[quote=flu]BG, please help me find a comparable home in MM for $300k. If you’re successful, and I’d be happy to pay you 4% commission when I close :)[/quote]
flu, I don’t know why MM is not still a FT homebuyer area as it was for many years. It is mostly flat and parts of it are hot in the summer. However, there are plenty of FT homebuyer areas in the county where a SFR can be purchased for <=$300K. The FHA 203(b) program was not put in place to serve "move-up" and "luxury" buyers.
Back in the 70's and 80's, MM was most definitely a first-time homebuyer area. The tracts north and west of MM Blvd and west of Blk Mtn Rd were FT homebuyer areas as well as those around the old Gemco store. IIRC, the tract west of Blk Mtn was not built with well-defined rooms but instead with very "open" floor plans (few walls) so had different floor coverings abutting one another. IIRC, both tracts were poorly insulated, had fairly cheap closet doors, and the tracts behind Gemco (West of Blk Mtn and north of Gold Coast Dr) had smallish lots with a hill behind them.
I haven't checked but perhaps these older MM tracts are fetching more now because most properties have been totally remodeled over the years??
MM is entirely on tract. In comparison to other tracts in the county the same age, there are no redeeming qualities to the older stock there that would make them worth $400K+ today, IMO.
For example, McMillin, a very well-known builder in south county, built VERY well-built homes of the same era as early MM (and a bit earlier) that are profoundly better-built than those two tracts I mentioned in MM. Most are on larger lots, some MUCH larger than MM. Many of these tract homes (91902, 91913), if listed, could be purchased today for $300K to $375K. Schools serving these homes are just as good or better than MM schools.
This post is not intended to discredit MM. It’s just making an apples-to-apples comparison of quality of construction, lot size, neighborhood and price.
First time buyers have to start somewhere if they have little or no downpayment and are forced to use the FHA or VA program. They can’t (and shouldn’t) have exactly what they want unless they have a substantial downpayment. Thus, there are areas they can move into which will give them a housing start in life. This is the way it has always been. Why should it be different now??
The VA (no downpayment) program should cap out at $350K in SD County, IMHO. That is more than adequate for the vast majority of active-duty first-time homebuyers whose spouses (if married) typically are not employed.
