San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

So all of what I'm about to say is purely anecdotal, so for those that want good data...you can look elsewhere.

So there are two things I noticed this weekend as we searched for a rental place.

1. It's much more difficult to find a rental property by just driving around town.

My wife and I spent the weekend driving around Carlsbad, Encinitas, La Costa, and San Marcos (San Elijo Hills actually) looking for rental homes. We were tired of seeing the same property management companies on Craigslist, listing the same crummy place with 10 different headings, so we headed out for a drive. It may sound like a waste of time, but when I moved to Encinitas in 2001, I drove up and down the coast and collected 10-15 flyers and went home and made some calls. The best place I ever lived was located in that fashion, and it just seems like those days are long gone. We probably saw 3-4 "For Rent" signs on houses in a total of 6-7 hours of driving around. Obviously the internet is the most popular way of getting the word out, but I would have assumed that in 2001 it was equally popular, if not equal, at least close.

2. Prices are still ridiculous.

In 2002 I moved into a place at 546 4th street. My back yard was the Pacific Ocean. It was fantastic. It was a small 700sf studio with a large backyard and courtyard. I paid $1500/mo. It was a great deal, because it was month to month and the owner was demoing the place to build a mansion...but I was able to stay there for 7 months while he worked on getting the permits. when i was forced to move, I was able to find a place on East side of the same street for $1300, it was a 2br...not nearly as nice as the studio. But it was still decent and I found out about it from a sign on the street.

This weekend we looked and looked and nobody has anything decent under 2k. Condos in Village Park are going for 2k...and they're 3 miles from the beach...perhaps you're paying for a garage. Currently we're in SEH and our landlord is raising the rent when our lease ends...and honestly, the listings on Craigslist seem to indicate he'll get what he's asking.

We're considering moving into a month to month place and waiting to see what happens with rental prices...if it stays as is...we might just end up buying sooner rather than later. But I read 2 or 3 articles this morning that indicated that rents were dropping...I honestly just don't see that in my neck of the woods.