9076 Willis #16 is in Panorama City. That's one of the working class suburbs in the North San Fernando Valley. It's not a popular area. The schools are only ok, and the neighborhoods, while vibrant, don't have much in the way of shopping, eateries, parks, etc. You can't bike anywhere that you really need to go, although there are bike lanes. No express buses, and the metro is nowhere near there. CSUN and Kaiser are close-ish but not really. In other words, unless you live there, there's no reason to go there. The unit itself is large, refurbished, and has an attached garage.
What I learned: regular folks can't afford houses anymore. Even with 3% down loan programs. The monthly payments are simply too high. With interest rates and everything else going up, buyers for even condos in that area have to have healthy incomes and no children. If houses are unaffordable in the outskirts, is that going to begin to squeeze towards the center? Just fyi, we started at $469,000, reduced the price several times, and are in escrow for much less.
What else I learned: everybody who was even remotely interested in the unit is from another country. The North San Fernando Valley is a regular United Nations. But these folks want to own homes. Hopefully, builders will soon be turning their attention to the underserved suburbs and building truly affordable housing.
