I have two detached sfh and a condo in OB and monitor the market carefully. When a huge lux apartment complex opened a mile east on a large former public school site, I feel it caused rent growth to slow down for a year, especially at the high end.
Similarly, the opening of the 28 unit Upper Voltaire townhouse condo project on OB’s eastern fringe I think caused the townhouse market to stall for a year while the units got absorbed. Right now there are zero townhouses on the market in OB, and typically about 15 sell per year. So a two year supply hitting the market at once wasn’t good.
In both cases, the negative effect seems to have been temporary and probably completely gone within another year.
As for density, it is bad if it is right on your block. Otherwise, it depends. More high end housing brings more amenities. Three of the most valuable parts of SD are dense with high end residents: downtown LJ, Coronado, and Little Italy.
