Real Estate Analysis and Commentary in Victorville

August 23rd, 2025 11:39 AM
08/3/2025 - Industrial Buildings in Old Town Village

A total of properties in Old Town Village, Victorville were discovered. Uses range from specialized retail (CA Tool & Welding) to a vacant warehouse.Total land ares is 1.93% of the total land area. The properties are summarized as follows:
?
Count Min Max Acres
4 1,201 4,800 $1.63


August 5, 2025 - Apartment Sector in Victorville Old Town Village

From a land-planning view, duplexes, triplexes, quadruplex and apartment complexes maximizes land-use efficiency and reduces sprawl. They help to create a customer base for shops, restaurants, and services by generating foot traffic throughout the day and evening. 

This property types concentrates more people into a smaller foot print. They can integrate more smoothly with mixed-uses allowing for retail, office and services to co-exist with housing units. This use allows for more housing per acre making every dollar of land more productive This also allows for reducing the need for new roads and utilities infrastructure. 

This type of housing accommodates:
1. Single people.
2. Couples without children.
3.. Small families.
4. Empty nesters.
5. Young adults who can not yet afford a house.
6. Lower housing costs options for nomadic or gig-economy workers.

This sector will typically have a higher turnover rate (30%-50%) annually in an urban rental market. 

The following is a summary of what exists in this district 
 
Type Count Units Total GBA Avg Unit Newest Oldest
Apartments: 10 65 37,002 569 1981 1940
Duplex: 16 32 19,277 602 1979 1900
Triplex: 14 42 17,545 418 1956 1920
Quadplex: 6 24 10,725 447 1966 1922
Total: 46 163 84549 519


Construction year ranges from 1900 to 1981 and the average unit size ranges from 418 to 602 square feet. None of these properties consist of mixed-use. 

Land density per unit ranges from 2,119 square feet to 3,187 square feet with an overall density of 2,670 square feet. Total land area is 9.99 acres. 

Existing Assessed Values = $12,392,299 with a tax amount of $137,432 or 1.11% of the assessed value. While this appears to be a significant amount it must be pointed out that only 5.1% (approximately) of the taxes go to the city with approximately 7.23% going to the county or approximately $16,973 (if the County contributes) could by used by the CRIA for projects. 

Discussion
There is vacant land in this district that could be utilized for developing additional living units. This may included mixed-use developments, age restricted (assisted living), affordable housing units, and market units. It will be interesting to follow the direction the City of Victorville chooses to follow regarding this land-use sector



    
 

August 3rd, 2025 11:46 AM
August 2, 2025 Land Uses and Density in the Old Town Village Victorville

For this portion of the analysis the land area was segmented into existing land uses and a numerical count of the units were calculated. My initial findings are summarized in the following table: 
?
Use Land Area No. Unit
Apartment: 438,804 163
Automotive: 189,431 15
City Owned: 474,965 37
Commercial: 161,016 9
Industrial: 71,000 4
Land: 696,266 58
Misc.: 151,473 7
Motel: 35,500 42
Offices: 118,170 9
Religion: 83,271 7
Restaurant: 27,550 3
Retail: 184,038 40
School District: 114,818 4
Single Family: 925,350 132
Total 84.29 ac 521

The top five (74.21%) of uses by land area are:  
Use Acreage %/Total
Single Family: 21.24 25.20%
Land: 15.98 18.96%
City Owned: 10.90 12.94%
Apartment: 10.07 11.95%
Automotive: 4.35 5.16%

The bottom five (9.05%) of uses by land area are: 
Use Acreage %Total
School District: 2.64 3.13%
Religion: 1.91 2.27%
Industrial: 1.63 1.93%
Motel: 0.81 0.97%
Restaurant: 0.63 0.75%

Land uses (12.62%) of interest to businesses, investors and potential developers include:  
Use of Interest Acreage %Total
Retail: 4.22 5.01%
Offices: 2.71 3.22%
Commercial: 3.70 4.39%

To further refine these uses it is necessary to consider the total vacant land area within this district. This component consists of privately and publicly owned land (27.62%). The city owns 10.90 acres; however, 3.37 acres is improved (High Desert Performing Art Center, Fire Museum, Parking Lot, Old School/Park, and Veteran Memorial) leaving 7.53 acre that has been land banked for future use. There is 15.98 acres that is privately owned and could be developed. The privately owned land consists of 12,005 square feet on average and will likely require acquisition of adjoining properties prior to development. The city owned land is primarily east of 7th Street and west of Hesperia Road and consists of multiple adjoining parcels that are readily available for development without the cost of additional property acquisition. 

Land densities of the more significant land uses found in the district  are summarized in the following chart. NOTE: The second column is the land density of the use identified, and the third column is the additional units of that use if all of the vacant land was developed with that specific use using the existing density of that use. 
Use Current Density Potential Units
Commercial: 17,891 56.69
Offices: 13,130 77.25
Automotive: 12,629 80.31
Restaurant:: 9,183 110.45
Single Family: 7,010 144.68
Retail: 4,601 220.44
Industrial: 4437.5 228.56
Apartment: 2,692 376.76
Motel: 845 1,199.96

A last note on density - It must be recognized that the city is interested in using a higher land use density which may include condominiums, high density housing (both vertically and by mixed use) Future development may result in a high volume of improved units as developers and the city explore potential for land use development. 

My next post will explore the current level of property taxation available to the city within this district coupled with potential increase by using the 25-year average sale of properties.