Bay area home buyers flocking to the North Valley in search of a lower price tag

LOS BANOS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Housing in the bay area is expensive and now more and more of those potential home buyers are looking to Los Banos to live for their affordability and proximity to the bay. The increase in population is not only impacting business coming in but also schools.

As more sold signs are popping up, so are new homes in Los Banos. Hundreds of homes are being built all over the city.

Stonefield Home's President, Greg Hostelter, said they currently have several properties in the works, which are selling as soon as they hit the market.

"Most of the homes being bought are people from Hollistor, Morgan Hill, San Jose, and Silicon Valley."

Hostetler said it all comes down to affordability and paying less for more.

"The home prices just across the hill in Hollister are about $200,000 a door, more for the same home, and it continues to escalate the closer you get to Silicon Valley."

Community and Economic Development Director for Los Banos, Stacy Souza Elms, issued more than 300 residential permits in 2016. Elms said the residential development is helping with commercial development as well.

"Residential development equals population, and that population equals that disposable income that retailers are looking for-- without that population, that good foundation we wouldn't be attractive for retailers."

But while residents are looking for more space to live in, schools are seeing less space to work with. The Los Banos Unified School District said they are crowded, especially in the high schools.

"It just keeps happening, when you're adding 200 to 300 kids a year, every year, every year, every year-- you can't keep with the classroom space," said Paul Enos, Los Banos Unified School District.

Enos said they have moved around their boundary lines to ease overcrowding, while working on expansion projections to keep up with all the new homes and families coming into the area.

These are just a few of the many homes currently in the works in Los Banos. Hostetler said he hopes to have about 5,000 more homes built within the next decade as the population grows.