By The Sun-Gazette

6:42 am, March 10, 2021

Visalia based home developer San Joaquin Valley Homes plans to begin construction on 485 new homes in 2021

CENTRAL VALLEY – Inventory in the Tulare County housing market has been tough to come by. But one developer is trying to push supply.

Last year San Joaquin Valley (SJV) Homes closed on 513 new homes last year. And they announced their plan to open eight new communities in the Central Valley in 2021. That will begin construction on 485 new homes.

Visalia-based SJV Homes has been building new homes in Tulare, Fresno, Kings and Kern counties since 2013.

“In the seven years since SJV Homes was founded, we have grown steadily by providing more affordable housing in the Valley while supporting the communities where we build,” said Joe Leal, company co-founder. “To date we have sold more than 2,600 homes. Our goal for 2021 is to open as many as eight new neighborhoods in the Central Valley.”

The following is a breakdown of SJV Homes’ current communities:

Tulare County
Tiffany Ranch, 78 units, Visalia; Greystone, 187 units, Visalia; Vista Robles, 138 units, Dinuba; Brighton, 165 units, Tulare; Kensington, 244 units, Tulare; Ashton Park, 93 units, Visalia (sold out); and Cambria, 80 units, Porterville (sold out).

Kings County
Bella Vista, 223 units, Hanford; Bonterra, 327 units, Hanford.

Fresno County
Summerlyn, 150 units, Kingsburg.

Upcoming SJV Homes neighborhoods are Arbor Gates and Cameron Court in Visalia; San Rio in Reedley; Hidden Oaks and Sterling Oaks in Hanford; Pheasant Court and Quail Run in Delano; and Cypress Park in Tulare. All these projects are a joint venture partnership with Presidio Residential Capital, a San Diego-based real estate management company. To date, SJV Homes and Presidio have partnered on 29 projects totaling more than 3,700 units.

Realtors all over the county would love to have more real estate to sell, and buyers would like the $322,000 median housing cost to drop. Last week The Sun-Gazette reported on the lack of inventory in the area and the squeeze it’s putting on realtors.

Exeter realtor Dena Clark, president of the Tulare County Association of Realtors, said homes in the $250,000 to $300,000 range have sold the day they go on the market with as many as 18 offers. In some cases, buyers are making cash offers nearly $100,000 over the listing price.



“I’ve never seen a market like this in my 16 years here,” Clark said.

The steep increase in home prices is being driven by a dwindling supply. Tulare County multiple listing service shows the number of homes for sale has steadily dropped from a peak of more than three and a half months to just a month. The market is even tighter in Visalia, where supply has dwindled to just 18 days’ worth of inventory. The median number of days a home is on the market is just 10 days. A normal healthy market is six months of inventory.