Sacramento Real Estate Blog

I’ve been working with several parents of Sac State students in recent months who have decided that rather than spending their money on a dormitory for their college age son or daughter, they can enjoy the short term tax benefits and long term appreciation and value of purchasing a condo near campus instead.

Fortunately there are a lot of great condo communities near Sacramento State (or CSU Sacramento, if you prefer). One group of parents came to search in December and were able to take advantage of the slow market to purchase a three bedroom condo for $195,000 which appraised at $210,000, scoring a nice little chunk of built in equity by buying smart. (That was a nice win all around, since the similar unit they originally contacted me about was listed much higher, at $219,000). Another parent is currently looking for units between $175,000 and $250,000, and I was able to send him some thirty-plus available condo units in that price range within a short two miles of Sac State.

One of the largest and closest condo communities near the Sac State campus is Woodside, (on Woodside Lane) pictured here being enjoyed by some of the local waterfowl. Woodside’s condos and Woodside East were built out during the period of 1968-1970. Near Woodside “proper” is the somewhat newer Woodside Sierra, with condos that were built in 1976.

Overall, condos sold in Woodside recently (late 2006 / early 2007) ranged in price from $165,000 for a one bedroom / one bath unit at 764 square feet, to $243,560 for a large (for a condo — 1228 square feet) unit with two bedrooms and two baths. HOA dues run about $250 to $300 per month.

The condos on Oak Terrace Court were also built in the 1970s. These are somewhat less numerous, with only one unit being sold in the last few months. That one fetched a relatively low price of $208,000 for a 3 bedroom 2 bath unit at 1066 square feet.

In the same neighborhood as Woodside Sierra and Woodside Lane are many 1980s vintage condo developments, such as Dornajo Way’s Amherst Place Condos, and the Timberlake Condos around Larkspur Lane. Amherst Place condos have Homeowner Association Dues in the low 200s per month, while Timberlake’s run almost 300 per month.

Most units in the area feature car ports and/or spaces to park, but the condos on Hood Road and North Park Drive come with garages. Hood Road’s HOA dues are currently the lower of the two, at about $260 versus $301 per month. (Note: HOA dues often vary from unit to unit, and you should check specifically on the unit you’re interested in). We can also find condo inventory on Bell Street (with rather steep HOA dues of $337 or so), and further out. Many of the buyers I’ve worked with like the area closer to the highway along La Riviera and Salmon Falls Drive. Though these are somewhat further out, they’re still within about a three mile radius. Some of these units have much lower HOA dues than the units closer in, but the prices are about the same, making the total cost of ownership much less.

Rents for a typical 2 bedroom unit run about $850-$975 at present. On a per room basis, I’m told by one of my buyers that they can rent the largest room for about $450-$500 depending on whether they include utilities, while their smallest fetches about $325 to $375.

As with most forms of home ownership, owning costs more than renting, especially in the short term, but the combination of resale value at the end plus being able to rent the extra units to offset the mortgage makes a condo near Sac State an attractive option for many Sac State parents.