Flipportunity Zones for SLO County - Part 1
As a long-time flipper, but a newbie to the Central Coast, I consider it important to learn the market well before jumping full steam ahead with my first investment. Especially considering how expensive housing is here. One bad project could set an investor back for a long time!
When moving here, the first question I asked myself was, are there any opportunities for me to flip here? While more prohibitive (due to cost) than where I moved from, the answer is yes.
The next question was, where are the opportunities?
That is a question I am still answering, which is why I'm writing this post. As I learn the area and get familiar with the market I want to share what I'm finding. Both to help and allow others to chime in and tell me what I might be missing.
So... Without further ado, let's get into the first of a four-part series of posts called Flipportunity Zones for SLO County.
The Five Regions of SLO County
The first step to learning about the SLO County housing market is to learn about the regions. From my perspective we’ve got 5 main regions:- 1. South
- 2. North
- 3. SLO
- 4. Bay
- 5. Outskirts
- I’m sure this isn’t perfect. Like, maybe Outskirts doesn’t strike you as a “main region”, or maybe San Simeon and Cambria belong in Outskirts instead of Bay. But this seemed the easiest starting point, allowing us to go into detail in each section.
- So...Where do MOST flip opportunities occur? It seems like if we answer that question we’re close to answering our the question that prompted this series. Let’s take a look at the opportunities for flips within each region to help make this more clear.
Roughly 60% of all “fixers” since 2020 have been found in either South (31%) or North (30%) County. SLO brings in another ~20% followed by Bay (14%) and lastly, Outskirts. (~4%)
For anyone living in either North or South (combined ~52% of the population) it makes perfect sense (on the surface) to stay close to home. They’re nearly identical in fixers and population, AND they’ve grown the most since 2010. (Special shoutout to South for that 7.17% gain.) If you're a flipper, no matter where you live in the county, at least one of those regions should be in your target area.
SLO appears like a nice option as well, however, you need to pay special attention to where you’re targeting. Neither zip code has a high owner occupancy rate, something flippers should target, imo. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of great opportunities there. Beginners just need to be a little more cautious when jumping into SLO.
A solo flipper living in the Bay region could make a nice living without expanding beyond the borders, but anyone looking to move a bit quicker should at least expand into Atascadero or the Beach Cities. This keeps commutes to properties minimal while expanding the potential buyer pool greatly.
The Outskirts should be avoided. Sorry to be so blunt, but anyone without direct experience in places like Bradley, Shandon, and Santa Margarita should focus efforts elsewhere. You won't miss out on much and also won't have to come up with creative solutions. Dense regions bring simplicity.
So... Is it as simple as that? Find where the most flips are and head there.
Yes... and no.
Following the opportunities is a great starting point, but not all opportunities are created equal. Some zips/cities have a lot of "opportunities" but very little skin on the bone of those opportunities. Others have more skin on the bone but higher entry points.
In part two of this series, we will dive into the details for both the South and North regions.
Until then ✌🏻
Quick Note About The Data
Fixers Since 2020 are properties that sold or expired on the MLS since 2020 and have at least one of the following phrases in their description: “fixer, as-is, has potential, investor, motivated, and handyman special.” Feel free to comment or reach out if you know other reliable data sources I could use to bolster this report.
Population and housing data were sourced from and , respectively. Finding reliable zip code data can be tricky, so if you have any additional sources for local demographic data, please let me know.
(Data sourced Sept, 2024)
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