We moved from La Jolla to SHE and have been renting for almost a year. We had similar reasons for moving(kids,yard) and similar concerns. That is why we decided to rent. The commute is not that big of a deal. Friday’s are usually bad but the square footage, yard, neighbors, and community outweigh the extra commute time. I can personally say our quality of life truly has improved.
I have friends that live in Azure and many have already walked. There will be more in the next year. However several people sold existing homes and put the $400,000 equity into their Azure home and are staying put. Not everyone is hosed.
About the car stereotype(for what it’s worth)…most of the people that I know personally who walked are the ones that had H2’s and Escalades.
The builder was Shea homes. They are building a community in Carlsbad that is beautiful. They seem to do good work and I haven’t heard of anyone having major problems.
I think your hesitation is right on. I think 6 months to 1 year you can get the same home for $25-$45 less per square foot. That is just my opinion having watched SEH for two years. Or just low ball. I would NOT spend $200 per square foot here because we are still declining.