What makes the Sacramento and Placer County market different from the Bay Area?

Hi, this is Jason Skelton with Pacific National Lending.

Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer mortgage questions from you all on the internet.

Today's question is:

"What makes the Sacramento and Placer County market different from the Bay Area?"

Summary:

Jason characterizes the Sacramento region as a substantially different market from the Bay Area, while acknowledging the Bay Area's influence — a significant amount of its money flows into the region. The areas are a short drive apart, and some residents commute. The more notable current trend he identifies is an influx of Bay Area residents retiring and relocating to the Sacramento area, a shift amplified by the prevalence of work-from-home arrangements that make the commute far less of an obstacle than it once was. His central point for buyers is value: you get considerably more for your money locally, particularly in Placer County suburbs like Roseville, Lincoln, Rancho Cordova, and Gold River, where buyers find more land and more amenities.

Answer:

Yes, it's a much, much different market than the Bay Area. Although the Bay Area has a lot of influence over our market, because a lot of their money does end up coming over here. We are a short drive. There are people who make the commute from here to the Bay Area. But what we are really seeing now is an influx in people retiring from the Bay Area and moving out here. So that is also affecting our market a little bit, especially with all the work-from-home options that are available as well, where the commute is not as detrimental as it used to be. So the market here is much different than the Bay Area. You get a lot more for your money here. Especially if you start looking at some of the suburb areas of Placer County like Roseville, Lincoln, Rancho Cordova, Gold River — all of these smaller communities that are not in the downtown scene. You get a lot more land with your home and just a lot more amenities.