While national news outlets tend to focus on San Francisco, plenty of California’s other local real estate markets have interesting stories to tell. Down at the southern end of the state, San Diego remains an extremely desirable place to live, particularly for those who love sunshine and beaches. San Diego real estate has surged over the last few years, making back its losses from the last downturn and then some. With San Diego homes for sale now listing at an average of around three times the norms nationwide, the market has rarely been hotter.
One important contributing development has been the recovery of the area’s economy in general. While Southern California does not necessarily boast the kinds of startups and technology giants that are associated with the northern part of the state, business is good nonetheless. As the area’s unemployment rate has dropped to below five percent, more area families have returned to their dreams of home ownership. As a result, San Diego real estate prices have picked up from where investors alone had previously boosted them, typically setting new records in the process.
At the same time, San Diego also remains an extremely attractive destination for visitors from elsewhere. While these short-term residents might not individually have much of a lasting impact, their collective effect is impressive. Strong and steadily rising interest in San Diego vacation rentals has made investors even more likely to focus their attention on the area since these opportunities can still more lucrative than renting to long-term tenants. With price appreciation to be expected at the same time, having more than one way to pay for the mortgage associated with an investment property can certainly be attractive.
If one question remains for the area’s real estate market in the near future, it is as to whether an increasing pace of development will put a damper on equity gains. As buying a home in the San Diego area has become increasingly out of the reach of many, developers have so far lagged somewhat at accommodating the demand for more affordable options. That is starting to change, however, and the extent to which new building picks up the slack will figure heavily into future developments.
In the end, however, San Diego remains such a fundamentally attractive place to live, visit, and do business the continued market strength of some kind seems almost guaranteed. Even while it might not make the headlines as often as other hot spots in California, the city clearly has a bright future before it.
San Diego Real Estate 