Thanks guys for your responses. Let me answer some of the questions you’ve raised and also bring up some other points I’ve been considering.
I don’t currently live in SD. I grew up in LA and have family spread out across LA/OC/Riverside. I currently live/work in New York, but am planning to move back to Southern California in the next 1-3 years – so no immediate pressure to buy right now (other than the housing bug!) I’ve seen a lot of homes in SD priced chopped 30% or so thus far and am thinking now may be the right time to jump in. I don’t want to be one of those bearish guys looking back a couple years from now and realizing that summer 08 was the bottom (that’s what happened in 1996-2000 in LA county). It always seems like the herd mentality overshoots on timing (they were bullish on the way up, and may be equally bearish on the way down…and miss the optimal timing completely both ways!)
I’m fortunate enough that in my situation, I could support a $600K-800K mortgage on a second home while still living/working in NYC. Until I move back permanently to SoCal, this second home would really be a place for my family from the region to gather on holidays, use as a weekend home, etc. That’s part of the reason I’ve been looking at bigger homes (4000sf+) that are ideal for entertaining, as that is what this home would be used for in the short-term. In LA, I grew up in the South Bay/Beach Cities area, so have always enjoyed the temperate coastal climate. Problem is $1mm in the South Bay and Orange County only gets you a 2100sf townhome, while in SD, you can get a 4000sf SFR in some areas.
I’d love to be on the coast, or have an ocean view. Don’t think even with my budget that I can afford a reasonably sized house there though (correct me if I’m wrong). So I’ve been looking a little further inland (5-10miles) in places like Carlsbad, Oceanside, Chula Vista, etc. where the climate is the same, but you get more bang for your buck. Also, I love new construction (not necc. the treeless neighborhoods or small-ish lots, but the design of the homes, architecture, etc)
With that in mind, any thoughts?
Also, here’s my rationale on the Oceanside development by KB Homes (Buckingham): The homes start at about 4000sf and go up to about 7000sf, with prices ranging from $730K-$850K (so $130-170psf), 1+ acre lots, most with views of a flower farm or the rest of Oceanside, and it backs up to Camp Pendleton. The things I like about the development are the space, the value for the dollar, and the proximity to LA/OC and SD (about 40 min from Irvine, 1.5 hours from South Bay), and about 30-40 min from SD. Would have thought that this opens up the potential buyers market to both OC and SD residents, since you can commute to southern OC and SD. Again, would love to hear your views on that. Oh, and the plan I’m looking at which starts at $799K for a 4900sf home, used to start at $1.3mm in 2006 (10 of the 32 home sites were sold above $1mm…only 22 remain, and are now at the new discounted prices). Do you think prices there could fall further?
Scripps Ranch did seem out of the way, but I loved the designs at Scripps Preserve (Plan 1) and Tiburon (Plan 2) – by far the best I’ve seen out of the 45+ model homes I toured last weekend. The downside for this development is the views from the various lots are of the many hundreds of treeless new home neighborhoods, the relatively small lots (only 14,000sf, compared to 0.5-1.0acres), and the fact that all the homes are so close together!
My ideal house would be within 2-3 miles of the ocean, ocean view, 1 acre lot, 5000sf for $1mm. I know we’re not there yet (and maybe we won’t get there).
Any other areas or developments I should consider?
