Bakersfield, Fresno or Neither?

[Trevor Muska]

I know its a long way out but when the High Speed Rail is finished it seems inevitable that some people will forgo the expensive LA and SF rents and move to cities like Fresno or Bakersfield (they already are). 

There is also a new highway being built in Bakersfield that connects the whole west side to the 99 which goes straight to LA. 

Good investment? Too far out (10-20 years)?

[Sanjeev Advani]

@Trevor Muska if a long term buy and hold strategy is your objective, I would recommend Bakersfield.  Here are a few reasons why:

-Growth

Bakersfield has had a large population growth in the past 20 years, and the city itself has expanded pretty heavily to accommodate all the new growth.  In the coming 20 years, Bakersfield is expected to grow to surpass the size of Fresno (including both cities growth rates).

- Development

Bakersfield is developing and re-developing some of the largest commercial projects.  This will start to affect property values in a positive direction.  A large commercial live, work, play development was just put into movement after 10 years of back and forth.  The properties in those areas are more than likely going to increase in value in the more immediate term.  

- Distance

Bakersfield is within a 4 hour drive of Most of the population of California which puts it in a very unique position to provide goods to a large population with a lower operating cost than other businesses may have.   With proximity to large metros Bakersfield is a perfect location for distribution, which is only becoming larger.  We already have Ross, Target, Caterpillar, and many more distribution centers popping up everywhere.  Also, imagine living in a location that will allow you to visit the mountains and beaches in the same day, all within less than a 3 hour drive.  When the major metros become too unreasonable, it may look like a better option.  

- Resources

Kern county also produces more oil than most other locations around the country.  For better or worse, that is a profitable venture still.  Kern county is also going to be home to the largest solar project in California, and provides a large amount of the nations food.  

- Transportation

Yes, they are building a freeway which will connect the 99 to the 5.  They are also doing many other roadway projects to allow for increased traffic around the city.  This shows that the city is growing at a stable pace.  

And the HSR, even though at a snails pace, we are getting the HSR up and running, projections are, once that does happen it could potentially triple the size of Bakersfield's population.  If you can imagine, living in a place that will buy you a literal mansion of sorts for $500,000 and only being a 45 minute train commute to work.  I don't think prices will last as low as they are that much longer once the project is complete.  

Sorry for rambling on, but it is a topic I love to talk about.  Hope this was of some help to you, and if you would like to chat further feel free to PM me as well.