Thursday, June 10, 2010

Downtown Again

Hi People.


All of us know that Downtown San Diego has taken a beating as far as the sale of homes has gone. Very typical.

In the extra cool places (Downtown SD is one of THE coolest place) homes were flying off the shelves quicker than they could get built, up until late '05. That's when the slow down came fast in 92101 (Downtown zip. Are you new?).

The big problem was that developers were already half way done with their new condo project. No going back at that point. So, they had to finish the building and that left a ton of un-bought condos. This screwed up the prices, increased foreclosures & short sales (That & the general economy) and made all of the developers go bankrupt & bye-bye after they finished their projects.

Currently the Downtown area has 1400 units for sale. Approx 500 units are resale, 200 units are brand-spanking new & 700 are in a B St high rise named Vantage Pointe (Now has a NOD filed on them), according to the the San Diego Tribune.

That's a ton of condos for sale. The problem is, there's nothing being built to take their place. All of that inventory will be gone in a couple of years. The CCDC's (Centre City Development Corp., the Downtown planning commission) wants to double the population in 92101 within the next 20 years from 30,000 to 60,000. In order to do that the Downtown area is going to need some serious building.

One little problem, who's going to finance it? Banks are not digging the idea of giving construction loans (See any media source re our recession). The developers could swing smaller projects, but that doesn't fit the CCDC's plan. What will give?

The prices of downtown will go up. Straight supply & demand. Also, if the Charger stadium goes in down there, good night nurse.

Get with me for any info on the Downtown market, 619-507-7449.

God Bless.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Dumb Vs Smart

Hi People.

Just saw a CNN Money article about Trulia's new rent vs. buy index. They do some type of fancy calculations for major cities and can decide if you should rent or buy a home. Nice of them.

In San Diego, according to Trulia, you should rent.

Now, I am a little biased (It is my lively hood), so me thinking the exact opposite of Trulia & CNN Money is no surprise. But, here's my argument.

The article does not talk about tax incentives for a home owner. All of your closing costs and mortgage interest, as well as maintenance is tax deductible. Now, it's not a good idea to spend money in order to get a tax incentive. Talk to your accountant and weigh it out.

It does talk a little about fixed rates vs. rental increases. Here in San Diego the vacancy rate is under 5% and going down (Means 95% + of all rentals are rented). You can not honestly tell me that the rents are not going to go through the roof. Not only a good time to buy your home, but a great time to buy a rental property. The fixed interest rate (Below 5%) you get now and your monthly mortgage will be way below market rents within 5 to 10 years (Crystal ball says so).

The cost of buying vs. renting is what the article is based on. They are going off of conventional loan standards. 10% to 20% down payment. Most entry level buyers in San Diego are going FHA, 3.5% down. In san Diego buyers are also getting sellers to pay for their closing costs, approx 2.5% of the purchase amount (On a purchase of $300,000 that would be $7,500). That sways things towards buying.

Pride of ownership, a sense of community and other good stuff also. Put that in your rental pipe and smoke it.

Remember, even if you do rent, you are still paying a mortgage. It will be your landlord's mortgage.

Anyway, don't let Trulia, and definitely don't let me tell you whether to buy a home, rent a home or live on the moon. Do your home work, check the #s and your financing and make a grown up decision.

Contact me for anything, 619-507-7449.

God Bless

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Turn That Noise Off!

Hi People.

Here's the first hour of my last radio show. Click on The San Diego Money Makers to make fun of me.

It was fun, but I gots to work.

Let me know if I can do anything for you.

God Bless.