La Habra is located in the northwest of Orange County in California. This is different from La Habra Heights, which is further to the north and is part of Los Angeles County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, La Habra was home to some 60,239 people. La Habra has a flourishing economy, with the top employers being CVS/Pharmacy, Wal-Mart, the City of La Habra, Target, Costco, the La Habra Bakery, Kohl’s, The Home Depot, La Habra Convalescence Hospital, Lowe’s, and VIP Rubber. Thus, the economy is based mostly on the retail and manufacturing industries.
The median household income in 2010, according to the census, was $60,954. Furthermore, 14% of people were living below the poverty line, which is quite substantial. Nevertheless, that was actually a great improvement from the 2000 census statistics, when the median household income was just $47,652, and at least 19.1% of people were below the poverty line.
La Habra aims to set itself apart as “a caring community”. It is particularly welcoming to families and organizes regular festivals and events that celebrate the family unit. This includes the Daddy/Daughter Dance, for instance, and the annual Tamale Festival. This is of particular interest to investors in multifamily properties, as there is a high demand for these types of properties by people who want to move their family into this part of Orange County.
La Habra Multifamily Building for Sale & Lease – Should You Buy or Lease?
If you are interested in multifamily space in La Habra, you have two options: buy or lease.
Let us take a look at the advantages of buying multifamily space:
- You have more than one “door” (as the industry refers to it) to rent out. This means that you don’t have as much risk of not having any income at some point. Furthermore, having multiple doors helps you to spread the cost of potential capital improvements and repairs.
- If you have at least four units within your property, you can have access to different forms of finance. The income that the property can bring in will be a main consideration when you apply for finance for this type of property. A loan guarantee is usually required, and you will need to have the right amount of reserves and the right resources.
- It is very convenient, because you only have a single location, but multiple properties to look after.
Now, let us take a look at the disadvantages of buying multifamily buildings:
- You have a larger initial cost than with a single family property. You will have to have greater reserves and down payments, therefore. While you do have more income in order to manage your expenses, the expenses are usually higher and they tend to have a domino effect. if one tenant causes a problem, other tenants can also start to suffer. Should, for instance, one property have a leaking bathtub, the properties below it will also sustain water damage.
- There can be an issue with turnover rates, beyond those experienced in single family units. Turnovers are generally quite costly, particularly if multiple units are in the process of turning over.
- Having multiple tenants may mean that you have to deal with multiple problems as well. In many locations, property owners are fined by cities and police departments for nuisance calls from tenants, for instance.
Unfortunately, mMultifamily properties can usually not be leased. This is because the owner of the property will look at renting out the different units, rather than the entire property. There are some very rare exceptions in this. For instance, someone may not have the ability to properly manage such an investment anymore, but wants to hold on to the property regardless. While hiring a property manager is usually the most common solution to this, they may agree to allow others to lease the entire property and to collect the earnings from renting out the individual units. However, this is quite rare.
To determine whether investing in multifamily properties in La Habra is a good way forward, it is important to be aware of the trends and statistics in terms of prices, supply, and demand.
La Habra Multifamily Property for Sale – Trends and Statistics
- The asking price for multifamily properties in La Habra $314,841.90, which is a 0.7% increase over the past three months, and a 10.5% increase year on year. This is higher than the state ($206,014) and the metro ($254,071.41) area.
- The index of total dollars available for multifamily properties for sale in Los Angeles-Long Beach-La Habra is 29, which represents a 13.4% increase over the past three months but a 2.5% decrease year on year.
- The index of total number of listings of multifamily properties available in Los Angeles-Long Beach-La Habra is 24, which is an 8.9% increase over the past three months, but a 1.3% decrease year on year.
- The profile view index multifamily property for sale in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-La Habra metro area is 97, which is a 24.9% increase over the past three months, and a 22.5% increase year on year.
- The index of total number of units of multifamily property for sale in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-La Habra area is 21, which is a 12.2% increase over the past three months, but an 11% decrease year on year.
La Habra Multifamily Property for Lease
There are currently no La Habra multifamily properties for lease. Multifamily properties for lease would fall outside of the realms of commercial real estate. Rather, they would form part of residential real estate, meaning they become occupied either by the owner or by a tenant.