I never knew Chula Vista until I drove through to go to the Otay Ranch Town Center a couple of months ago. To be fair to Chula Vista (the eastern part near Eastlake and Otay Ranch), the development is exactly the same as Carmel Valley, in my view. I don't see any physical difference. Granted, the school district and ethnic makeup might be different. Not counting whites, are Chinese/Asians and Indians from India neighbors better or worse than Hispanic neighbors?

Race has nothing to do with it imho.

Financial background/value system/social background/surrounding environment has everything to do with it. First, I'm not saying Carmel Valley is the end all/be all place. It's inflated just like everywhere else.But, I'm merely pointing out a $700k home in Chula Vista imho is ridiculous, considering it's not close to the coast, there's no decent school system , it borders the old chula vista parts which is crime infested, and it's not close to where most of the high paying jobs are.

What other advantages does living in Chula Vista have that you couldn't find in Poway, Rancho Penesquito, Carmel Valley if you were willing to compromise on the square footage? A 700k price tag seems steep for the sacrifice you'd make in quality of everything else. It just doesn't make sense imho.

I sure as hell wouldn't want to live there, no matter how nice the home looks or the immediate neighborhood is…It's really the entire package. For the sake of my family, I'd rather live in something smaller in a neighborhood where school good and crime is low. I don't want to send my kids to any high school that has an auto-shop class. And I would say people from a white-collar background probably would feel more or less the same. But that's just my opinion.

As far as Carmel Valley is concerned, I believe things are going to get hit too. How hard depends on how long the housing slump sustains. I would say though that Condos in Carmel Valley will get hit the hardest versus SFH. $600+k for a 3 bedroom TOWNHOME with $200-300 HOA on top of that is ridiculous. And most of the time, people who purchased these where first time buyers that way over-extended. A lot where purchased by flippers/”investors”… Plus, there were plenty of condo units newly constructed and apartment converts….If we can get a 3 br townhome with attached garage for $400k, we’ll probably get back in. I’ve seen some of the units come down in price, but not significantly.