Anyone have information on Grass Valley or Yuba, CA area?

Question

Looking to invest in some property near Yuba River in Nevada County, CA. Anyone have information on the demographics of this area (summer vacation spot, a place to stop on the way to Tahoe, retired community, population growth due to companies moving to the area)? I live in Southern California and this property is located in Northern California, just outside Sacramento. I don't know much about Grass Valley area, but looks like a great investment.

George Fitz · Answer

@Charles Cooper Dylan is correct, it's a great area. He's also correct that we are usually not a stop on the way to Tahoe, since we are 30 minutes north of I-80. In terms of demographics, we skew older. There are lots of retirees up here, but still a good amount of families / working folks as well. Tourism is a big industry.  GV and NC are old Gold Rush towns, with plenty of history and historical downtowns. It is also incredibly beautiful with losts of outdoor recreation opportunities. We typically see many people visiting from the Bay Area and Sacramento, but folks visit from all over. There definitely has been growth over the years, but I wouldn't say it is explosive or anything like that. We get excited when a new business opens and we are still hoping that one day they'll put in that elusive Trader Joe's in nearby Auburn :-)

The service sector is a large employer. Other employers include industrial, construction, still some mining and logging. We also have a healthy tech sector, with several broadcast technology companies located here. The Grass Valley Group was once the largest manufacturer of equipment for the TV/broadcast industries in the country. They were bought years ago and have a smaller office here now, but there are several other related companies located here. In general though, good well-paying jobs are hard to find around here. Some residents commute down to Roseville/Sacramento area (1 - 1:15 hours away).

Like other parts of California, we have an affordable housing problem. There has been a push to build more affordable housing recently. We're starting to see some of that come online. While I mostly invest out of state, I have had rentals here before and there is a healthy rental market. It will also be interesting to see if we see any influx from Sac/Bay Area if more people begin permanently working from home. I have met a few folks from the Bay Area recently, who are working from home and living here now (with their retired parents).

Hopefully that helps. Feel free to hit me with more questions...

Dylan Vargas · Answer

@Charles Cooper Welcome! One thing to be clear on is the Yuba river area you are referring to in Grass Valley area is MUCH different than the Yuba City area in CA. Just make sure you know the two are different. Not that you dont. Grass Valley/Nevada City is a great area up good ole HWY 49. Others will hopefully chime in on the area. Many retirees and outdoor enthusiasts love this area. A little remote but close to Tahoe and Auburn CA. Grass Valley is NOT a stop on the way to Tahoe as most take I 80 and not 49. Good luck and keep us posted.

Ali Boone · Answer

I think Grass Valley is one of my favorite towns, ever. I almost moved there last year actually. Didn't, but I still love it. I have a friend who just bought a property there last year that she's fixing up- for herself, not for an investment property. All the demographics and all that are great, but I think the problem you're going to run into is that rents are surprisingly low there. At least in Grass Valley. I have no idea why they're so low because there's a major supply shortage of good rental properties to rent (I was trying to find one last year and literally found... one... in about 6 months of looking), but the property prices themselves aren't that low. So I think you're going to run into a major negative cash flow situation, even with a fixer-upper. Don't quote me on any of that, but that's definitely what I saw when I was checking it out. Although now that I re-read your post, it sounds like you already have a property identified. So I guess my advice would be to just double-check all the numbers. And then depending on how far out of town the property is from Grass Valley, if it's not right in the town, make sure to find out info on the rentability of it... make sure renters want to live where that property is. Most people are usually trying to rent more in-town.

Wesley McDavid · Answer

@Charles Cooper Did you ever go through with a STR in this area? I've been working toward one in the area lately.

John D. · Answer

@Charles Cooper short-term rentals are highly regulated in that area.  Best to read the nevada city, grass valley, and nevada county short-term rental ordinances in full as a start.  Highly regulated.

Kyle Laffey · Answer

Beautiful area. Lots of marijuana grows in the area. Not necessarily a bad thing but something to be aware of.

Charles Cooper · Answer

@John D.

Hows the STR business in that area for properties next to the river?

John D. · Answer

@Charles Cooper if you have any more specific questions I would be happy to try to answer them.  I've worked on a couple of dozen projects in that area over the last 6 years, rentals, flips, land splits, minor development, and still have a couple of rentals although most of my focus is now in other places.

Charles Cooper · Answer

This helps a lot @George Fitz. Thanks so much!

Anyone have information on Grass Valley or Yuba, CA area?

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