What do the young families living in Del Sur or 4S do for a living? (San Diego: foreclosures)

[bbjr]

My wife and really like Del Sur or 4S Ranch and are considering moving from the northeast to one of the two communities within the next 10 months, but are not sure if we can afford it. I've notced there are alot of young families living in Del Sur and 4S, what I want to know is what do these young families do for a living to be able to afford a home there, or are they all just independently wealthy. Can anyone living there, or knows somone living there give me any insight? Also are payscales in San Diego in general equal to the NY/NJ area? Thanks a million!!!!!!!!

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by bbjr

My wife and really like Del Sur or 4S Ranch and are considering moving from the northeast to one of the two communities within the next 10 months, but are not sure if we can afford it. I've notced there are alot of young families living in Del Sur and 4S, what I want to know is what do these young families do for a living to be able to afford a home there, or are they all just independently wealthy. Can anyone living there, or knows somone living there give me any insight? Also are payscales in San Diego in general equal to the NY/NJ area? Thanks a million!!!!!!!!

As the current foreclosure boom has shown, many cannot afford it. 4S and Del Sur are among many new communities which have a high concentration of flippers and foreclosures (hence the nickname is "Foreclosure Ranch").

Salaries are not on par with NYC metro at all, but overall costs of living are similar given the tax, heating, and transportation costs of the northeast.

Also remember many people bought small condos and townhomes pre-boom, and then moved up into the larger houses. Del Sur and 4S are not what I would consider starter home neighborhoods, they are luxury developments for the most part. The starter aspect would be the condos and townhomes, but not the detached homes.

[myhomesd]

4S Ranch will be less expensive than Del Sur. If you have kids you should consider an area within poway school district (Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos, 4S Ranch, Sable Spring) or Scripps Ranch is a great community too within San Diego School district. Check also Carmel Valley. Payscale in San Diego vs NY is quite similar. [realtor advertising - moderator cut]

[CrissCT]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

As the current foreclosure boom has shown, many cannot afford it. 4S and Del Sur are among many new communities which have a high concentration of flippers and foreclosures (hence the nickname is "Foreclosure Ranch").

Salaries are not on par with NYC metro at all, but overall costs of living are similar given the tax, heating, and transportation costs of the northeast.

Also remember many people bought small condos and townhomes pre-boom, and then moved up into the larger houses. Del Sur and 4S are not what I would consider starter home neighborhoods, they are luxury developments for the most part. The starter aspect would be the condos and townhomes, but not the detached homes.

Your advice is usually great, but what stats do you have to back up the "high concentration of flippers and foreclosures" in 4S ranch. Living here in 4S, I really don't see a lot of foreclosures happening.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by CrissCT

Your advice is usually great, but what stats do you have to back up the "high concentration of flippers and foreclosures" in 4S ranch. Living here in 4S, I really don't see a lot of foreclosures happening.

Well, I think 4S got the nickname from groups of investors who bought in at pre-construction and then bailed. The best way to see them is to sign up for RealtyTrac (it's free) but this site has a few on a map.

4S and Westwood Foreclosures - Commentary - California Housing Forecast by The Berkland Group

All areas with significant new home construction are affected by this. I am not a housing catastrophist by any means, but in general Temecula, RB, and Chula Vista were among the harder hit areas due to the heavy preconstruction flipping going on up there. Most of those guys are gone now.

[Sampaguita]

Originally Posted by myhomesd

Payscale in San Diego vs NY is quite similar.

In my industry (music/orchestra/performing arts management) this is not at all accurate. Salaries in NYC are easily at least20k higher for the same exact positions in SD. I wouldn't compare the NY Phil salaries to SD Symphony salaries (NY Phil is about 100k compared to ~50k SD) though because the 5 top tier orchestras are all in the 100k/yr range compared to the rest of the 40 major orchestras.

My cousin is a physician's assistant in NYC and she says salaries are not comparable either (she & her fiance are hoping to relocate but are finding the salaries to be a drawback).

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by myhomesd

Payscale in San Diego vs NY is quite similar.

Based on my research and experience, pay in San Diego for high tech workers is as much as 30% lower than NYC.

[CrissCT]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Well, I think 4S got the nickname from groups of investors who bought in at pre-construction and then bailed. The best way to see them is to sign up for RealtyTrac (it's free) but this site has a few on a map.

4S and Westwood Foreclosures - Commentary - California Housing Forecast by The Berkland Group

All areas with significant new home construction are affected by this. I am not a housing catastrophist by any means, but in general Temecula, RB, and Chula Vista were among the harder hit areas due to the heavy preconstruction flipping going on up there. Most of those guys are gone now.

Thanks Sassberto, the map was really interesting. Most of the foreclosures were concentrated in the older section (5 years) of 4S (South of Camino Del Norte) where you would think the investors would have bought low and made a profit as opposed to the newer side where current value of the home is sometimes lower than the purchase price of the home at construction (just a year or 2 ago). Builders have been consistently lowering their prices though and construction on the North side is not complete yet.

I also have to agree with you that salaries here in SD are not equal to NY. We moved here from the midwest where the cost of living is like 1/3 but the salary is the same.