yep.
And if you had ever driven around town through both good and bad areas you would immediately see what I am talking about.
The surest sign of a neighborhood on the decline is the appearance of cars parked in the drive way and/or street. The sign of a neighborhood even further down the path to ghetoville are lawns that are no longer maintained.
You need to go drive through some new and/or really nice neighborhoods and you will immediately notice the difference.
Real estate investing is my business. And it can mean the difference between making money or losing it to ignore obvious signs of a neighborhood in decline.
I guess it must be a regional thing.
One the the most well-off cities where I live (East Grand Rapids) have all manner of cars parked on the street and in driveways. Many of the homes are turn of the previous century next to expensive homes built just last year. Almost all of them have garages. In central Grand Rapids, just west of E. Grand Rapids, we have tons of early 20th century homes that only have basic horse carriage houses or garages built for Model Ts, and yuppies are fighting to get in. Everyone parks on the street on in their driveways.
Not all houses have garages. Not all houses have driveways either. The absence or presence of either is not an indicator of whether a neighborhood is good or bad.
Regarding cars in the driveway — Definitely must be a local “tell” where you are. Around here it is common to see a car or two in the driveway, even in multi-million dollar communities of homes with 3 or 4+ bay garages. Of which there are many. Nobody would think a thing of it.