The mountainside sanctuary, which is located in the idyllic town of Idyllwild, Calif., was owned by Parton, 79, and her late husband, Carl Dean, for decades before she decided to gift it to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California, which offloaded it in July 2024, according to records.

However, her ties to the petite property remain—a fact that the listing is quick to call attention to, describing the three-bedroom abode, which is now on the market for $768,000, as “Dolly Parton’s former Idyllwild retreat—a home as iconic as the legend herself.”

“If walls could sing, this charming three-story mountain retreat would be belting out a country classic,” the description continues, noting that “nearly everything inside remains just as Dolly left it.”

Indeed, the property is filled with many of the personal items and collectibles that sat in the dwelling when Dolly last occupied the home, having used it as an escape for many years—although several modern updates have been made in the eight months since it last changed hands.

The listing notes that the home has been outfitted with a new luxury shingle roof, while an electric vehicle charger was also installed in order to add another layer of convenience, particularly given the home’s rather remote location.

Still, the new owners have taken pains to ensure that Parton’s presence remains in every room, with the listing photos revealing that a tea set has been placed on the kitchen table, along with printed instructions addressed “to Dolly, from Steve,” which detail how to make the perfect brew.

“Merry Christmas—2002,” the note continues, before laying out a step-by-step guide for brewing up “tea—English style.”

The recipe first notes that the water “must be absolutely boiling” in order to properly infuse it, while the author advises that the tea be made with bottled water “such as Evian” because tap water contains too much chlorine and can change the taste of the tea.

Elsewhere in the home, various knickknacks, including framed art, collectible plates, and various pieces of china can be seen adorning wooden shelves that run throughout many of the wood-paneled rooms.

A signed photo of Parton in her youth hangs on one of the walls, while one of the bathrooms has been outfitted with a guitar-shaped toilet seat for an added homage to her musical career.

More from Realtor.com: The 8 March Madness Cities Hosting the NCAA Tournament

Multiple fireplaces can be found in the living spaces and in the primary bedroom, adding a cozy feel to the 1,800-square-foot property.

“Designed with midcentury chalet flair, the home features soaring wood-beamed ceilings, expansive windows, and a dramatic stone fireplace in a living room built around a massive granite boulder,” the listing notes.

“Dolly and her beloved mother were the last to occupy this home, leaving behind decor, collectibles, and furnishings, all included in the sale. Legend has it that the spacious loft was Dolly’s favorite place to write and play her music.”

Intriguingly, though the home now—quite literally—screams “Dolly Parton,” her ownership of the property remained a closely guarded secret for many years and was only brought to light when it was sold in July 2024.

According to property records, the cabin was originally built in 1996, before being sold for just $126,000 in December 1994, which is when Parton is believed to have purchased it.

It is a far cry from the expansive Tennessee estate where Parton and her late husband lived for many years, enjoying a sheltered and very private life away from the bright lights of the entertainment industry.

Together, the couple were fiercely protective of their privacy, with Dean—who died on March 3—opting to shy away from fame and publicity, even as his wife’s fame skyrocketed, having been by her side since she was a teenager.

The couple met on the day that Parton moved to Nashville, when she was just 18 years old—bumping into one another outside of the Wishy Washy Laundromat, according to the Associated Press.

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If you’re interested in supplementing your primary income, investing in real estate can be the right avenue. Unlike most other income streams, real estate investments offer flexibility when it comes to your involvement. You can either be an active investor who manages a property, or you can approach it from a minimal-effort standpoint. If you’re looking to do the latter, then an investment opportunity to consider is real estate syndication. But first, you need to understand how they work, including their benefits and potential risks, before you make a decision.

What Are Real Estate Syndications?

A real estate syndication takes place when investors collectively group their resources, capital and competencies to buy a property, such as apartments, self-storage facilities, mobile home parks, hotels and more. Income distributions from these investments typically come in monthly or quarterly installments, with a return on investment coming from the property’s eventual sale.

In a syndication, there are general partners and limited partners. General partners make the deal happen. They find the building and the investors, and once the property is closed, they work with the necessary property management companies and contractors to ensure the investment is successful. The investors, known as limited partners, provide the bulk of the capital. As the name implies, their responsibility (and liability) is limited. However, limited partners pay an assortment of fees—such as acquisition and management fees—which can impact their potential returns compared to the general investors.

If you’re interested in real estate syndication, the most important step you can take is getting educated. After all, one of the biggest risks is who you partner with. So, do plenty of research on your options for syndications to join. For example, review public records to see if they invest in the kind of properties that interest you, reach out to your network to see who has firsthand experience with any syndications and make sure none of the partners have been involved in a financial scandal. After you’ve found some options that could work, meet each team. Ask about their industry background, previous investment returns and their structure for paying out returns. Then, ask them for references—and actually reach out. Once you’ve done your due diligence, you will be better equipped to find a real estate syndication that best fits your needs.

Syndications Vs. Other Real Estate Investment Options

If you’ve ever looked into passively investing in real estate before, you’ve probably looked into buying rental properties or joining real estate investment trusts (REITs).

By renting out a property, you can pay your mortgage and, in most cases, collect cash flow each month. This type of investment benefits from the long-term real estate appreciation. REITs typically own income-producing real estate properties across various properties and sectors. They’re publicly traded, like stocks, which makes them incredibly liquid and a passive investment vehicle for investors.

Both of these investment vehicles have strong advantages, but it’s important to examine the cons to understand what the right investment vehicle is for you. Buying a rental property, for example, is not completely passive, and dealing with tenants, maintenance and management can be a tedious, stressful process. Additionally, rental properties have the problem of relying on a single tenant, or a few select, to pay the mortgage. If you buy a property and can’t find a tenant or get unlucky with a bad tenant, the investment can go south. REITs, meanwhile, are 100% passive, but investors cannot obtain many of the tax benefits of real estates, such as depreciation-related reductions in taxes. Instead, REIT investments are taxed the same as holding any other equity.

When comparing real estate syndications to REITs and rental properties, syndications are an opportunity to blend the best of both worlds. They allow you to invest in real estate—thus gaining the cash flow, appreciation and tax advantages—in a completely passive way. Syndications also hold multiple tenants, reducing the risk of one vacancy or an unexpected maintenance issue. Still, no method of investment, including syndication, is without risk. Real estate is a volatile market, properties can underperform and the terms you set now for selling your interest might not be ideal in the future.

What Returns Can Real Estate Syndications Earn?

Many real estate syndications earn in two ways. First, investors can collect rental income while they hold the property. Then, when the property sells, investors can receive their original investment back along with any appreciation the property has incurred.

Though it varies depending on the company, syndications typically last at least three years and earn anywhere between 7% to 10% per year in property rental income. This is referred to as your cash-on-cash return and is distributed to passive investors as monthly or annual distributions. When the time comes to sell the building, the market price for a large commercial real estate venture is proportional to how much it earns in rental income. When a property is purchased and renovated to increase revenue, the building can appreciate and sell over the original purchase price.

How To Determine If Real Estate Syndication Is Right For You

Are you interested in real estate syndications as your next investment opportunity? Here are five key indicators that you should give it a try.

• You’re interested in passive investing rather than being actively involved in the day-to-day management of your investment.

• You’re looking for monthly, quarterly or annual passive income from your real estate investments.

• You’re financially able to meet the typical $25k to $75 investment minimum of real estate syndications.

• You’re a sophisticated or accredited investor.

• You don’t need immediate access to your investment funds.

Like all forms of investing, getting involved with a real estate syndication has its risks. As someone looking for passive investment opportunities, it’s important to engage in due diligence and carefully weigh the pros and cons before you commit.

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Nearly three years into a pandemic that has tightened the supply of affordable housing in the United States, 60% of Americans say they’re very concerned about the cost of housing, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October. Rising housing costs have hit renters hard during this span – and prices have continued to soar over the past year, making rent control and other related proposals prominent issues in the recent midterm elections.

Here are some key facts about U.S. renters and the problems they have faced with housing affordability during the COVID-19 pandemic, based primarily on a Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

1. Nearly 46 million households rented their homes in 2021. Renters accounted for more than a third of all households in the U.S., while homeowners accounted for nearly two-thirds, according to data from the Census Bureau’s 2021 American Housing Survey (AHS). The number of renters in 2021 was higher than a decade ago.

2. Relatively large shares of Americans who are younger, Black or Hispanic rented during the pandemic. A third of renting households were headed by someone under the age of 35; an additional 20% were ages 35 to 44, according to AHS data. The median age was 43 for renters in 2021, compared with 57 for homeowners. The median age of household heads overall was 53 that year.

Black and Hispanic adults made up a disproportionately large percentage of renters (21% each) compared with their overall shares of the U.S. population (12% and 19%, respectively). Still, the largest share of renters – half in 2021 – were non-Hispanic White.

3. A majority of renters lived with someone else, and two-bedroom arrangements were the most common. Household heads who rented were more likely to live with at least one other person than to live alone in 2021 (62% vs. 38%), according to AHS data. The largest share of renters who lived with other people (42%) were married couples living alone or with children or other family.

Among households who rented, 40% lived in two-bedroom housing, while about a quarter each lived in one-bedroom (27%) or three-bedroom accommodations (24%).

4. Renters tended to have much lower household incomes than homeowners. The median household income for renters was $41,000 in 2021, compared with $78,000 among homeowners. A majority of renters (57%) had annual household incomes of less than $50,000 that year.

5. The median monthly cost of rent alone increased 12% since before the pandemic, from $909 in 2019 to $1,015 in 2021, according to AHS data. By comparison, overall inflation was about 6% during this span.

The AHS estimates that about half of rental households (51%) spent $1,000 or more a month on rent in 2021 – up from 44% in 2019.

6. Renters in some metro areas faced especially sizable rent increases during the pandemic. Of the largest 15 metropolitan areas the Census Bureau’s AHS covers, eight saw increases of 10% or more in median monthly rent between 2019 and 2021. The median monthly cost of rent rose the most in Atlanta (17%), from $1,025 in 2019 to $1,200 in 2021. Overall, the San Francisco metro area had the highest median monthly rent ($2,065) in 2021, followed by Los Angeles ($1,650), Washington, D.C. ($1,629) and Boston ($1,600). The New York City and Seattle metro areas were tied for the fifth-highest median monthly rent ($1,500). Metropolitan areas were already seeing rent hikes before the COVID-19 outbreak. In 10 urban areas, median monthly rent increased 10% or more between 2017 and 2019. Riverside, California, and Phoenix, Arizona, saw the largest increases during that span (18%).

7. Some metropolitan renters reported housing inadequacies in 2021, when many Americans were spending more time at home. In the Houston and New York City metro areas, 14% of renter households said they had severely or moderately inadequate housing. (The AHS uses certain criteria – such as issues with plumbing, heating, electricity, wiring, upkeep or other problems – to classify this measure.) About one-in-ten renters in Dallas (11%) and 9% each in Boston and Washington said the same.

8. Some Americans struggled to pay rent early in the coronavirus outbreak. Around one-in-six U.S. adults (16%) said in an August 2020 Center survey that they had problems paying their rent or mortgage since the U.S. coronavirus outbreak started that February. Black (28%) and Hispanic (26%) adults were especially likely to report they struggled to pay for rent or a mortgage during this time; 11% of White adults said the same. Around a third of Americans with lower incomes (32%) also said they faced this issue.

9. Renters spent a greater share of their household income on housing costs than homeowners did. The median percentage of household income that renters spent on their total monthly housing costs in 2021 – as defined by the AHS – was 29%, compared with 18% for homeowners. For renters, total monthly housing costs include items such as utilities and property insurance in addition to rent. For owners, costs include mortgage payments, utilities and routine maintenance costs, real estate taxes and other expenses. Nearly four-in-ten renters spent 30% or more of their household income on their total monthly housing costs, including 15% who spent half or more of their income on this. This meets the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of being “cost burdened.” Although spending 30% of income on housing has long been considered the most a household should spend to still have money left over for essentials, some researchers have argued this measure should be adjusted to reflect different types of households, changes in the cost of additional necessities, and other factors.

10. Even before the pandemic, renters were spending substantial shares of their income on housing. In 2019, the median share of income that households who rent spent on their total monthly housing costs was 28%, according to AHS data. Since much of renters’ household income already goes toward housing costs, rent increases can potentially push those at the lower ends of the income spectrum completely out of the market. A 2020 analysis from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that a $100 increase in median rent was associated with a 9% increase in the estimated homelessness rate – even after factoring in other relevant factors such as changes in wages and the unemployment rate. While the federal government’s national eviction moratorium protected renters during earlier stages of the coronavirus outbreak, the policy has since ended, and eviction filings have reportedly risen in recent months. Other state- and city-wide pandemic-related tenant protections are now expiring in Los Angeles and Oregon. And in New York City, tenants in rent-stabilized apartments are facing rent increases.

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Britney Nguyen,Madison Hoff | Contributed

• Demands for rental units are declining as housing costs soar with the price of essentials like food.

• The average renter in the US would have to work over 64 hours to afford rent, Zillow data shows.

• Phoenix, Orlando, and Las Vegas are among the metropolitan areas where demand is slowing the most.

The typical US worker would’ve had to put in over 64 hours of work to be able to afford the average rent payment in September.

That’s an increase of a full 8-hour work day compared to the same time two years ago, when workers had to put in around 56 hours to be able to afford rent, data from Zillow shows.

The beginning of 2022 saw rent prices peak at almost 18% year-over-year growth, but now year-over-year growth is at 7.5% , according to Apartment List. Current rising inflation is adding more pressure to renters now, who have to deal with rising rent each year , and who Bloomberg said are “more likely to have less stable jobs and incomes.”

“Rents have grown much faster than incomes, putting the squeeze on renters’ budgets,” Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow, told Insider.

The data, which starts in 2015, shows that the hours needed to work to afford average rent in the US have fluctuated since then, and dipped the most during the beginning of the pandemic. Since the start of 2021, it’s mostly been on an incline.

Demand for rental units is slowing down as people have a harder time balancing soaring rents and the price of essentials like food and gas, with wages that are not keeping up with rising inflation.

“Rents have had a historic run-up, way beyond what fundamentals would justify,” Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, told Bloomberg . “The Fed will not ease up until inflation abates, which requires rents to slow, the sooner the better and the harder the better, for quick relief.”

In metropolitan areas like Phoenix, Orlando, and Las Vegas, demand for rental units is slowing down the most , according to rental-data tracker RealPage.

This summer, the rental vacancy rate leached 40-year lows, and it may stay low in the near future, Tucker said.

“It’s possible more renters than usual will opt to renew where they are to avoid moving costs while so few other options are available, or maybe even double up with roommates to reduce costs,” Tucker said.

Other reasons for slowing demand include more younger people choosing to live at home compared to earlier during the coronavirus pandemic when housing demand was higher because people were moving out or choosing to move somewhere else due to remote work.

The good news, Tucker said, is that rent growth is “cooling off,” and there are more rental homes that will be available. Twice as many multifamily homes are being built right now than during the last peak in 2008, he added.

“Still, it may be several months before we see these units help raise vacancy rates and further east pressure in the rental market,” Tucker said.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Rents are starting to come down after spiking to record levels this past summer, but experts are uncertain if the slowdown will continue.

Christopher Mayer, professor of real estate at Columbia Business School, said people looking for an apartment now might have a better experience than they did in May or June.

“We’re not seeing rents go up as quickly, the rental market is softening a little bit,” he said.

The national median asking rent was up 14% in July over July the previous year, the smallest annual increase since November 2021, according to a new report from Redfin. While that percentage is still high, it has decreased from 15% in June and 16% in May.

Experts say the market could slow further toward the end of the year, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty.

“I would not be surprised if we get to 2023 before things really get back to normal,” said Brian Carberry, senior managing editor of Rent.com, an apartment search website owned by Redfin.

Much depends on where you live. Cities in Florida such as Boca Raton and West Palm Beach have seen rents decrease -0.1% and -0.5% respectively compared to last month. But according to Apartment List, rents in California coastal cities such as San Diego have continued to increase over the past year.

In Rochester, New York, rent was up 15.3% in August over the same month the previous year, according to data from Apartment List. An average two-bedroom apartment in the Rochester area was $1,318 in August, compared with $1,116 a year ago.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said high rents are a concern because they can account for a big chunk of a household’s take-home pay.

“Gas prices are coming back down, but rents are going up 10, 12, 15%. And rent can end up taking 40% of these households’ income,” Moynihan said in a recent Associated Press interview.

While things are looking a bit better for renters than a few months ago, it’s still a landlords’ market, Mayer said.

If your lease is up, staying put and negotiating with your landlord might be a better option than trying to move, at least until the rental market slows down further, said Paula Munger, assistant vice president for industry research and analysis at the National Apartment Association.

“When you renew your lease, you’re definitely not paying the same as someone new moving in,” Munger said. “If you can, stay in your apartment.”

A major reason for rent spikes has been increasing demand from people priced out of a booming housing market. That market is starting to slow, which could mean more people can afford to buy and won’t need to rent, but with interest rates rising, some may not want to take on mortgages.

“With inflation now all throughout the market, there’s not enough supply so the prices are going up,” Munger said. “That’s the downside for people, just not having enough options and choices for what they would like in a housing unit.”

That was the experience of Erika Tascon, a 22-year-old Los Angeles resident who was living with roommates but wanted to find an apartment with her boyfriend.

After visiting more than 10 units, the couple picked a 500-square-foot one-bedroom apartment in Beverly Hills where they pay $2,750 per month. The median rent for a one-bedroom in the area is $2,773, up 14% from last year, according to data from Zumper.

“I think landlords are taking advantage of tenants right now,” said Tascon, who is paying $200 more per month than for her previous apartment.

In Britni Eseller’s case, the high demand meant that she had to rush to fill out her application to beat the other 10 people who toured the apartment she wanted.

“Because everyone is in scarcity mode, you’re willing to find a place that might be somewhat affordable and you’re unfortunately okay with overlooking chipped floors or a broken appliance,” said Eseller, who lives in North Park, a neighborhood of San Diego.

Developers have ramped up construction of apartment buildings this year, which could eventually help to ease the crunch. But it’s likely to take a while before that’s reflected in the market.

Meanwhile, high rents are disproportionately hurting low-income residents across the country, said Ben Martin, research director of Texas Housers, a non-profit organization that works on housing justice.

In May, rental prices in Dallas and Fort Worth were up 21.6% from last year, according to Redfin data. In Austin they were up 48.4%. One major reason is that high-income people from coastal areas like California and New York moved to Texas during the coronavirus pandemic, when they realized they could work remotely and live more cheaply. In December of last year, for example, Tesla moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin.

“People who make the lowest incomes are paying more of their total pie of money,” Martin said. “Which means that they don’t have money for anything else: school supplies, groceries, gas, clothing, all of the essential stuff that you need to live.”

In addition to cutting basic expenses, renters are also cramming more people into apartments, Martin said.

Increasingly, people can’t afford their homes at all and are now facing eviction. Governments have ended eviction moratoriums and rental assistance programs that allowed people to stay in their homes during the pandemic.

The Eviction Lab, a research organization at Princeton University, is seeing record numbers of evictions that have surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

In Houston, where the eviction moratorium ended in July 2021, there were 7,242 eviction filings in July of this year, 51% above average, according to The Eviction Lab. Other cities such as Los Angeles have extended eviction moratoriums until the end of this year.

Tenants who can’t afford rent increases but also can’t afford to move are often forced to choose between paying rent and covering basic necessities. An eviction stays on a renter’s record, making it harder to find housing in the future.

“The threat of eviction is the looming problem,” said Nick Graetz, a postdoctoral research associate at The Eviction Lab. “Part of the reason renters sacrifice so many other things to try to pay unreasonable high rents every month is because of the constant threat of being evicted from their home.”

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meritagehomes.com | Contributed

It’s an exciting time when you start the process of buying or building a new home, but all the unfamiliar lingo can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Fear not! We’ve rounded up a list of 12 terms you should know to help you feel confident along your journey.

Home Financing terms

Pre-qualification

When you pre-qualify for a home loan, you’re getting a ballpark estimate of what you might be able to borrow, based on information you provide to your lender about your finances. Pre-qualification is a great time to ask questions and learn about all the different mortgage options.

Pre-approval

A pre-approval means a lender has verified your information, checked your credit and pre-approved you for a specific loan amount for up to 90 days. A pre-approval letter from your lender tells the seller you’re a serious buyer and have undergone a more rigorous assessment by the lender compared with pre-qualification.

Get pre-approved

This is when a lender commits to a loan before the borrower finds a property to buy.

Rate Lock

A rate lock protects you from rate increases for a specified period of time during the buying process. It guarantees you are “locked in” for a specific period of time, even if interest rates rise during that period. This can be helpful when the economy fluctuates, and rates change.

Down Payment

The portion of the purchase price that you pay at closing. According to a recent report by the National Association of Realtors, the average down payment in 2021 was 7% for first-time buyers and 17% for repeat buyers, but there are loans that allow for lower down payments. When choosing the percentage, it all depends on what type of mortgage you choose and what your budget is.

Closing Costs

These costs may include loan origination fees, discount points, appraisal fees, title searches, title insurance, surveys, taxes, deed recording fees, and credit report charges. They typically make up about 3% to 6% of the loan amount and are due when you sign your final loan documents. Anticipate paying these costs in addition to your down payment.

Homeowners Insurance

A form of property insurance that covers losses and damages to an individual’s residence, along with furnishings and other assets in the home. Homeowners insurance also provides liability coverage against accidents in the home or on the property. If you get a mortgage, your lender will require you to have homeowners’ insurance before your closing date.

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

PMI is a type of mortgage insurance that may be required by your lender if you obtain a conventional loan and make a down payment of less than 20% of the home’s purchase price. PMI is what protects the lender if you stop making payments on the loan. This isn’t a permanent monthly payment, so once you’ve paid off 20% of your principal or mortgage balance then you can have your lender remove it.

Homebuilding Terms

Home Automation

The integration of different Wi-Fi-enabled smart devices that allow you to automate and remotely control various aspects of your home (and make everyday life a breeze!). A few popular features from the M.Connected Home™ Automation Suite include an advanced thermostat and a smart home hub to control all the smart features from one place.

Home Energy Rating System (HERS)

The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured. The lower the HERS score, the more energy efficient the home is, and the less you’ll pay in energy bills.

Spray Foam Insulation

Spray polyurethane foam is widely used to insulate buildings and seal cracks and gaps, making a building more energy-efficient and comfortable. This type of insulation is known to resist heat transfer extremely well, and it offers a highly effective solution in reducing unwanted air infiltration through cracks, seams, and joints.

Interior Design Finishes

One of the best parts of moving into a new home is choosing the design finishes for tile, cabinets, light fixtures and more. There are various companies that offers beautiful, designer-curated finishes for a simplified way to create your dream home.

Homeowner Orientation

Before you take the keys and move in, you should plan to attend a homeowner orientation where you can ask any remaining questions and we finalize details.

Now that you’ve got the basics down, level up your knowledge with our extended homebuyer glossary. Or you can always reach out to our team of Meritage Homes if you have questions.

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BANG ADVERTISING | CONTRIBUTED

Everyone dreams of owning a home where they can create memories, welcome guests and find respite.

While that dream can be difficult to achieve in California — where the need for housing is urgent — some visionary builders are paving a new path to homeownership.

Perpetual Homes, founded by Katherine Anderson, delivers the knowledge gained from working in traditional homebuilding for over 38 years with the adaptability of accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.

With the new 2020 California ADU laws, Perpetual Homes can help achieve more housing much quicker and at a more affordable price. The company’s homebuilding experience ensures an exceptional, functional and beautiful home.

Perpetual Homes’ new Perpetual Lux product line offers modular ADUs designed, built and engineered to California code.

These ADUs are built much quicker than custom site-built homes and are less expensive without jeopardizing high quality. In addition, the ADU adds enhanced equity for property owners and enables relatives or friends to be close by.

“Strong demand for multigenerational living has been at an all-time high during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Anderson explains.

“In addition, clients are enhancing their family incomes (in some cases over $4,000 a month) by renting out their ADUs, as well as offering an early retirement vehicle.

“Return on investment can be as high as 15% plus,” she adds. “These beautifully crafted homes, with a fast build time and less hassle, result in high-level customer satisfaction.”

Perpetual Homes is dedicated to making a difference in the California housing landscape with help from single-family and multifamily property homeowners.

Pricing starts in the $249,000 range for the Perpetual Lux product line, while Perpetual Homes’ traditional manufactured product line starts in the low $200,000s.

Based in Danville, California, Perpetual Homes was founded in 2019 to provide prefab ADUs. With more than 38 years of development entitlement experience in the Bay Area, Perpetual Homes is the most experienced company in the industry.

Find out more about how you can enjoy peace of mind, add value to your property or earn income. Call (925) 980-2351 or go to www.perpetualhomesadu.com.

Content provided by Perpetual Homes

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California’s real estate market is in an intriguing position right now. It is one of the most expensive areas of the world in terms of property prices, and yet this is creating a conundrum for many residents who simply cannot afford to stay put, causing the population to fall.

Even so, for investors there are always opportunities; it’s simply a case of knowing where to make your money work hardest for you, and how to go about it.

With that in mind, let’s look at a few juicy investment strategies and tips for those who want to get a foothold in Californian real estate.

FINDING THE RIGHT NEW CONSTRUCTION LOAN FOR YOU

The first point to make is that you don’t need to necessarily start your property portfolio with nothing but your own money. Whether you plan to buy, renovate and sell an existing property, or alternatively to build one from scratch on land you own, then you could get a hard money loan to make this achievable.

A quick look at this list of hard money lenders will reveal that there are a multitude of organizations in California set up specifically to help out ambitious investors who don’t have a huge chunk of capital to their names right now. Just be aware of the added risks involved, as well as the higher interest rates on these types of loans compared with traditional mortgages.

LOOKING FOR THE BEST RENTAL OPPORTUNITIES

One common mistake which real estate investors make is to assume that if they buy in the most expensive parts of the state, they will get a better rental return on their investment.

In reality, it is better to closely consider the relationship between average home prices and average rents in a given area. This is worse in San Francisco than it is in Modesto, for example.

The greater the disparity, the harder it will be to find renters that can afford to become tenants in any property you purchase. So rather than aiming for the highest possible rental income, seek out the locations that will leave you with lots of prospective tenants to pick between, thus more stability and reliability.

ANALYZING PRICE INCREASES

Another statistic that should shape your California real estate investment plans is that of the year-on-year change in property prices.

This is a simple figure to get a grip on, as increases are obviously attractive while downward slides are a warning sign that you might want to put your money elsewhere.

Once again, it is the more affordable parts of the state that are enjoying the largest increases at the moment; in aforementioned Modesto, home prices were up by 6 percent in 2020, while they actually fell by almost the same amount in San Francisco that year.

You should not necessarily expect to see such strong annual surges in property prices indefinitely, and market volatility is to be expected. However, if you pay attention to trends in the long term, you should get a better sense of where a safe place to park your cash is.

EMBRACING MID-TIER INVESTMENTS

The last point to keep in mind is that whether you want to buy a house to flip or purchase it to rent out, it is trickier to do this at either extreme of the price spectrum.

There are problems which come with both bargain properties and high end homes alike, so don’t be put off by the prospect of aiming for the middle of the market. At a time of significant economic uncertainty, this is the best bet.

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For most of the last decade, California has seen a steady outmigration to other parts of America, one that has somewhat outnumbered the also steady in-migration.

No place matches once-conservative Orange County in the number of migrants departing for more politically conservative places like Texas, Idaho, and the windswept plains of Nebraska.

Many of the 190 daily emigrants leaving California daily for Texas since 2011 claimed to move because of higher taxes and a poor business climate in California, spurred by a succession of Democratic-dominated state administrations that gave new privileges to undocumented immigrants while instituting many measures to fight climate change.

But a look at real estate prices in California and the favorite destination states reveals that the most likely reason migrants take off is simple: cash: Real estate the migrants buy is usually much cheaper and much larger than what they sell off when they leave.

This is particularly true for folks leaving Orange County for major areas of Texas.

The median home price in Orange County as of mid-2021 was $1.09 million. That means half the homes sold there went for more than $1.09 million, and half for less.

Meanwhile, the median home price in Texas at mid-year was $375,000. But most Californians who move to Texas don’t head for the more rural parts of the state, where prices are lower. Rather, the most popular destinations, according to the StorageCafe real estate website, are Collin County in suburban Dallas, home to cities like Plano and McKinney; Tarrant County (Fort Worth), and Denton County, where the significant cities include Denton and Frisco.

The average Orange Countian moving to Collin County pays a median $400,000 less for a new house than their former home brought, calculates StorageCafe. Plus, the new home, on average is 940 square feet larger. So an Orange Countian moving to Collin County will have money to bank, besides adding space equivalent to a normal two-bedroom apartment.

In Fort Worth, where the average price differential is $547,000, California emigres find themselves with 379 extra square feet, equal to many one-bedroom hotel suites.

In Denton County, the numbers are similar, with median home price differentials with Orange County running at $458,000 and homes averaging 747 square feet larger.

These are powerful motivations to move, even though new Texas residents quickly pay far higher electric and natural gas bills. Power outages also are more common in suburban Texas areas than anywhere in California.

Things aren’t much different in Star, Idaho, 17 miles northwest of Boise. Star is the fastest growing city in America largely because of ex-Californians.

Here’s what folks can get, based on autumn real estate listings in Star: The most expensive home available was a five-bedroom, 3.5-bath home with 6,284 square feet on 1.16 wooded acres for $1.34 million. That’s far above the Orange County median but cheaper than anything comparable in pricier parts of the OC, like Irvine, Laguna Hills, and Newport Beach.

More typical was a three-bedroom, two-bath home of 1,773 square feet for $524,000, almost $500,000 below the Orange County median.

And folks moving to equally conservative, less fashionable Kearney, Nebraska could find a five-bedroom, three-bath, 2,471 square-foot home for $424,000.

If these prices seem higher than expected, it’s because median home prices all across America have been dragged upward over the last few years by hot real estate markets in California, New York, and the Washington, D.C., area, especially its Virginia suburbs.

But the movement is still primarily from California to Texas. Even Texas urbanologists concur that money and not politics is the big motivator — many folks prefer to cash out and get financial security even if it means leaving California’s salubrious climate, beaches, and national parks.

Said William Fulton, director of an urban research institute at Houston’s Rice University, “There’s no question the main driver is housing prices in California. When housing prices there go up, so does migration to Texas. When housing prices in California go down, migration to Texas does, too.”

So never mind what some emigrants may say about taxes or liberal politicians, these moves now and always have been mostly about the money.

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It’s hard to imagine building too many new housing units, given the disparity between median California household income of $75,000 and the median California home price of $760,000.

Consider what’s happened in Monterey County where, over the past 20 years, local governments have approved more than 21,000 homes, mostly single-family houses. But most of these homes haven’t been built because, while there is a huge demand for housing, that demand is not for expensive single-family homes.

With a median household income of $71,000, Monterey County’s existing workforce cannot afford a $750,000 home, the median home price locally. It is simply not possible for most local working families to buy single-family homes.

What Monterey County families can afford are good-quality apartments and other multi-unit buildings. But that’s not what local governments are approving.

Between 2013 and 2019, 84 percent of the building permits that Monterey County jurisdictions issued were for detached single-family homes. Fewer than 20 percent of issued building permits were for units affordable to low – and very-low-income families, while 75 percent were for units affordable only to those with above-moderate incomes. Contrast this with the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation, which has determined that Monterey County needs 40 percent of all its units built to be affordable by low – and very-low-income households.

For many households, multi-unit housing is a sensible option. The cost per square foot is significantly less than that of detached homes.

There are a lot of other good reasons for building housing other than single-family homes. Apartments generally use less energy and water because they use economies of scale to be more efficient. And lower housing costs make it possible for people to save, which may eventually make it possible for them to buy property and build equity.

Homes come – or should come – in lots of different flavors, but single-family, large-lot subdivisions are not what most California families can afford, and certainly the wrong solution for the planet.

So, let’s start where more people can enter the housing market. Let’s build apartments and other multi-unit buildings. Lots of well designed, well-constructed apartments, in all of our cities, large and small.

Imagine if we could build 3.5 million housing units of all types and sizes. Now that would put a dent in California’s housing deficit, improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Californians, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and move the state to both affordability and sustainability.

Melissa Breach and Michael DeLapa | Contributed

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