Watching Suburbia Take Shape

The Imperial Valley is Southern California's last affordable market. It's rapidly becoming a massive suburb.

1 minute read

March 6, 2005, 11:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"The Imperial Valley — a desert region of 160,000 people and a notoriously high unemployment rate — is witnessing a surge in new homes and stores for middle-income families. Homebuilders are betting that the Imperial Valley will become San Diego's next bedroom community, another example of how California's climbing home prices are forcing people to live farther from work.

The 230-mile round trip to San Diego and back takes about four hours, but here it's easy to find a new home for less than $300,000. In San Diego, the median price of a resale home hit $580,000 in January."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Sunday, March 6, 2005 in The Los Angeles Times

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