They’re still adding inventory and there are several projects that are planned and ready to go if the market conditions recover to the point that they will become profitable.
What we haven’t seen so far )at least I haven’t seen it) is whether there is sufficient demand for the existing units.
The downtown area is a great place to live if you’re into the nighlife and the arts – two things that San Diego is not known for. downtown is a great place to live if that’s where you work. Increasingly the main high-dollar employment is moving out to the ‘burbs. San Diego is a great place to retire – if you have a LOT of money. The boomer generation coming up mostly isn’t in that position.
The social planners also like those mixed use properties, too. As a concept it sounds cool but in practice the only work in a few of the trendiest places. And for the most part San Diego is a 20th Century town. Even back east, the typical pattern is to start out near all the entertainment and nightlife when you’re young and move out to the ‘burbs when you have kids.
Those units will all eventually get sold or rented. Whether they’re be in short enough supply relative to the effective demand to cause price increases any time soon is debatable. It’s definitely not a sure thing at this point.
It might work if the environmentalists can get gasoline up to $10/gallon. Other than that, I’m skeptical.
