[quote=andymajumder][quote=sdrealtor]Alot more than you think. I was blown away by the interest level. I figured 3 to 5 offers. They must have gotten 20 in a weekend. I figure most were at, above or close to asking price. I also figure most if not all were taking loans on $697K or less telling me there are a sh*tload of people walking around with $300K or more looking for a nice house and this one was nice but hardly spectacular or a spectacular deal.[/quote]
Have been a housing bear for the past many years since coming across this website and Rick’s analysis. But, have to agree with sdrealtor on this. There are many people with serious money who are willing to pay for certain parts of San Diego. Coastal areas…NCC and some more nicer parts inland such as Scripps Ranch have good demand and I still 2004 prices being paid on many properties. Housing probably will correct further in San Diego county, but I am slowly getting convinced that the more desirable areas of San Diego probably will not see any serious correction from here unless economy collapses or interest rates shoot up a lot (doesn’t help…since I need a mortgage, interest rate going up significantly will probably reduce my affordability).[/quote]
Andy, your “affordability” will only be reduced if you choose to narrow your purchase options to coastal areas or those areas <1.5 miles from the coast which are high enough to have whitewater or ocean views from either the house itself or property.
I have always maintained sdr's hypothesis but to *coastal areas* only. Those that have the most choices in life (those that CAN) will pay a premium to live in the most desireable areas (in SD Co read: coastal).
However, I do not think it applies to properties within a "covenant" due to exorbitant maintenance costs or properties in Scripps Ranch due to fire danger, which remains unchanged, even after all that's happened. Most of the fire-ravaged area in SR may have been rebuilt since 2003, but its "signature trees" remain, which cause whole canyon-rim and adjacent blocks to be engulfed in flames in a matter of minutes. Without these "signature trees," Scripps Ranch would be like any other non-coastal community in SD which are all essentially, irrigated desert terrain. This is not to say it isn't a good "family area." But it's location will never change and its trees won't be cut down until another wildfire bankrupts the City and insurers will no longer write policies there.
I DO think, Coronado, even though coastal, has challenges as well with maintaining prices. IMO, this city has allowed and approved too many lot splits, resulting in too many substandard 35 ft. wide lots. Buyers from all over the world in the market for an SFR there DO NOT want to hear their neighbor's bathroom and alarm clock for the kind of $$ they would be paying. Because of that City's greed, quality of life has been reduced for many residents there.
