I’ve been looking at the Hillcrest/Bankers Hills/Mission Hills/Downtown for my relatives. I think that it’s a good area for retiree as well as young people living in condos. There are restaurants and stores, and the park nearby so there’re minimal driving requirements. Plus the population mix is interesting so it won’t be boring.

Bankers Hills near Balboa Park is way overpriced, more so than Downtown in my view. The plan is to turn that whole 5th ave corridor to “condo row” so there’ll be plenty of buying opportunity if have a longer time frame.

With the oversupply, Downtown will crash first with the other areas to follow. There are few new condos in Hillcrest so if you want a place that’s crisp, clean and new, then Atlas is worth waiting for. I would wait to pickup a resale unit at the trough. I think that Atlas is being built in slow motion as the developer is hoping for a market comeback.

If you’re still paying your CC debts, then you’d be wise to pay them off first, then save for a down-payment before you even buy anything. Prices will be going down slowly over years so you have plenty of time.