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So I'm in the market to buy a house, ON MY OWN. I'm not married, won't ever be, no children, nothing. It's just me. I won't settle for a condo, because to me they're just glorified apartments and I don't need that. I also don't want to share walls or anything like that. I want my own detached place, NOT in a ghetto area. Basically, anything above the 805-15 junction.
Imagine my surprise to find that the only San Diego locale that offers single family homes less than $250,000 is in Escondido. Mind you, the worst parts of Escondido. Average houses but the neighborhoods are just poor. Plus the frequent DUI checkpoints are annoying. I also don't care to live in an area dominated by one race, regardless of what that race happens to be, even my own. I want diversity; it's how I ensure a balance in quality of life and pride of ownership.
Going a bit out of San Diego county, I see Temecula has a few in the price range, but investors are buying those out like mad. They don't even care about the houses themselves or about the rest of us who are actually trying to get a place to live. They're just bidding to get the house so they can flip it when the markets recover, or pull "Equity ATM" like they did before. So that's out.
Murrieta has quite a few, but same situation - people buying them up like crazy.
I then see Hemet has houses that are very nice, nice neighborhoods, and they're priced in line with what I would expect a house to cost. Of course it's out in the backwater, meaning not many people live there, because they want to be by the beach in "sunny" San Diego.
In my opinion the home prices in this city are still too inflated. I'd estimate the prices really need to go down another 40% before they'll be "normal". I know it won't happen - there is too much big business and too many tourist spots, but it's really problematic for those trying to buy a place to live.
We've just run out of room for more single family homes plain and simple. Multi-family housing, apartments, and density are what the future holds for much of Southern CA's development, there is no other choice basically. I'm sorry to say but the days of affordable single family homes anywhere within 60 miles of the coast are long gone and will never return. Doesn't bother me too much, I like density as long as it's done right.
OK.
I also don't care to live in an area dominated by one race, regardless of what that race happens to be, even my own. I want diversity; it's how I ensure a balance in quality of life and pride of ownership.
In my opinion the home prices in this city are still too inflated. I'd estimate the prices really need to go down another 40% before they'll be "normal". I know it won't happen - there is too much big business and too many tourist spots, but it's really problematic for those trying to buy a place to live.
I'm curious to know that too. What single-family residence neighborhood could that be in San Diego? The only area that comes to mind is Mira Mesa - it's racially diverse (Whites, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, etc) in a decent (above ghetto) neighborhood depending on the location.
It seems if the real affluent area is dominated by one race/ethnic/color - it's White. And if it's dominated by one race/ethnic/color, it's Hispanics. Blacks, Asians, Middle-Easterns, etc, are just scattered throughout San Diego in small communities.
And I'm also wondering what make an area expensive and desirable anyhow? I know some Hispanics families who live in National City that given the choice to move to La Jolla (even if it's a special house is reserve for them), they wouldn't move there since it's not their type of community and wouldn't fit in.
In my opinion the home prices in this city are still too inflated. I'd estimate the prices really need to go down another 40% before they'll be "normal". I know it won't happen - there is too much big business and too many tourist spots, but it's really problematic for those trying to buy a place to live.
While I agree with your overall thesis - San Diego is an expensive place to buy a home - I don't know if I understand/agree with the above. I'm not sure that I'd blame big business on the high housing prices, or the investors buying up homes speculatively. Either the prices are low and will rise, making the investors money, or they are too high as you say, and a supply-demand imbalance will make them fall and the investors will pay the price. The investors are the ones bearing the full risk of their investments, and I don't begrudge them for choosing to buy SD properties. Time will tell if they've made a smart decision.
I guess I just don't see the rationale in pointing fingers or laying blame. Housing prices in California (and SD in particular) are sky high because it's a desireable place to live and there is limited space. It's a supply and demand issue, not a "big business" issue.
I know that I for one want to be buying in San Diego in about a year, and will inadvertently be doing my part to contribute to the "demand" part of the equation that keeps driving prices up!
Hemet is a diverse area. I saw an older African American family, few Hispanics, some whites,, Asians etc. In fact it was the first time I've been able to walk into a Carls Jr. not dominated by Hispanic cooks and cashiers issuing orders in Spanish. Same with Temecula, same with Murrieta and Menifee. Basically, anything NOT in San Diego County. In Escondido we looked at 6 homes, all with full Hispanic coverage. Decent homes, being mistreated. In Temecula we looked at 5 homes, one had a Hispanic family renting, young family probably mid 20's, but the house was very well taken care of. So I know it's not a racial dynamic, but rather race/location combined.
I do blame big business - not that anything they're doing is causing the drive, but just their presence. I mean we've got Sony, Yahoo, etc etc....of course lucrative for people who want make good money, so of course with that good money people are going to buy up the houses. That's what I mean...California has the high paying jobs, the tech companies and what not. It's the reason Rancho Bernardo is so friggen expensive, compared to National City where, sure, I could buy a single family for under 250,000, but what's the quality of the neighborhood? Not livable, tell you what.
My parents live in Skyline and it's a nice looking area, with a bunch of weed-smoking gang members. DO I sacrifice principle and live with gang members because the neighborhood is nice? No.
I don't think it's just demand. Not any more. If that were the case then I wouldn't see so many houses that AREN'T getting bids. I don't blame investors for gutting the city's housing supply. I blame investors for purposely throwing thousands of lowball bids on perfectly good properties, thus creating more work for the banks so that valid, valuable offers from people who really want a primary residence are lost by the wayside. I'm talking short sales mostly.
There are other things that I disagree with - sky high HOA dues, Mello-Roos (which should be abolished), property taxes that aren't balanced with the true value of the property, premium land due to overbuilding, etc.
Last edited by revelated; 05-22-2008 at 04:19 PM..
There are some serious fundamental issues and problems in CA that contribute to our high housing prices that go way beyond speculation and demand. Land use policies, regulations, permit process, prop 13, etc are just some to name a few....
We've just run out of room for more single family homes plain and simple. Multi-family housing, apartments, and density are what the future holds for much of Southern CA's development, there is no other choice basically. I'm sorry to say but the days of affordable single family homes anywhere within 60 miles of the coast are long gone and will never return. Doesn't bother me too much, I like density as long as it's done right.
HAHA
True
San Diego itself is the biggest joke/ripoff.
Escondido is not the only area where SFR are currently available for 250K. If you are upset NOW at the prices, I can't imagine how you would have felt 2 years ago!
I would try expanding your search to Oceanside (92056), parts of Vista (92083), and San Marcos (92069). Those are just a few that come to mind that are still in San Diego County.
A condo is the new starter home. Alternatively a small house in a sketchy neighborhood.You have to be able to come to terms with this or you will be very, very discouraged.
It's a tough reality. Some people leave and buy somewhere else, some can find a better paying job or career. Some people just rent and then whine about it on the internet.
You have to have extra dedication and extra patience and take extra risk to make out in these high-dollar markets. A lot of people out there are just waking up from their twenties and realizing that the 40k they've saved over the last 5 years isn't gonna be enough to buy that house in Encinitas.
We get posts like this every day. Who told everyone that San Diego wasn't insanely expensive? I thought everyone knew that. I can't imagine what a 250k house looks like in San Diego.
A condo is the new starter home. Alternatively a small house in a sketchy neighborhood.You have to be able to come to terms with this or you will be very, very discouraged.
It's a tough reality. Some people leave and buy somewhere else, some can find a better paying job or career. Some people just rent and then whine about it on the internet.
You have to have extra dedication and extra patience and take extra risk to make out in these high-dollar markets. A lot of people out there are just waking up from their twenties and realizing that the 40k they've saved over the last 5 years isn't gonna be enough to buy that house in Encinitas.
We get posts like this every day. Who told everyone that San Diego wasn't insanely expensive? I thought everyone knew that. I can't imagine what a 250k house looks like in San Diego.
The point is not "why are prices so high???" The point is, "why are the houses I'm seeing priced where they are?" There's a difference.
99% of the houses in Rancho Santa Fe are worth over a million bucks. You have at least an acre around you, 3000-4000 sq ft houses, great views, etc. Ok, I understand.
San Marcos has nice areas, but I wouldn't call it overall a nice place to live. Yet go to REALTOR.com and search for a house at $300,000 and see what comes back. Guess what - a bunch of condos that are essentially apartments not fixed up properly. In San Marcos? That's ridiculous.
Vista: All of the houses for sale are so far from the freeway as to make it pointless. I'm talking to where you're near Pala. That's just unacceptable.
Oceanside: Turned into the ghetto of North County. I dated a girl who lived out there, so I'm familiar with most of the area. Doesn't hold a candle to RB or Poway or other "nicer" areas. Plus it's so far removed from the 15, and the 78 always has an accident or some idiot screwing up traffic flow, so if there's something on that freeway, you're stuck and late to work. No thanks. At least in San Marcos you can take city streets to get around it.
To make my point...I'm PRE APPROVED for 100% financing. All I have to do is find a house that meets my requirements where it doesn't have 50 offers from investors. That's the hard part. The other hard part is getting the banks to understand that no, I'm not giving you any money up front out of my pocket. It's 100% financed. That means MY bank is paying you the deposit, MY bank is paying the closing costs. So why do the selling banks prefer some smoke Joe who happens to have $20,000 when he's bidding $160,000 on a $275,000 house, over my FULL payment at exactly the asking price? (it happened.)
I'm not asking for much. All I'm saying is, for a 1600 square foot house, anything over $300,000 is just way too much. San Diego's idea of what a condo should be, isn't, due to all of the crazy condo conversions where all they did was take an apartment and convert it - well, a condo should NOT be identical to or less than an apartment. It's supposed to be a step up. Anyone who's been to Ventana Luxury Apartments, THAT is what a condo should be. Anyone who's been to Carmel Summit, THAT is what a condo should be. Instead we get crap like Villa Taviana - $100,000 overpriced, no garage, way too close to major streets so it's hard to get out at work, tons of blind spots from the idiots parking on the street, street punks out smoking and gambling, etc. No thanks.
Yes, I'm just ranting and it felt good to rant. All I'm saying is, moving to Colorado is starting to look better and better.
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