[PerryChase]

I suggest renting something that you would actually consider buying. The rental would be only about 1/2 the cost of owning. That way you have the lifestyle but not the responsibility.

Since there’s such a great discrepancy between renting and owning, now is the time to rent where you would want to live. For the cost of the interest on a mortgage, you could rent in a much nicer neighborhood than you could afford to buy. Why not rent something nice and let the owner subsidize your lifestyle?

[PerryChase]

Perhaps Zillow aims to estimate what the home would appraise for, not necessarily sell for.

[PerryChase]

powayseller, i can’t wait to browse your website.

[PerryChase]

In the last 1990s downturn, I also saw the prices per square foot of large homes drop more rapidly.

The notion the higher-end homes will be more insulated and decline less is hogwash and does not stand the test of time.

If anything, the richer people are, the more likely they are to speculate.

[PerryChase]

waiting hawk, the real estate agents must hate you. You’re causing deals to fail!

[PerryChase]

Yeah, you’re right… like some kind of amnesia.

[PerryChase]

lindismith, I didn’t ask the question but I appreciate your comments. I beleive I share your tastes in San Diego neighborhoods.

I currently live in North County and I am so tired of suburban life. I’m looking to move to central SD when the time is right. I’m now browsing the Net, and driving around to get familiar with different areas of central San Diego.

[PerryChase]

San Diego in no way approaches NYC, Paris or London in terms of culture. Yes, we have the weather and a relax lifestyle. But as far glamour, resort cities come and go. There many beautiful and cheap places around the world to retire by the beach.

As far as San Francisco is concerned, the city is becoming so expensive that the bohemians who created its culture are moving away. The cost is preventing new blood from moving in. San Francisco is fast becoming a city of the elderly, the tourists and the immigrants. Remember, after WWII, SF was not anymore expensive than other American cities.

If you look at San Diego, except certain central coastal areas, the region is really Hicksville, USA.

I still think a 50% drop from the peak in San Diego is reasonable.

[PerryChase]

You’re right lostkitty. The more info the better.

For every real estate listing, I would like to see the sales history and property tax information. I would like to know if the house is a flip or if it had a lot turn over. That might indicate something wrong with it or the neighborhood.

Let the consumers have the information and let them make what they will with it. We don’t need gatekeepers to filter and interpret the info for us. If we need assistance, it’s only a phone call away.

[PerryChase]

I second lostkitty’s comments. I also don’t have the time to look for bubble related articles and I appreciate someone pointing out interesting news.

[PerryChase]

My observation is that prices on existing homes have already dropped 10%. The median price is holding up because people are still buying at the old price point but getting more for their money.

Say that the median price for a hotel room is $100. That gets you a 3-star hotel room. Suddenly occupancy drops and you can now get a 4-star hotel room for $100. People will still spend $100 but they’ll get the 4-star room rather than the now $70 3-star hotel room. The median hotel room price remains the same. The 30% drop in hotel room price is completely off the radar except, of course, for the 3-star hotel owners.

[PerryChase]

I wonder why so many Americans have mortgages. If the birthrate is just about the replacement rate, over time, there should be little need for new housing, except for new immigrants.

Are houses not passed on from one generation to the next? If that were the case, housing should represent a diminishing share of the economy.

[PerryChase]

A good stripper should make good money — if she knows how to please her clients.

[PerryChase]

I also remember the Mt Woodson development well. In the 1990s, most developments in North City West (off of today’s 56) went into receivership. Pardee came out OK. And they sold to Weyerhaeuser.

sdrealtor, I remember your writing about one of your clients buying a property that actually “penciled out.” You were going to tell us more about it once the deal completed. How did it work out for that client?

[PerryChase]

The price compression Bugs describes won’t show up in the median price by zip codes because as people buy the higher end houses, the median will hold or even increase. That’s what I think is happening in Escondido, Poway and Golden Hill (as mentioned the article). Say that some Poway houses that used to be $1 million resell for $600k. Those houses would actually cause the median to increase! The 40% drop would be invisible to the people who solely look at the stats and would not be reported in the press. If you’re a buyer, you have to look sale price history of individual houses.

In my mind, if you can buy a nice house in Del Mar for $1.3 million, why would you even consider similarly priced houses in less desirable Poway, Scripps Ranch or Carlsbad?

I expect the million dollar suburban tract houses to drop like a rock. Anyone wants a bargain McMansion to match that bargain SUV?

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