[quote=earlyretirement]…I’ve had realtors that have lived in SD all their lives tell me not to buy there…then when I ask them if they have ever visited they admit they haven’t which seems strange to me to advise against buying in an area without visiting it…..[/quote]
ER, the reason long-time resident or native realtors are telling you this is because they have SEEN more than a few RE cycles around here and more than a few developments lose value rapidly and even developments go under while still in various phases of construction! I know I have.
RE in CA coastal counties is priced based upon location. Location, not size of bldg, is the main driver of price and this will never change. After location, size of lot is the second driver of price.
The area you are looking in is an untested, far flung area. Its zip code was not even annexed into the City of SD until about 2002. And that is when the entire area was still largely vacant! I have no doubt the developers of this area picked up all this land for a song and then pawned all the necessary improvements off on their buyers in the form of exorbitant MR bonds after subdividing it (into minuscule lots).
A mere 8-9 years of “market history” in 92127 indicates that the vast majority of homeowners there are either currently underwater, not underwater but lost a huge downpayment, are currently trying to sell short or have lost their properties to foreclosure.
After perusing SDlookup today, it appears to me that the the typical owner of an improved lot in Santaluz has lost an average of $300K in “equity” in the last six years.
That’s not even considering the $120K to $140K that they have sunk into MR and HOA dues in that period of time, assuming they are still current on both.
Without all of the “exotic” financing you just mentioned (which was handed out to anyone who could fog a mirror in recent years), there is NO WAY homes on those size lots with that level of MR encumbrance would have fetched anywhere near the prices they did (especially the spartan and badly designed/poorly appointed ones). Yes, there are some of these in the current SDLookup actives.
No offense to any Pigg who owns there but it is what it is. It is also located where it is with limited in/out access and with the vast bulk of residents commuting to work every day. These are elements that you can’t change.
For this reason, 4S and surrounds will never be able to compete in desirability with SD County’s finest urban and/or coastal communities
ER, I think you will learn a GREAT DEAL by coming here and driving around. There is no better RE education than that gleaned from the street. Give these realtors who “advised you” a little bit of credit. They know what they know first hand, have been on the ground here for decades and you haven’t. There’s no substitute for that experience.
