and seeing how rents are still much lower than mortgage payments, junior faculty are faced with a touch choice. Should they get into the market now and invest a large portion of their pay or should they take the chance on renting and waiting to see if prices go down or up?
Fortunately, junior faculty members have 2 points in their favor, and it’s well worth reminding sellers of them. First off, they’re in good shape for getting a loan as they are eligible for a special university program for faculty and senior management. Secondly—and this can be a deciding factor when a seller has to choose between multiple offers—they are a fairly stable segment of the population. And when sellers are relinquishing a home where they have resided for years and raised their children, they may very well prefer to sell it to another family rather than an investor who will rent it out
The Neighborhoods Around the UC Riverside Campus
For those of you who are just getting acquainted with the UCR area, there are various
Riverside neighborhoods that surround the UCR campus, and they are strikingly different from one another. Starting immediately north of the campus and going clockwise are University, Canyon Crest, and Victoria. To the southeast is the Sycamore Canyon/Canyon Springs area while further south but still accessible are Mission Grove and Orangecrest. Near Downtown is the Wood Streets neighborhood, and the Hawarden Hills area is located south of historic
Victoria Avenue. In Moreno Valley, the Box Canyon area north of the 60 also offers another convenient location for UCR faculty and students.
Most of the houses in the area directly surrounding the UCR campus were built in the 50’s and 60’s. More recent tract housing is found in
Sycamore Canyon, Mission Grove, Canyon Crest, Orangecrest, and Moreno Valley. For those who prefer older, historic homes with tree-lined streets, the Wood Streets have houses from the early decades of the twentieth century and even a few Victorians.
Victoria has a mix of tract houses from the 50’s through the 80’s, and Hawarden Hills has a full-range from stately Victorians through twenty-first century estate homes.
Condos built in the 70’s can be found north of the UCR campus and in Canyon Crest to the south as well as in the
Victoria area. While still generally more affordable, condos have increased drastically in price over the past year. For professors who travel frequently, condos present a viable alternative as owners know that the property will be maintained while they’re away. Moreover, condo owners can rent out during a sabbatical or even exchange housing with visiting faculty. Condos with pools and club houses also offer the possibility of enjoying these amenities while sharing the responsibility of their maintenance.
Starting your search
If you’re looking at buying a home close to UCR, you can give me a call or e-mail me to discuss your particular needs and preferences. I can give you a tour of the area and discuss housing, schools, commutes, and even utilities with you. If you’re out of the area, I can give you an idea of prices and availability to help you plan your move and make the transition as smooth as possible. If you need to start your search from out of town, I can send you digital photos of houses and alert you to houses that may interest you.
