Bay Area Real Estate Market

[TraderC]

There are good and and not-so-good areas in almost every city.

Check out this nice golf community in Escondido, selling around $500k --
http://www.nuwi.com/communities/brookside/home_brookside.html

A KB community in Oceanside was selling in the high $300k one year ago. Now, they are selling at $500k, while the market price is close to $600k. So, if you can get one of these homes, you are pretty much in the money by $100k.

Also, check out Corona and Temecula. These inland towns are getting a flood of buyers from everywhere.

Quote from QQQBALL:

forget santa ana and escondido. ocenaside maybe, if you dont have children; o'side is the most afforable beach city in north county, but its also the least desirable (remember that relatively speaking). if you cant afford to pay up from oceanside to carlsbad in terms of renting, you'd best stay where you are homes are "pretty pricey" in carlsbad :eek:

 

[CalTrader]

Quote from TradeTheFunk:

I can see the mania coming to a climax here especially in my southern california neighgborhood. People have been camping out just to get in on a hot new builder's offering. some of them turn right around and sell it for a quick 10% profit over what they paid the builder and never even moved in!

.... It aint a profit til you take it. Ask the dot commers if they had fun watching their stock options go down in value, quickly.

Let the bank take the hit over the next 5-8 years. I'll worry about the higher monthly's later. I am sure there is some budgeting I could do If we really had to. Staying in your house can be a big motivation.

Exactly the correct course if you are intent on staying in california and like living where you are - we sure do. I have several properties that I bought at sensible levels in so. ca. - some I sold to take profits and the rest just keep getting better.

Anyone who thinks the mania will last very much longer needs to get grounded with a little study of markets. It would also help if youv'e been through a few manias in diverse markets like the last Ca. real-estate mania, the gold mania, the dot com(edy) mania etc ....

 

[sdtrader]

Quote from QQQBALL:

thats a peretty good list, but rancho del rey is actually east chula vista - i'd substitute encinitas, pacific beach and point loma

Actually Rancho Del Rey east of the 5 has a gated area that starts at 1.5 and outside probably average at 700k. Just like most cities, there is a portion that is not that nice. I grew up in Del Mar, so Encinitas always had a run down feel to me....but it is certainly up and coming. There are a lot of nice new homes by Encinitas Ranch 1+. Pacific Beach is still a college town but has some nice properties. Point Loma I would agree as long as you are on the hill and not on the flight path.

 

[CalTrader]

Quote from CPTrader:

Where are the nice places to live in Southern CA?

Stay out of san diego county - unlkess you want to rent. This area has the greatest risk IMHO for SFH transactions going forward. Less risk is in Orange and LA counties - although its still unacceptable in most beach community SFH markets. Places that are more affordable are inland - and some are still quite nice.

 

[QQQBALL]

Quote from TraderC:

There are good and and not-so-good areas in almost every city.

Check out this nice golf community in Escondido, selling around $500k --
http://www.nuwi.com/communities/brookside/home_brookside.html

A KB community in Oceanside was selling in the high $300k one year ago. Now, they are selling at $500k, while the market price is close to $600k. So, if you can get one of these homes, you are pretty much in the money by $100k.

Also, check out Corona and Temecula. These inland towns are getting a flood of buyers from everywhere.

laing homes or lang homes has a project in southern carlsbad. brand new 2,600 sf homes for like $700,000... its a nice project, i think its called the "Tides" or Tidewaters" or something. its via encinas at poinsettia road. i almost bought one for $647,000, but they raised the price $60,000 between phases.

if you are gonna move to CA, try to stay west of Interstate-5 if you can afford it. forget escondido, its like 100 degrees in the summer and santa ana is one big pit. i used to have an office in temecula, its way inland in riverside county (defeats the purpose of moving here)... you can PM me and ill send ill email you lisitings - im an MAI here in socal, ive been appraising here for almost 2 decades.

 

[QQQBALL]

Quote from sdtrader:

Actually Rancho Del Rey east of the 5 has a gated area that starts at 1.5 and outside probably average at 700k. Just like most cities, there is a portion that is not that nice. I grew up in Del Mar, so Encinitas always had a run down feel to me....but it is certainly up and coming. There are a lot of nice new homes by Encinitas Ranch 1+. Pacific Beach is still a college town but has some nice properties. Point Loma I would agree as long as you are on the hill and not on the flight path.

yeah, i remember when you could drive along the highway from del mar northward through solana beach and it was pitch dark because there were like no street lights and everything was quiet. im no big fan of point loma either, but it might be someone's cup of tea. you're right about pacific beach, but colege towns have coeds! you might think encinitas is rundown, but i think few would agree, although som of the folks living in leucadia look like they saw a few too many "grateful dead" concerts.

no offense intended, but rancho del rey has a neat name, but its still a master-planned community in east chula vista. if you are looking for affordable, then whoever suggested corona and temecula is probably on the right track. frankly, if i had to live in temecula or corona, id mnove to another state.

 

[waggie945]

You make investing in California Real Estate sound as if it is some sort of a stock "trade", which for the majority of homeowners out there is not REALISTIC.

The fact of the matter is that people live near where they work, and they also look for good school districts for their kids when looking into purchasing a home. Moreover, their investment in a home is most likely the single biggest purchase they will ever undertake in their lives.

In this job market, I simply do not see the majority of homeowners out there having the luxury to move anywhere they wish in the State, due to "sector-rotation."

As for the Bay Area not being able to continue with the kinds of percentage gains that it has seen over the years . . . I am not so sure about that. However, I do know that the San Francisco Bay Area doesn't have all that SMOG that LA does . . . something that you failed to mention.

 

[Jayford]

I was raised in Silicon Valley (although it was mostly orchards then), and this area can get pretty nasty pollution wise in summer during the dead air heat spells. The smog gets stuck in the valley. It has actually improved since, but can still be bad at times.

That said, its not nearly as bad as S. Cal (inland), and SF has zero smog (NW winds). This would definitely be an issue with me as where to live.

Jay
PS, not in Cal anymore, but miss it!

 

[QQQBALL]

Quote from Jayford:

I was raised in Silicon Valley (although it was mostly orchards then), and this area can get pretty nasty pollution wise in summer during the dead air heat spells. The smog gets stuck in the valley. It has actually improved since, but can still be bad at times.

That said, its not nearly as bad as S. Cal (inland), and SF has zero smog (NW winds). This would definitely be an issue with me as where to live.

Jay
PS, not in Cal anymore, but miss it!

i did a job in redwood city a few years ago - that traffic is brutal, and i grew-up in l.a.! ive also done work in san francisco, and ive got to say that is an awesome city.... restaurants, charm, culture - there arent many (any?) good restaurants in north san diego county.

 

[TraderC]

Fair enough, not everyone can move wherever they want. Most people have to stay where their jobs are. That said, there are enough mobile people out there who can make a big difference in the housing market.

First of all, if you are a trader making money, like myself, you should be able to move wherever you like. This is true for most self-employed people. I actually lived in NH for a few years just for its zero income tax.

Secondly, there are enough people in US, who are either wealthy enough, or no longer working, for example, the coming wave of retiring baby boomers. They will just converge to wherever the weather is nice, and the action is hot.

Third, the local economy is stronger than the Bay Area. That will continue to draw people to find jobs here.

I see the internet as a major factor in the current housing boom in southern California. As housing and weather information becomes more readily available, more people will see what lousy weather they have, or sh** hole they are living in, and make the move. The internet also enables many people to work from anywhere. Hey, that's why I moved from NH to SD!

Regarding the smog in LA, have you been to Orange County or San Diego lately? There is no smog down here. This is southern California.

TraderC

Quote from waggie945:

You make investing in California Real Estate sound as if it is some sort of a stock "trade", which for the majority of homeowners out there is not REALISTIC.

The fact of the matter is that people live near where they work, and they also look for good school districts for their kids when looking into purchasing a home. Moreover, their investment in a home is most likely the single biggest purchase they will ever undertake in their lives.

In this job market, I simply do not see the majority of homeowners out there having the luxury to move anywhere they wish in the State, due to "sector-rotation."

As for the Bay Area not being able to continue with the kinds of percentage gains that it has seen over the years . . . I am not so sure about that. However, I do know that the San Francisco Bay Area doesn't have all that SMOG that LA does . . . something that you failed to mention.