Lucmom I will repeat what I always say to people in your boat. Regarding the decision to buy… if it is based simply on economics, you will get a better deal, perhaps much better…Now I also know and understand that there are many decisions that go into wanting to purchase a home. My wife and I used to live not far from Mission Hills, Talmadge to be exact and our major decision to move was due to the school districts, or lack there of in that area. We liked the neighborhood but were not overly thrilled about raising our kids there. We have two toddlers now. Anyways we are on our third rental in the past 2.5 years and it is getting old…
With that said what you are looking for is out there. However I am not sure of the cultural diversity you will find in La Costa or Encinitas Ranch. Don’t get me wrong, I think these are fantastic neighborhoods. Del Sur will most likely be more culturally diverse then the other two. I would agree with the assessments of the school district in these areas. You may find Carmel Valley also presents a bit more diversity (Asian and Indian) in addition to white families. Scripps Ranch may also present an alternative but that is San Diego Unified schools. University City as well. There is also possibly 4S Ranch. Note that University City will have older housing stock. Scripps has a mix of older and newer homes. Carmel Valley has mostly newer stock but the west part of Carmel Valley has some stock built in the 80’s as well. Really it all depends on your budget. My advice is to continue to be super selective. The main problem is that many sellers right now are simply not realistic about the price of their homes right now… Also in many of the areas you are looking in, the depreciation cycle has not hit to hard yet, so again, many sellers are in denial. If you have patience you will be able to gain the upper hand. However it may take longer then most of us wish. If you do end up purchasing a home in the next few months or even a year, just do not over extend yourself, realize that there will be some more depreciation, and enjoy your home and schools for the next many years to come.
