Oak Park, Sacramento: A Neighborhood in Transition

Sacramento's housing market has gone bust. Twenty-five percent of all available units are in foreclosure. Homes in North Natomas that were selling for $400,000 are now priced at a much more realistic $235,000. Sellers at a whopping 39.75 percent had to reduce their asking price at least once. But, lenders requirements have finally tightened up considerably, making buying a home a much more difficult and considered option. When prospective buyers look at undersized lots and small square footage, they begin exploring other areas for a home.

Oak Park is the new kid on the block in terms of possibilities. Thanks to a heavily promoted Oak Park Community Master Plan, and the highly attractive pricing, Oak Park could emerge as one of the hottest new real estate areas in the city. This is truly saying something new in Sacramento. Oak Park has long been synonymous with crime. Everything from drive by shootings, gang activity and drug dealing. Thanks to Sacramento Police Department's dedication to cleaning up this area, crime is greatly reduced, and police presence increased. In the year I've lived here, I've seen a dramatic lessening in crime, and a big surge of building going on. Martin Luther King Boulevard has its own community master plan, so what was once a battleground for turf between gangs, is slowly evolving into a pleasant and attractive place to be.

Sacramento's first suburban area, Oak Park's tree-lined streets once offered families a lovely place to live. It had at one time theaters, trolley's, a vibrant business community, and before its incorporation in 1911, its own law enforcement. Oak Park even had its own Amusement Park called Jolly. Never a pretentious neighborhood, Oak Park has always embraced working class values, as seen in its unpretentious but sturdy architecture. Home to the McGeorge School of Law, and Christian Brothers Academy, in the 1960's it began a decline into drugs and poverty that is only now slowly starting to see a reverse.

One of the draws for potential buyers are the big lots. Many of the homes in this area have bigger lots than I've seen in a long time, which are still within reach of the first time home buyer. My home is situated on a long deep lot, almost a 1/3 of an acre. Plenty of room for the gardener in me to be satisfied. Though many of the homes, built in the 1940's are small, the lot size provides ample room for building up or out. My neighborhood is much quieter than Natomas and much less congested. I'm minutes from downtown Sacramento, and an easy car ride to stores like Safeway, Raley's, Starbucks and many more.

Then there are the unique to Oak Park attractions, such as our tamale lady, who comes through nightly calling out "Yo aqui tamales" She sells her hot handmade tamales for $1.00 apiece and they are delicious. We have an Indian gentleman who drives a truck and sells gut filling piping hot nachos. Great when you have two hungry teenage boys in the house. And we have.. if you can catch him, Mr. Wings. He drives a bicycle, and sells some of the best hot wings around. $3.00 nets you a bag of these spicy treats. Mr. Wings has his moods though, and on certain days delights in having hungry kids having to chase him down.

Oak Park is a risk, but I feel one well worth taking. If you are tired of looking at still somewhat overpriced homes shoehorned into postage stamp sized lots, come take a look at Oak Park. If you have the vision and the patience, Oak Park may well be the best housing investment you'll ever make.

Sources:
http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2001/07/23/story4.html
http://www.oakparkna.org/