Community Corner

Wildomar Far Exceeds National Homeownership Rate

The new data also show that Riverside County has more owner-occupied housing than any other Southern California county.

Wildomar and Lake Elsinore are above the national average when it comes to home ownership, according to 2010 Housing Characteristics released by the U.S. Census Bureau this month.

The new data also show that Riverside County has more owner-occupied housing than any other Southern California county.

At the national level, 65.1 percent of non-vacant housing is owner-occupied.

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In Wildomar, of the 10,806 total housing units, 9,992 or 92.5 percent were occupied. Of those non-vacant units, 7,329 or 73.3 percent were owner-occupied, according to the data.

"It doesn't surprise me," said Gene Wunderlich, director for the Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors. "Despite that fact that Wildomar is a new city, it's an older community. There's a different mindset."

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The average Wildomar resident is slightly older than in surrounding cities, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The community's housing is also older, and homes built after 2002 are where foreclosures are highest, Wunderlich said.

"Wildomar just doen't have the foreclosures that Murrieta and Temecula do," he explained.

Wunderlich said that last month for every 10 news home listed in Wildomar, 11 sold.

"That's 112 percent," he said, noting that surrounding cities were in the 70 and 80 percentiles during September.

In Lake Elsinore, of the 16,253 total housing units, 14,788 or 91 percent was occupied. Of those non-vacant units, 9,761 or 66 percent were owner occupied, according to the data.

Between 65.1 and 69.9 percent of non-vacant housing in Riverside County was owner-occupied, according to the Census Bureau data. In San Diego and Los Angeles counties, the figure was less than 55 percent.

The data showed that between 55 and 65 percent of non-vacant housing in Orange, San Bernardino and Imperial counties was owner occupied.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here