The Fabulous 40s is the part of East Sacramento where the street numbers run through the forties. People call it the most desirable neighborhood in the city, and that phrase does a lot of hiding. So let me tell you what you are actually buying when you buy there.
I represent buyers, so I see the pattern. When a house in the 40s comes up, the showing list fills and the decision gets emotional fast. Before you walk in, I want the trade written down, because the house is only part of what you are paying for.
The one thing you cannot change is the street itself. In the 40s, that means a mature elm canopy, wide sidewalks, and front porches people still use.
WHAT THE TREE CANOPY IS ACTUALLY WORTH
The canopy is not decoration. Shade on a Sacramento July afternoon is worth real money, and it comes with every house on the block. The trade is what falls out of it. Leaves fill the gutters every fall, roots lift sidewalk concrete, and the city protects street trees, so what you are allowed to cut is limited. If your plan involves a new driveway or a rear addition, ask about the tree before you ask about anything else.
YOU CAN WALK TO DINNER, AND PEOPLE DO
The strip along Folsom Boulevard does the job a downtown does in other cities. Temple Coffee Roasters for the morning walk. Selland’s Market-Cafe for lunch. OneSpeed Pizza, Canon, and Cafe Bernardo for dinner. Taylor’s Market for meat, prepared food, and groceries you will not find at a chain. East Portal Park and McKinley Park, rose garden included, are close enough for an evening loop, and the American River Parkway trail and Sutter Lawn Tennis & Swim Club round out a weekend. You will still own a car. You just will not need it for dinner.
THE CALENDAR IS THE OTHER HALF OF THE PURCHASE
Every Fourth of July, the streets fill with decorated bicycles, wagons, vintage cars, and neighborhood groups for the East Sacramento parade. October turns those same blocks into a Halloween destination, with homes decorated to be walked past. December brings the Fab 40s Christmas lights and visitors from across the region. Spring brings the roses at McKinley Park. None of this is a festival you drive to. It happens at the end of your block, which is the selling point and, in December, also the problem.
THE COMPARISON I REACH FOR, AND WHERE IT STOPS WORKING
The closest ordinary thing I can think of is a private club with no front desk. There are members, there are traditions, and everyone seems to know the rules without anyone writing them down.
Here is where the comparison falls apart. A club screens its members, and you can resign from one. A street screens nobody, and you cannot leave without selling a house. Someone will move in who does not decorate, does not wave, and parks in front of your house. You are buying the block as it is, not the block as you would run it.
WHAT IT COSTS YOU, AND THE PARTS NOBODY LISTS
Before you offer, weigh these honestly.
- The houses are old. The stock runs old, with plenty of 1920s and 1930s houses among it, and an old house carries a maintenance list that never fully closes.
- The lots are small. Garages are often detached and reached by an alley, so two cars and a project do not fit the way a newer street lets them.
- Parking on event nights is real. When the Christmas lights draw a crowd, those cars park somewhere, and somewhere is your block.
- You are paying for location, not square footage. Larger and newer houses exist elsewhere in the region for the same money. That is the trade, stated plainly.
- Trees and older homes mean city review. Bigger changes take permits and time. Budget patience along with the work.
- Not every block in the 40s is the same. Some sit on busier streets. The name describes a district, not a guarantee.
WHAT I WOULD CHECK BEFORE YOU OFFER
Ask what has been updated and when, and get the answers in writing rather than in conversation. East Sacramento sits inside the Sacramento City Unified School District, and attendance boundaries are drawn by street, so check the district map for the exact address instead of assuming the neighborhood name covers you. Then look at the block at 6 p.m. on a weekday and again on a holiday evening. Some houses show well and some blocks do not.
Two things worth reading before you decide. I keep every area guide in one place at the neighborhoods hub, and if you are still at the start of this, the buying process page walks the order things happen in.
Question for you: do you want the Fabulous 40s for the house, or for the block? Those are two different buyers, and I would rather find out which one you are before we tour.
Adapted from Why the Fabulous 40s Remains East Sacramento’s Most Coveted Neighborhood, originally published by Windermere Signature Properties at windermerecalocal.com.
WHEN YOU ARE READY
Let’s talk about what you want in an area.
Send me the areas you are considering and what matters most to you. I will tell you what each one is actually like, including the parts that argue against it. Nothing is committed by asking.