Carl Medford,
Agent, Fremont, CA
Let me answer this question from a different perspective. Since I live in Newark at The Lake and have sold numerous homes in Newark and the surrounding Tri-City area, I believe I’m qualified to answer this one.
A quick look at Fremont provides an interesting comparison to Newark. Those areas in Fremont with high school scores have maintained decent property values in spite of the recent market declines. Mission San Jose is a great example. Newark simply does not school scores on par with those in Fremont. Why is this an issue? Due to the fact that those looking to locate their children in good school districts will simply not look in Newark. This accounts for up to 50% of the current buying population. When up to half of homebuyers will not buy in a specific geographical area, it becomes a matter of supply and demand economics: prices go down.
Although Newark is a wonderful place to live, all of the elementary schools empty into one junior high and one senior high school. Even though we have a couple of elementary schools with API scores over 800 (the magic number), the Jr. and Sr. high API numbers are driven down by merging all the schools. The Newark City Council is very aware of this issue and how it is affecting home values in the city. I’ve personally discussed the issue with Mayor Dave Smith and submitted documentation to the city council. The NUSD school board is also working very hard to rectify the situation. Unfortunately, it is not a problem with a quick fix.
A quick study of home prices at The Lake will bear this out. The Lake is an awesome community with upscale homes and wonderful amenities. However, while comparable neighborhoods in Fremont have held their own, Lake prices in Newark have plummeted and homes are typically on the market much longer than in comparable Fremont neighborhoods.
Does this make Newark a depressed area? You be the judge. What is true, however, is that Newark has been hit harder by the market fluctuations than surrounding cities. This is not only true now; it was also true when the market was increasing. While Fremont homes were increasing in value by double digits just a few short years ago, Newark’s numbers lagged far Fremont, Union City and Milpitas. It was this exponential difference in appreciation that first alerted us to how Newark school scores were affecting property values.
School scores not an issue for you? If not, Newark is a wonderful community with some very attractive home prices in comparison to surrounding cities. Might be a great time for you to check it out!
A quick look at Fremont provides an interesting comparison to Newark. Those areas in Fremont with high school scores have maintained decent property values in spite of the recent market declines. Mission San Jose is a great example. Newark simply does not school scores on par with those in Fremont. Why is this an issue? Due to the fact that those looking to locate their children in good school districts will simply not look in Newark. This accounts for up to 50% of the current buying population. When up to half of homebuyers will not buy in a specific geographical area, it becomes a matter of supply and demand economics: prices go down.
Although Newark is a wonderful place to live, all of the elementary schools empty into one junior high and one senior high school. Even though we have a couple of elementary schools with API scores over 800 (the magic number), the Jr. and Sr. high API numbers are driven down by merging all the schools. The Newark City Council is very aware of this issue and how it is affecting home values in the city. I’ve personally discussed the issue with Mayor Dave Smith and submitted documentation to the city council. The NUSD school board is also working very hard to rectify the situation. Unfortunately, it is not a problem with a quick fix.
A quick study of home prices at The Lake will bear this out. The Lake is an awesome community with upscale homes and wonderful amenities. However, while comparable neighborhoods in Fremont have held their own, Lake prices in Newark have plummeted and homes are typically on the market much longer than in comparable Fremont neighborhoods.
Does this make Newark a depressed area? You be the judge. What is true, however, is that Newark has been hit harder by the market fluctuations than surrounding cities. This is not only true now; it was also true when the market was increasing. While Fremont homes were increasing in value by double digits just a few short years ago, Newark’s numbers lagged far Fremont, Union City and Milpitas. It was this exponential difference in appreciation that first alerted us to how Newark school scores were affecting property values.
School scores not an issue for you? If not, Newark is a wonderful community with some very attractive home prices in comparison to surrounding cities. Might be a great time for you to check it out!
Tony Doot,
Agent, Newark, CA
Newark is one of those areas that still has some decreasing prices, as is true with most areas in the Bay Area, but sales are moving quickly. The homes in good condition, and properly priced are selling quickly. In many cases they are selling for over the asking price with multipule offers again. Please do not confuse this with the insanity of a few years ago but with the low prices and record low interest ratesnow, there are many more chances for First Time Buyers and Investors to get into the market.
So, to answer the question, NO Newark is not a depressed area.
So, to answer the question, NO Newark is not a depressed area.
Susan Vanderburgh,
Property Manager, Escondido, CA
BEST ANSWER
Hello Neighbor,
I own property in Newark, CA and have seen a decline in market value of about $20,000 where I have the property. Other areas have been affected the same way, but that is not to say that buyers will offer $20,000 less than the asking price. They will probably go for blood and offer way below asking price, but that is not to say the sellers will accept.
Anyway, Newark, by all standards is not depressed. I've seen depressed areas in San Jose. Certain parts of Oakland have always been down and steady, but values continue to remain steady or enjoy slow increases, but I would not classify Oakland as "depressed". Newark is far from "depressed".
When an area is depressed, I'll know.
If you've been in your home (if in Newark) for awhile to accumulate some equity and you want or need to sell, you should consider selling at the next earliest opportunity because the values in Newark are slowly sliding, not rapidly falling like certain areas where the decrease has been dramatic. Such areas are Fremont, Antioch and Discovery Bay.
Newark is quite small and there have not been many short sales, foreclosures or bank-owned taking place, but they are out there. If you are buying, as you've indicated you are a buyer, Newark, is no more than 5 miles from Fremont (a very popular location) and extremely convenient to Menlo Park and Palo Alto. It is about half an hour from San Jose (quite close to the Great Mall and Great America). I would recommend Newark as a place to buy because it's city living but feels like the country.
Feel free to write a follow-up question.
Hello Neighbor,
I own property in Newark, CA and have seen a decline in market value of about $20,000 where I have the property. Other areas have been affected the same way, but that is not to say that buyers will offer $20,000 less than the asking price. They will probably go for blood and offer way below asking price, but that is not to say the sellers will accept.
Anyway, Newark, by all standards is not depressed. I've seen depressed areas in San Jose. Certain parts of Oakland have always been down and steady, but values continue to remain steady or enjoy slow increases, but I would not classify Oakland as "depressed". Newark is far from "depressed".
When an area is depressed, I'll know.
If you've been in your home (if in Newark) for awhile to accumulate some equity and you want or need to sell, you should consider selling at the next earliest opportunity because the values in Newark are slowly sliding, not rapidly falling like certain areas where the decrease has been dramatic. Such areas are Fremont, Antioch and Discovery Bay.
Newark is quite small and there have not been many short sales, foreclosures or bank-owned taking place, but they are out there. If you are buying, as you've indicated you are a buyer, Newark, is no more than 5 miles from Fremont (a very popular location) and extremely convenient to Menlo Park and Palo Alto. It is about half an hour from San Jose (quite close to the Great Mall and Great America). I would recommend Newark as a place to buy because it's city living but feels like the country.
Feel free to write a follow-up question.
Web Reference: http://www.resalesandloans.com
Michael Roberts @ (408) 505-5614,
Agent, San Jose, CA
Good morning, Newark, CA. is in a 'declining' market according to Citi and a handful of other banks will use the same data. This creates a difficult loan approval process. Alameda County, as a whole, has been identified as a declining market. The identifier will be attached to more areas in the coming weeks to be sure.
Michael
http://www.MichaelRobertsHomes.com
Michael
http://www.MichaelRobertsHomes.com
Andrea Davis,
Agent, Fremont, CA
Hello Home Buyer Could you clarify what you mean by 'depressed' - let me comment from this mind set. Many fingers are pointing to the Mortgage Meltdown of Untraditional Loans to a slow down throughout the country. While some areas still struggle to rebound others seem to be more fortunate. Here in the Bay Area we see a broad spectrum of these events. In some areas the number of homes on the MLS far exceed recent numbers, while in other areas business is still moving along. Keep in mind that the entire Real Estate and Mortgage world is hanging on Congress and President Bush's final decision on the increase of Conforming Rates from the current $417,000 to possibly as high as $729,000 This is sure to boost the Real Estate community overall. Making it possibly for families to afford housing at lower attractive rates as opposed to Jumbo pricing. So to answer your question is Newark in a Depressed state, I would have to say not really. Like many other Bay Area communties it has outstanding benefits to offer families, it is centrally located and well regarded. I hope this has helped. If you need assistance with the Neward area I would suggest you contact SUE KABALIN - she is awesome and clearly knows Real Estate. Drop me an email and I'll forward it to her. Good Luck. http://www.aDreamRealtor.com
