StoneRidge Club in Poway to be Sold

The StoneRidge County Club in Poway has been foreclosed upon and will be placed up for auction on April 17.

Recently a legal notice was published that stated the property is being sold for the sole purpose to pay off obligations secured by the Deed of Trust and that the entire amount of the unpaid principal balance, interest, together with costs, expenses and advances is $6.4 million.

The property will be sold to the highest bidder and will remain open until such time.

Penny Riley, Poway City Manager, stated that the individual that purchases the country club would not be able to develop the property under current zoning laws. The property will have to remain a country club and golf course.

The country club has been having financial issues for the last few years being hit by rising water costs along with the turndown in the economy that has been terrible on golf courses across the nation.

The La Jolla Development Group LLC of San Marcos has owned the country club since 2007, however, the business phones at this time have been disconnected and the office buildings are locked and vacant.

At one time, the same company owned the Lake San Marcos Resort and County Club and the Escondido Country Club, however, bankruptcy filings occurs and both properties have been sold.

The new owners of the Escondido Country Club would like to close the country and develop the land for houses.

The private StoneRidge Country Club, in northern Poway off Espola Road, includes a Ted Robinson designed 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, a 25-meter swimming pool, wading pool and Jacuzzi.

San Diego Real Estate Climate

At a recent real estate conference, held at the University of San Diego experts stated that the short-term growth is still slow for national economies and San Diego.

Organizers of the conferences stated they had around 700 in attendance at the 17th annual conference, which was held at the downtown Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, presented by USD’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate.

The head of Americas Research for the brokerage firm CBRE, Asieh Monsour, explained that the major metro office markets in the US, which includes San Diego, would still move toward equilibrium during the rest of the year and onward into 2014 instead of slanting in favor of tenants.

New construction even though limited has helped the commercial real estate market recover its value and financing for tentative construction remains infrequent. "It’s a very disciplined approach to development," Monsour stated.

Monsour along with other experts stated that multifamily will stay the strongest market in the commercial sectors for the near future due to young consumers for higher density housing in the urban areas. Monsour explained that e-commerce is putting pressure on retail real estate, however creating options for the industrial sector, as online sellers require convenient warehousing to meet same-day shipping requirements.

Many speakers discussed the need to continue with improving local infrastructure and foster innovation like airport services to make the region more competitive for development of projects that will bring in new workers and new employers.

Speakers at the conference included Malin Burnham, former chairman of Burnham Real Estate; Ernest Rady, executive chairman of American Assets Trust Inc.; and Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs.

If you would like to invest in commercial property or find a home that will fit your budget and your families needs, then you need a professional real estate agent that knows the area. Contact a real estate agent today at 888-865-5055.

California Home Inventory Low

A report from Zillow that was just released by the Seattle based data tracker showed that Sacramento home inventory is the lowest of the low.

The number of homes that were listed for sale in the Sacramento area via Zillow decreased 48% year over year in the later part of February.

The figure topped the thirty largest United States metro markets that are tracked by Zillow. Los Angeles came in 2nd place with a decrease of 45.7%.

When you look at the nation as a whole, the decrease was 16.6%.

The report was based on the homes for sale on Zillow on February 24th and compared it to the number of homes that were available on February 24th, 2012.

The way in which the year over year decrease was compiled in the Sacramento area was top tier homes decreased 33.4%, middle tier homes declined 53.2%, while bottom tier homes were down 61.5%.

Homes in California metro areas were in the top 4 United States markets that saw the largest decline in homes for sale when compared to the same period of time last. San Francisco decline 40.9% and San Diego decreased 39.4%.

Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist stated, "The supply of for-sale listings continues to dry up, driven in part by potential sellers trapped in negative equity and homeowners that won’t sell out of fear they won’t be able to find a suitable home to buy later," and went on to say. Over the past year, inventory tightness has contributed to increases in home values in many markets.

"As home values rise, some homeowners will be freed from negative equity and able to list their homes, which will contribute to an easing of the inventory crunch."

San Diego apartments growing in popularity

The majority of economic indicators in San Diego County are moving at a pace that is acceptable. The population is of course growing and in 2012, the county gained around 20,000 new jobs. The future for 2013 looks like it will be about the same if not better. The sales tax revenue was up over 7% and car sales are through the roof. The only weak factor is the building of homes for sale. This industry is still moving at a slow pace of 20% which is the level seen in the early 2000′s.

Then you look at the apartments in San Diego. At this time, San Diego County is home to 300,000 apartment units which is about like it was ten years ago. From this figure, 45% rent the units, while 55% own their apartments. This is not a proud figure for San Diego County as the majority of the United States 65% to 70% of apartments is owned instead of rented. On the other hand, this allows San Diego to have a dependable and vibrant rental market.

At this time, the occupancy rate of apartments stays around 95%, which is considered full occupancy as there is always down time when one tenant moves and until another move in to the property.

The demand for apartments will keep rising due to the number of jobs being created that the small number of homes for sale in the area. In most cases, when the economy is growing, residents in the San Diego area would be looking for new condos and new homes. The problem is that there are very few new homes and condos being built. The supply of new homes for sale will stay in this slump until 2015 when new lots will be available for those in the development industry, which will mainly be in South County.

Adding to the demand, San Diego County has close to half of the 180,000 condo inventory and 20% of 550,000 single family homes available for rent. This resulted from investors purchasing the properties from 2007 to 2010. The investors after purchasing the properties did repairs and upgrades and then placed them on the market as rental properties.

The prices are beginning to go up at the rate of 10% per annum, now investors are starting to take their profits via selling the properties to owner/occupants. The renters will then have to find a new home. What this does is put close to 225,000 homes into the investor owned group and if we only believe, 5% of those properties will hit the market that puts 11,000 renters out of a home.

This means that all the vacant apartments that are available would be rented with an overflow. This will create a major problem.

We are in the process of building apartments in San Diego County with close to 10,000 planned, which either are now under construction or planned.

Around 3,400 of the apartments are in downtown San Diego with 6 of the 12 projects under construction at this time. The tallest are Leo Frey’s 2-story Ariel in Little Italy and Pinnacle’s 500 unit 45-story facility in East Village. The rest are mainly low rise.

In the suburbs around San Diego, there are several large projects in the works as well. These include:

• Carmel Partners – a 500-unit project on the old Uni High site across from the University of San Diego
• Garden Communities – 1,800-unit project at Interstate 15 and Mira Mesa Boulevard
• Garden Communities – 300-unit project in Carmel Valley
• R&V Management – 280-unit project in Chula Vista (Rosina Vista)

The majority of these market rate projects have a cost that is in excess of $200,000 per unit. In most cases, the rent needs to be 1.2% per month of the unit cost. The average rent when using this method will be close to $2,400. Even though the number may be big, it is still below the rents found in Washington, DC, New York, and San Francisco and will be affordable for the white collar market.

The question that comes into play is if an investor is able to spend so much money on an apartment and still make a profit. The average apartment in 1970 sold for $11,428. In 1990, that same apartment sold for $58,000, while in 2012, the average sale price of an existing apartment was $149,698.

In conclusion, San Diego County is a very desirable place to own an apartment.

If you are looking for your dream home whether an apartment or a single family home, contact a real estate agent today at 888-865-5055.

The future in real estate San Diego Development

In San Diego County, there is a lack of available land according to professional during a real estate meeting, which is changing the forms of commercial development.

Gary London, a speaker at the London Group meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn in the Carmel Valley area and president of the London Group Realty Advisers stated, "The Otay Ranch projects are the last of a breed of master-planned communities. The only way we’re going to be able to accommodate the people coming (mostly births over deaths) is to build up rather than out."

A London Group principal, Alan Nevin explained that even at Otay Ranch, "no new large lot releases will happen prior to 2015."

Larry Clemens that developed the Avaiara property in Carlsbad added, "Where there is land, in the East County, for example, the predominant owner is the federal government." Clemens went on to explain that the long processing time is also an issue. In addition, when the Academy of Our Lady of Peace school planned to build a parking garage along with science buildings it to an entire 8 years to get entitled. "The new NIMBY [not in my backyard] doesn’t want any development," Clemens said.

London stated that when you take the large land tracts out of the picture, brown fields that have major toxics problems along with old shopping centers that are worn are getting a once over for new projects.

"Millennials [people born between 1980 and 2000] are going to continue to demand apartments," London stated. "Most of us aren’t going to be building single-family, and the price of housing is going to be significantly bid up."

Nevin also commented on the changing demographics in San Diego that is always mixing it up. He stated, "Two thirds of all housing units have no one living in them who is under 18, and only one in seven households consist of a mom and dad and two kids. The ‘Leave it to Beaver’ years are over." He went on to say that 25% are living alone.

"The apartments are basically full," Nevin stated.

When he looked at the office market, he explained that while Class A vacancies are now in the single digits in a few submarkets, the Class B and C are completely different.

"Of the 120 million square feet of office space in this county, 80 million of it is in B and C space that has higher vacancies," London stated. "I don’t think we’re going to need to build any more office space."

He went on to say that most businesses are not using file cabinets which means office space can be less, therefore the demand for office space will also decrease. On the other hand, he explained that The Irvine Company might choose to develop a 700,000 square foot office tower at West Broadway and Pacific Highway close to the bayfront in downtown San Diego that has been lying on the shelf.

Robert Rauch, the developer for the Hilton Garden Inn, stated the county has around 58,000 hotel rooms, but will see another 600 added this year.

Rauch also stated that occupancies, even at their worst, still averaged about 60%, before returning to the over 70% ranges within the past year.

He said he is concerned that if a deal is not worked out between the White House and Congress over sequestration, recreational travel and business may stop spending.

For now, he seemed cautiously optimistic. "I think we are probably in the fourth or fifth inning of the recovery," Rauch stated.

Another London Group principal specializing in retail, Bill Speer said that the sector has recovered faster than many would have expected.

He explained that around 50 million square feet of retail space is under construction at this time in sixty projects across the United States. He went on to explain that locally, there was expansion and ongoing development at many of the seven Westfield malls which is a good sign of retails resilience.

"You’ve seen the UTC expansion. Now, $200 million to $300 million worth of redevelopment is planned at Horton Plaza and another $200 million to $300 million is also planned at Plaza Camino Real in Carlsbad," Speer stated.

If you are in search of the perfect location for your new business in San Diego or your new dream home in one of the communities surrounding San Diego, contact a San Diego real estate agent today at 888-865-5055.

Affordable San Diego Luxury Homes

If you are looking for a luxury home in California, you may find it unbelievable that prices in the San Diego area are less than what you will find in Los Angeles or San Francisco and prices have even dropped lower recently.

In 2012, the price of luxury homes in the San Diego area dropped by 1.4% even though there were gains in Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay area as reported by a survey published by First Republic Bank.

In San Diego, the median price of $1.64 million was the figure seen for luxury homes according to the report, First Republic’s Prestige Home Index. The bank noted that comments from real estate agents in the area said that during the holidays a slow down occurred in the San Diego market but that at the beginning of the year interest picked back up.

The real estate market in San Diego includes Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego, La Jolla, Encinitas, La Mesa, Carlsbad, Coronado, Poway, and Del Mar.

When the San Diego real estate market is compared to homes in San Francisco, luxury homes increased 8.4% to $2.73 million and a 4.4% rise to $2.06 million in Los Angeles.

Katherine August-deWilde, the bank’s president and CEO stated, "Growing demand from buyers, low mortgage rates and a lack of inventory continued to put upward pressure on values. Multiple offers are common in many high-end neighborhoods as buyers compete for a small number of attractive properties."

The largest increases in Los Angeles and San Francisco were mainly due to the low inventory in the area.

According to the report, luxury homes are those that have a value of least $1 million featuring 3,000 to 6,000 square feet with 3 to 6 bedrooms and 3 to 6 bathrooms.

If you are looking for a luxury home in the San Diego area, now is a great time to buy before prices go up like other areas in California, contact a professional Realtor today at 888-865-5055

San Diego Commercial Loans Rose 24%

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, commercial loans increased 24% in 2012 to the highest level seen since 2007.

The Mortgage Bankers Association during their yearly commercial real estate convention, estimated originations at $229 billion, which is the highest figure seen since six years when it peaked at $508 billion peak six years ago. The lowest amount seen was in 2009 at $82 billion.

Jamie Woodwell, the Mortgage Bankers Association vice president for commercial real estate research stated, "Low interest rates are prompting borrowers to finance, and improving property markets are helping more deals underwrite successfully," and went on to say, "The relative strength of commercial and multifamily mortgages as investments continues to fuel lenders’ appetites."

The origination rate during the 4th quarter was 49% higher than during the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2011, based on a mortgage banking firm’s survey.

The increases over 2011 were for different property types including 61% for hotels, 36% for multifamily, 19% for retail, 10% for industrial, 9% for office, and 6% for health care.

Woodwell estimated that originations will increase 13% in 2013 to $254 billion, a bit slower due to an estimated pullback in multifamily loans.

"We’ve seen multifamily grow as a share of total originations much faster than the commercial/multifamily market as a whole," he explained. "We think the forecast gets it back to where other markets are coming back a little more strongly and we’ll see more of a balance between commercial and multifamily."

Jay Brinkman the Mortgage Bankers Association chief economist during a press briefing estimated that gross national product will increase around 2%, which is up from 1.6% in 2012 and 2.5% by 2015.

"Cutbacks in federal spending will have an effect," he explained, alluding to congressional efforts to rein in the deficit, "but I don’t think they’re going to have a strong negative effect that some people have been saying."

He explained he bases his prediction on the limited impact that higher government has had in the past few years.

One of the mysteries is consumer spending, Brinkman stated and that correlates to consumer to confidence. He went on to explain that business spending will more than likely become a bit slower due to the end of a few tax benefits.

San Diego Real Estate Market Recap for 2012

As we said goodbye to 2012, we also look at the positive occurrences in the real estate market in the area. San Diego saw home values increase, competition rose, and prospects for a steady recovery was seen for 2013. A look will show the main developments that helped the real estate market in 2012 and what we can expect to see in 2013.

Increase in Home Prices

During the off-season home prices in the San Diego rose. In November of 2012, the median home price was $358,000, which was a huge 14% increase when compared to the same time period in 2011.

Decrease in Inventory

The smaller amount of homes on the market may discourage potential homebuyers but is it great news for home sellers. In addition, it often helps raise the price of homes. Right now there are only 5,300 active listings which is about half of what was seen last year at the same time. This makes competition for buying a home strong. For anyone waiting to see if home prices are going to rise even more now may be the best time to list their home while the inventory is low and interest rates are low.

Shorts Sales more than Foreclosures

Finally, after years of most homes on the market being in some stage of foreclosure, there was a drop in homes that were underwater in 2012. Short sales which are homes in which the owners may sell for less that what they owe on the home are being seen more than foreclosures. This change shows a slow improvement in the economy and allows lenders and homeowners more benefits.

Banks Coming to the Aid

California Attorney General Kamala Harris won a $25 billion mortgage settlement to hold banks accountable for any unfair foreclosures. Critics believe the deal is not sufficient with all the recession losses. However, it does offer more bank sponsored aid to consumers than in the last few years, which helps to stop the trend toward foreclosure and start the slow trend to repair the market.

Mortgage Rates Decreased

In 2012, mortgage rated dropped quite a bit as reported by Freddie Mac while current mortgage interest rates are now below 4 percent. This mortgage rank is historically low and is a good sign for buyers that have good credit. The Federal Reserve plan to keep the rates down to help individuals buy homes and refinance mortgages.

Looking Forward

All of the above developments will still be a moving factor for the real estate market in the San Diego area in 2013. For information on selling your home or finding a home in the San Diego area, contact one of our Realtors today by calling 888-865-5055.

Luxury Home Values Going Up

In California, the value of luxury homes is on the way up. The prices are climbing in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

During the 3rd quarter of 2012 when compared to last year, the prices of luxury homes in the major metropolitan markets in California rose.

The Index shows that in the San Francisco Bay Area home values rose 8.1 percent from the figure seen in 2011 and was a 2.4 percent over the second quarter of 2012. The average price in San Francisco is $2.73 million.

In the Los Angeles area, home values rose 1 percent from the third quarter of 2011 and declined a small 0.8% from the second quarter of 2012. The average price of a luxury home in Los Angeles is $2.02 million.

In the San Diego area, home values rose 2.2 percent year-over-year and increased 0.8 percent from the second quarter of 2012. The average luxury home price in San Diego is $1.66 million.

"Luxury home prices were particularly strong in the San Francisco Bay Area during the third quarter of 2012," President and Chief Operating Officer of First Republic Bank, Katherine August-deWilde stated and went on to say, "The Bay Area economy is healthy, inventory is limited, and multiple offers are increasingly the norm. Values in Los Angeles and San Diego are rising, and some neighborhoods are experiencing strong demand. Historic low interest rates have resulted in an elevated level of activity in luxury markets throughout California."

San Diego Area Home Values

San Diego luxury homes values is the growing trend with a higher value than what was seen a year ago. Prices in the area have increased for the last three quarters on a year over year basis, which includes a 2.2 percent gain during the third quarter when compared to last year.

Michael Taylor of California Prudential Realty in Rancho Santa Fe explained, for properties over $3 million, sales activity is picking up. "We have had a higher number of units sold this year than last year for homes over $3 million," and went on to say, "To me, that indicates fear has been wrung out of the market. People are now willing to spend more to buy a home, and they’re getting significantly more home because of the recent price declines. The perception is that we are at the bottom of this market."

Farid Khayamian of Bluxen Real Estate in La Jolla stated, "There are a lot of people who want to buy," and went on to explain, "We see multiple offers everywhere, particularly when the property is priced right. A year ago, there was more inventory due to short sales and foreclosures, but that has dried up. Right now, you have to buy at the asking price. In January, we will have more inventory and possibly lower prices."

San Francisco Bay Home Values

The San Francisco Bay Area reported its second consecutive quarter of gains on a year-over-year basis. The 8.1 percent year-over-year rise in the third quarter of 2012 was the highest since the first quarter of 2006.

Malcolm Kaufman of McGuire Real Estate in San Francisco stated, "Prices for luxury homes have been strong all year," and went on to say, "There is limited inventory, the economy here has returned better than anywhere in the country, and employment is up. Lots of money is being spent on $5 million homes and $10 million homes. For some, it feels like 2005 again."

In Silicon Valley, Pat Kalish of Intero Real Estate Services in Menlo Park stated, "People have secure jobs and stable incomes," and went on to say, "Except for the highest end of the luxury market, there is strong competition for properties. We have scarcity of homes, historic low interest and an optimistic outlook. When you are out in the market, you feel the optimism."

In the Marin County, Pat Montag of Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty in Mill Valley said, "Marin has not seen the increases that have happened in Menlo Park or San Francisco," and went on to say, "We typically lag a quarter behind San Francisco. We did see an uptick at the end of third quarter in the $3 million to $5 million range. Many people are still waiting until they see what happens in Washington D.C. in the first quarter."

Los Angeles Area Home Values

In the Los Angeles area home value rose 1 percent from last year but did drop just a bit from the second quarter

Dan Weiser of Coldwell Banker Beverly Hills South stated, "On the west side of Los Angeles, inventory is scarce and demand is high. We’re back to 2007 sales volume. Prices are probably within 10% of the height of the market. Sellers are getting incredible prices for properties in the highest end of the luxury market."

Michele Hall of Coldwell Banker in Brentwood explained, "New construction is flying off the shelf, with all cash and multiple offers. We’re seeing multiple offers in every price range, and there are fewer foreclosures and short sales. Inventory opened up, but was then snapped up."

In Santa Barbara, Joanne Schoenfeld of Santa Barbara Living Real Estate Brokerage explained, "The luxury market is very strong in Santa Barbara and Montecito," and went on to say, "There is a lot more activity and closed sales than last year. Prices continue to rise slightly, and I don’t see them going down any time soon. It’s a good, strong market."

San Diego Leading Real Estate Recovery

The coastal homes in San Diego are leading the real estate recovery. As reported by CBS News homes along the coast in San Diego are the major force behind the real estate prices found in the state.

The median price of a home in California increased to close to $250,000 in the spring of 2012. Along with this, the median Southern California home price rose to $290,000, which is the first increase seen in the area since December of 2010. Along with Orange, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties, San Diego saw the biggest boost in home prices. The coastal counties were 71.5 percent of the local sales in April of 2012 which is mainly due to the improvement in the luxury market.

As reported by the First Republic Prestige Home Index the home values in the San Diego area rose 0.4 percent from the 4th quarter, which put the average luxury home price around $1.65 million. Predictions by industry professionals is that the prices of high end homes will continue to rise throughout the San Diego area, however, this is only for the time being as inventory is still higher than demand. What this means to those looking to buy in southern California, is that now is the time to buy as the prices will begin to increase as the inventory depletes.

Looking for that beach bungalow or mansion overlooking the ocean? Then you need an expert in San Diego real estate. Contact one of our professionals today to see the homes available in the area by calling 888-865-5055.

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