This is my 100th article in this column. To celebrate this milestone, I am going 100 years back to 1917 to have a look at the San Diego of yesteryear. The city was in its childhood then. The indigenous people of the San Diego area were the Kumeyaay Native American tribe. Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo was…
You’ve probably heard of a new house trend: the tiny house. Built today for folks who want to seriously downsize, the tiny house is a 2000s phenomenon. But there is a very special house in our town that legend tells us was built way back in the 1930s for tiny people, otherwise referred to as…
We turn our attention this week to Mission Valley, an interesting area in San Diego through which the San Diego River flows, and the site of the first Spanish settlement in California circa 1769. It is known today for its major venue, Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers since 1967. The fate of…
We like to check in from time to time with our mortgage guru, Matt Young of MDC Group. Matt is kind enough to fill us in on the mortgage market and it seemed like a good time to check in for a 2017 forecast. It just so happened that today, Wednesday, Dec. 14, the Federal…
I reported in May on the surge in building activity in San Diego, and in particular the addition of multifamily projects, some quite large. We attributed the demand to the millennials, fans of mixed use communities and lacking an objection to dense infrastructure. I mentioned the inconsistency of costly modern apartments being built in areas…
After 18 long and agonizing months, the presidential election is finally over. For this alone we can rejoice, although half of the electorate is unhappy. It is interesting to prognosticate on what effects the ultimate decision will have on so many things, including our favorite topic, real estate. Of course, this is all speculation, as…
The population of California is growing and there are just not enough homes to accommodate all the folks who want to live in our fair state. It is reported that 3.5 million more homes are needed by 2025 to keep up with demand, 12,000 units a year just in San Diego County. What’s the state…
Palm Springs has long been an attractive getaway spot for Southern California coastal urbanites. Escape to the desert for some peace and quiet has long been a theme. In the years this cachet was at its ultimate – the Don Draper ’50s and ’60s, folks came from far and wide. The former glamour now looks…
The Internet has changed the world. It’s made many things obsolete and others rise to the fore. Shopping malls, once an innovation, loom empty. Office buildings too. So many of us are able, thanks to our devices, to work from home, from a coffee shop or from our cars. 9 to 5 is almost history;…
In 2005, we hit the proverbial height of the real estate market. Prices were at an all-time high and the median price for a single family home in San Diego County was a steep $517,500. Then came the crash and all the foreclosures and short sales that accompanied it. In 2009 the trough hit bottom…
