What Is NIMBYism

Although the city of Moreno Valley, California, has a lot of appeal and potential in the real estate market both for buyers and sellers, there are a couple of drawbacks as well. The main arterial route from the city to nearby Los Angeles has long been haunted by severe congestion. The county has made little effort to alleviate this problem other than by drawing up complicated plans based on improvements complete with drop through valves and greener asphalt.

Another problem with Moreno Valley is the air pollution that can often be seen hanging over the city, having blown in from nearby Los Angeles and other densely populated residential and industrial zones of the state.

However, the biggest threat to investment potential in Moreno has to be the prevailing attitude of recent purchasers known as NIMBYism. In the rest of this article, we will take a look at this phenomenon and what it means to any resident or real estate agent, Canada based or right here in the Valley.

The word NIMBY is an acronym that stands for Not In My Back Yard. It is a term applied to those who are opposed to any development near to their homes, no matter how beneficial that development may be to the community at large. An Ontario first time home buyer may see the construction of a major condominium development three blocks away as potentially creating traffic problems as well as blocking their view; thus, he would be opposed to that development. The fact that the development itself would allow more people to live in the city and benefit the economic picture and his own house price tag would be ignored in favor of the more parochial matters.

Whether we are talking Cabbagetown real estate or Moreno Valley, NIMBYism is almost always most prevalent in one group, and that is those who are relatively new residents. Newer residents prefer to see their neighborhoods stay just as they were when they first purchased a new house, with little or no change that is not of direct and immediate benefit to them as homeowners. They tend to be quite outspoken in their opposition, whether it is to development or events such as the Olympic Games.

The problem is that many times, those afflicted with NIMBYism fail to see the long term benefits proposed ideas would have for them as individuals. They have already purchased their homes, therefore there is no need to whip out a mortgage calculator in Toronto or anywhere else to see if they will pay more on their piece of real estate. The higher costs that are related to development will instead be passed on to future purchasers.

And that, of course, is the biggest reason why NIMBYism is counterproductive to everyone. Higher prices mean that those who already own homes will be able to make more money off of a future sale. The development itself will likely bring more money and residents into a community, which will also result in greater returns on a home investment.

If you are a potential seller in the Moreno Valley area, then, consider the facts next time NIMBYism raises its head. The fact is, this attitude is counterproductive for all involved, from the city right down to the individual home owner.