[quote=Russell] . . . Is Santee in a very different Southern California than Del Cerro? The value of lot size/distance from your neighbor and separation from other high density areas is completely in the eye of the beholder.[/quote]
Yes, Russell, Santee is a completely different animal than Del Cerro. Del Cerro is zoned residential while Santee is “zoned” residential, commercial and industrial, sometimes all three on the same block, due to lack of proper zoning. Not speaking for Sky Ranch, but the “flats” of Santee have absolutely every type of property residing together hodgepodge, with a mix of dilapidated government facilities and even a small airport (EC proper) mixed in for a western border. Santee WILL NEVER be Del Cerro. Del Cerro (NOT “Princess Del Cerro” or “Allied Gardens” within the 92120 zip code) not only has many lots backed into unobstructed views of downtown and Mission Bay, the construction of many of these homes is FAR SUPERIOR to that of the construction of the avg. home in Santee. There are no commercial, industrial or multi-family properties of any kind there. Not even a laundromat or convenience store. It is truly a “homogenous” neighborhood and is higher up than Sky Ranch and at least 8-9 deg. warmer or cooler (milder), depending on season. In addition, it is probably 9-10 mi. closer to both downtown and the coast than Santee. Sorry, but there is NO COMPARISON between the two, which is reflected in the avg. sales prices of SFR’s in both areas. They are apples and oranges.
[quote=PKMAN]Not defending or justifying Sky Ranch….but if San Marcos and Chula Vista can have $800K+ homes with high HOA, long commute to central SD and often with crippling Mello Roos, why not Sky Ranch?[/quote]emphasis added
PKMAN, regardless of what the U/T article states (which is based upon recent sales data), Chula Vista’s Rancho Del Rey (using as an example here but there are others) has similar sales prices today as Sky Ranch but this area is now 12-18 yrs. old and fairly well-established. Here’s an active listing now reduced to $650K to $699,900. Fabulously appointed for the price!
From this property, one can walk to shopping in about ten minutes from these homes incl. Ralph’s and Rite Aid anchoring a large strip mall, with another smaller strip mall situated diagonally across “H” Street. They are also walking distance to BVM (very close), BVH and SW College. They are NOT isolated like Sky Ranch and several lots have unobstructed views of downtown. This community is only 16 mi. from dtn. SD. Santee is 23-26 mi. from dtn. and 9-10 degrees hotter or cooler (more extreme), depending on season. Again, not an accurate comparison, PKMAN, if you’re just using numbers and not taking into account “desirability” factors.
Here’s a small snapshot of household income for 2008 in RDR census tracts:
The subject property (above) is located in a the top (yellow) census tract with a $168,167 median HH income in 2008 (situated in the highest viewpoint in RDR).
I can’t speak for San Marcos except to say that it is 30-35 mi. from dtn. SD and 45 mins. to a one-hr. commute. I haven’t driven up in SM since ’99 but I can tell you that at that time I saw a few dirt roads and commercial/industrial also mixed in with residential on a couple of streets, leading me to believe the zoning is a bit “amiss” there as well (reminded me of a North County version of Spring Valley).
There’s a h@lluva lotta difference between 16 mi. (Chula RDR) and 30-35 mi. (SM) when describing a commute in this county. Again, these two areas are “apples and oranges” compared to each other and bananas, in comparison to Santee.
This is not to bash Santee at all but just to state the facts. Santee is what it is and is located exactly where it is. It is surrounded by mtns. on three sides, keeping it “socked in.” This can never be fixed.
Hope this post wasn’t too annoying. I don’t like to use too many links.
