San Diego real estate advice needed
Question: Seems like no matter what, if you are a home owner you can never get ahead! When prices are low, and you should buy, you cant sell. And when prices are high and you have lots of equity, everything else is high as well and you have to extend the hell out of yourself to get into that new place.
What a conundrum.
Would love to hear thoughts or advice!
Thanks,
Answer: Fellow SD condo owner here. My advice is to cash out and rent for awhile. The market appears to be stagnant… in many cases esp. with mid-range housing ($500k-$1M) I notice listings are taking longer to sell and coming down in price. Couple that with fear from rising interest rates, an economy in which only 15% can afford to own a home, and so on – it doesn’t look great. Not necessarily a bubble, but a correction of maybe 10-20% might be in order pretty soon.
I’m actually about to list my 1 bed, can’t think of a better time. I’ve only been in it a year and will take the long term capital gains hit off of ~50% appreciation. Then I’ll move back in with my folks for 8-12 months until my new loft is built across from Petco Park – keep that unit and rent it, then move into a highrise also in downtown when it’s ready in 2007. My attitude is getting into a somewhat depressed yet desirable location undergoing gentrification is a safer bet – than say moving into some UTC or Carmel Valley townhome.
Peronsally if I were in your position in your price range I’d look into one of the neighborhoods surrounding downtown such as University Heights/North Park/Normal Heights. I believe you could get a small house, like 1200 sq. feet or so (about a 3 bed townhouse, right?), in a nice pocket of a so-so neighborhood. Give it five years and watch the land value skyrocket as gentrication ensues. Or if that’s inadequate maybe a place like Chula Vista, which is also on a quick path to redevelopment?
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