House hacking in Walnut Creek (Downtown / east).

What's actually happening in 94596

• Delivered / pre-construction

  Walnut Creek Transit Village at WC BART: 596 units plus 26k sqft commercial; Phase 1 (358 units) delivered, Phase 2 (238) pre-construction. Opportunity Housing Group

• Adopted plan

  West Downtown Specific Plan: up to 2,400 units. City of Walnut Creek

• Existing anchors

  In-ZIP Kaiser with John Muir nearby: about 25% of city jobs are medical. City of Walnut Creek

The numbers

Median price

~$750K (city proxy)

Market rent

2bd $2,600 / 3bd $3,200 whole-home (underwriting band)

Property tax (Contra Costa County)

~1.10–1.20% new-purchase (JVM; the favorable end of the metro range)

Per-bed rent band

$1,050–1,450/mo per bed

ADU rent band

$2,000–2,600/mo

Whole-home rent band

2bd $2,600 / 3bd $3,200 whole-home

Underwriting vacancy

5% underwriting vacancy

Appreciation scenarios

1.0 / 2.5 / 4.0 %/yr (conservative / base / upside)

Condo-heavy mix. Appreciation basis: Delivered Phase 1, condo-heavy stock; the favorable 1.10–1.20% tax helps. Rent bands are city-level medians; confirm the specific parcel before trusting any of them. Run your own scenario in the calculator.

The house-hack angle

Small multifamily or condo-with-rooms near BART; the 1.10–1.20% new-purchase tax is the favorable end of the metro range and does real work in the coverage math.

What breaks it

• Condo-heavy stock: HOA economics complicate the classic hack
• A low appreciation band (1.0 / 2.5 / 4.0): pencil on rent
• City-proxy figures: re-comp at the property level