The future of Santee looks brighter than many other cities in the County. Comparing to Escondido, it has no mega auto dealerships to lose tax revenue. Comparing to San Marcos (where I used to live) it has no over-supply inventory of homes. Comparing to Oceanside and Carlsbad, it has no tourism-dependent economy. It’s already the city with the biggest potential in the East County and now its future looks brighter than the above-mentioned North County cities, not to mention lower crime rate too.
Retail segment of Santee focuses on stuffs that average people need/want to buy, whether in good time or bad. Stores like Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, and supermarkets are here to stay and will continue to generate steady revenue for the city. Most restaurant cater to middle-class so even though they will take a hit in this economy, their long term prospect is still quite positive. Santee is a good place to call home because it has all the shopping & dining options that middle class Americans need/want, without the feeling of being too big or too “touristy”, and it’s a relatively safe neighborhood.
I’ve been on overseas assignment for the past 5 years but have been keeping up with news of SD on a daily basis, and see that numerous cities are in distress with falling revenue and necessary cut-backs, including SD, Escondido and Oceanside and San Marcos. However it’s my understanding that the city of Santee is still financially sound. I’m not aware of any cut-back, layoff, postponement of city projects that has already started or withdrawal of any major big-box store. The Fanita Ranch housing development will probably be postponed but that’s actually good for existing homeowners and the value of their home.
Santee will probably never be the “La Jolla of East” and it shouldn’t. It has its own character and value that are closely in-tune with middle-class families. As a soon-to-be homeowner of Santee, I wouldn’t mind seeing the value of my home goes up in time but it should not be the next “rich people’s playground” community.
If one day I start seeing Rolls Royce, Ferrari and Aston Martin on the street regularly, that’d be the day I sell my home…for a killer profit, of course… and look for the next up-and-coming middle-class community.
