Home prices are rising across the Southern California housing market despite the pandemic. San Diego area is also a strong seller’s real estate market. For sellers, now is the opportune time to put their San Diego home up for sale. Inventory is low, prices are rising, and pent-up demand alongside low mortgage rates has the market flooded with homebuyers. The pricing of homes is trending higher and is more attractive for sellers in the current phase. The shortage of supply and an increase in the demand for housing will push the prices higher in the San Diego housing market.
In August 2020, sales of single-family homes increased by 10.2% y-o-y, affirming that there is a strong demand among homebuyers in the area. Pending sales have also increased over the last 3 months in San Diego County. Home prices across the San Diego metro area are rising steadily in 2020. Due to the pandemic, it was expected that the home prices would remain flat or drop a bit in the coming months to favor buyers. That was a much-awaited condition for homebuyers who cannot afford a home in the median price. But that's not the case.
The median sold price of single-family homes increased by a whopping 12.7% year-over-year to $650,000. Earlier in July, the median price had increased by 10.6%. The San Diego home prices have increased by 6% from June to July of 2020. According to the latest San Diego real estate market update for August 2020, inventory of single-family homes has dropped 51.2%. That is one reason we see a drop of 2.2% in sales as compared to the previous month (July). There is a severe shortage of available properties for sale in the San Diego real estate market.
August's real estate data by Realtor.com also shows that the San Diego-area is a seller’s real estate market. It means there are roughly more buyers than there are active homes for sale. Months Supply of Inventory is very tight. It is a good indicator of whether a particular real estate market is favoring buyers or sellers. Typically, a market is considered balanced if it has four to six months of inventory of homes on hand. That sort of supply doesn’t favor buyers or sellers. Ideally, a buyer would prefer a sale to asking price ratio that’s closer to 90%.
The sellers in San Deigo have managed to hold good leverage in these negotiations in the past month. They could sell homes for 100% of the asking price. A seller would always prefer scenarios that can yield a ratio of 100% or higher. The median list price of homes in San Diego on their platform was $725,oo0, trending up 5.2% year-over-year. The median listing price per square foot was $504. The median sale price was $695K.
Let’s talk a bit about San Diego and the surrounding metro area before we discuss what lies ahead for investors and homebuyers. Affordability has become an issue for many homebuyers in the San Diego area. This is another housing market trend that is affecting many major cities across the country but particularly in the western coastal markets.
How big is San Deigo's housing market? San Diego is a moderately walkable city in San Diego County with a population of approximately 1,305,700 people. It is the second biggest California city and one of the ten biggest cities in the country. San Diego is one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S, and its economy is strong. San Diego is often overlooked in favor of hotter real estate markets like San Francisco and Los Angeles.
However, that’s one of the reasons why you should consider investing in the San Diego real estate market. The city of San Diego continues to outpace California's job recovery, which is good news for San Diego’s housing industry. San Diego housing market 2020 remains one of the hottest in the nation (ranked 10th by Zillow). Since home building takes time especially in a heavily regulated environment, there’s little chance of diminished demand.
According to a report by Zillow, San Diego was expected to be California's hottest housing market in 2020. However, nearly 29 percent of those surveyed said they believe San Diego home values will fall in 2020. During the 20 years from 1998 to 2018, the median home value in San Diego rose by a whopping 217%. But the median household income only rose by around 77% during that same 20-year time frame.
Let's get a comprehensive overview of the San Deigo real estate market for 2020.
San Diego Housing Market Prices & Trends 2020
We shall now discuss some of the most recent housing trends in the San Diego area and compare it with the past couple of years. We shall mainly discuss median home prices, inventory, economy, growth, and neighborhoods, which will help you understand the way the local real estate market moves in this region. San Diego has been one of the hottest real estate markets in the country for many years.
San Diego has a mixture of owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing. As per Neigborhoodscout.com, a real estate data provider, one and two-bedroom single-family detached are the most common housing units in San Diego. Other types of housing that are prevalent in San Diego include large apartment complexes, duplexes, rowhouses, and homes converted to apartments.
There were 4,100 single-family homes and 6,400 multi-family homes built in 2017, compared to 2,200 single-family homes and 7,800 multi-family units in 2016. Today, the general trend for SFR construction in San Diego County is still far below the 2002-2004 numbers. The next peak in single-family residential construction will likely begin around 2021 but it is highly unlikely to return to the frenzied mortgage-driven numbers seen during the Millennium Boom.
In the past ten years, the average annual home appreciation rate has been around 5 to 6%. This puts San Diego in the top 10% nationally for real estate appreciation. The San Diego real estate appreciation rate in the last quarter was around 1.22%, which amounts to an annual rate of 4.97%, according to Neighborhoodscout.com. Housing prices have been growing at a moderate speed since last year. Rents in San Deigo are also rising year-over-year. They rose by 4% as compared to the previous year. The mortgage rates are continuing low and the number of renters is increasing.
Before the pandemic, the Median Sold Price of Existing Single-Family Homes in San Deigo County for March 2020 was $675,000, which was a year-over-year increase of 8.2%. Compared to the previous month (February), the median sold price increased by 0.7% and home sales increased by a whopping 23.4%. Existing SFR sales in March 2020 were 589, down 5.5% from a year ago. The existing SFR Median Price was $840,000, up 16.7% from a year ago.
Impact of COVID-19 on The San Diego Housing Market
As the Covid-19 outbreak went viral in California, home sales were impacted across all the counties due to “shelter at home” restrictions. The shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic had an impact on California's economy and the real estate sector as well. San Diego home buyers have been praying for a price drop, and they got a decent break during this Covid-19 pandemic.
There has been some short term impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the San Diego Housing Market — with buyers withdrawing offers and sellers removing their homes from the market. The general uncertainty played a smaller role in recent weeks. There have been delays in closings due to financing issues as loan funding has slowed down. Sales were down from early April and are still down as compared to last year's numbers. The pandemic, however, has not had much impact on San Diego's home prices yet.
San Diego County home prices grew 1.5% during April and that’s up 7.2% from last year. The median price rose $10,000 to $670,000 and this is well up from last year the median price of 625,000. In May, San Diego County home prices increased by 0.8% to $655,000 whereas the home sales dropped by a massive 42.3%. Active listings by the end of May were 2,709, a year-over-year drop of 42.7%.
In May, the home sales in all the counties in Southern California, except Ventura, declined 36 percent or more from last year, with San Diego dropping the most at 42.7 percent, according to C.A.R. The median sold price in San Diego County increased by 0.8% to $655,000 as compared to last year. However, when you compare it with April 2020, the price decreased by 2.4%.
In July, home prices in San Diego County blew past previous records to hit an all-time high of $634,000. That represented a 9.3 percent price increase over a year earlier, its highest annual jump in nearly two years. The previous record median price was $600,250 in June. Prices were up sharply across Southern California as experts pointed to historically low-interest rates and a lack of homes on the market as driving forces — despite a global pandemic and high unemployment. The median price of single-family homes in San Diego County hit a record of $700,000, up to $44,500 from the old record in June.
Latest San Diego County Housing Market Report (August)
Across the six-county Southern California region, home prices rose 12.9% percent annually in August.
- The biggest gain was in Orange County, which increased 5.7 percent in a year to a median of $930,000.
- Riverside County rose 5.3 percent to a median of $486,500;
- Ventura County was up 3.0 percent to $741,500;
- Los Angeles County jumped 3.6 percent to $677,260.
- Only San Bernardino County gained 0 percent in August.
Below is the latest monthly report of the San Diego Housing Market. The source of this report is the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS. The report compares key housing metrics of the “San Diego County” from August 2020 with August 2019.
In August, showings and pending sales remained at strong levels while housing inventory remained limited, continuing the competitive bidding market we have seen in recent months. With the stock indexes at or near record highs as mortgage rates remain near record lows, signs point to a busy fall housing. San Deigo is still a seller's real estate market with a sharp increase in the median price as compared to last year.
| Existing single-family residential sales in August 2020 were 2334, up 10.2% from a year ago. |
| Existing single-family median price was $733,000, up 12.7% from a year ago. |
| Active Listings at the end of August were 2144, down 51.2% from a year ago. |
| Median Days on Market equaled 8. |
| Sales-to-List Price Ratio was 100.0% |
| Percentage of Active Listings with price reduction was 24.7% |
| Unsold Inventory Index: 1.4 (Seller's Market) |
San Diego Real Estate Market Forecast 2020 – 2021
What are the San Diego real estate market predictions for 2020? Let us look at the price trends recorded by Zillow (a real estate database company) over the past few years. Since 2015, the median home price in San Diego has appreciated by 38.4% from $491,000 to $679,568. Last year saw was the seventh consecutive year of home price gains. Though there were some rapid housing price increases from 2012 to 2018, the housing price increase is slowing down significantly.
The Zillow Buyer-Seller Index (BSI) currently lists the current market temperature as “warm” in San Diego – which is a sign of a strong seller’s real estate market. This is computed monthly. According to their index, there exists a limited supply of homes in San Diego, and buyers are forced to compete often resulting in higher prices and/or quicker sales that tend to benefit sellers. In other words, based on the last month’s key housing market indicators, the demand is exceeding the supply, giving sellers an advantage over buyers in price negotiations. There are fewer homes for sale than there are active buyers in the marketplace.
San Diego's median home values have gone up 6% over the past year and are currently holding at $679,568. The latest San Diego real estate market forecast is that the home prices may remain flat or decrease by just 0.8% – in the next twelve months. It may be perhaps due to COVID-10 that has led to a situation in which supply exceeds demand, giving purchasers an advantage over sellers in price negotiations. That's how the prices remain flat or drop.
- The median list price per square foot in San Diego is $487, which is higher than the San Diego-Carlsbad Metro average of $390.
- The median rent price in San Diego is $2,750, which is higher than the San Diego-Carlsbad Metro median of $2,700.
Here is the visual representation of historical San Diego home prices and the latest forecast until August 2021.
Here is another short and crisp San Diego housing market forecast for the 3 years ending with the 3rd Quarter of 2021. The accuracy of this forecast for San Diego is 77% and it is predicting a positive trend. LittleBigHomes.com estimates that the probability of rising home prices in San Diego is 77% during this period. If this price forecast is correct, the San Diego home values will be higher in the 3rd Quarter of 2021 than they were in the 3rd Quarter of 2018.
The historical change in home prices for San Diego-Carlsbad, CA is shown below for the three-time period. The San Diego Home Price Index has increased for the last 25 consecutive quarters. The highest annual change in the value of houses in the San Diego Real Estate Market was 32% in the twelve months ended with the 3rd Quarter of 2004. The worst annual change in home values in the San Diego Market was -20% in the twelve months ended with the 3rd Quarter of 2008.
The highest growth in home values in the San Diego Real Estate Market over three years was 88% in the three years ended with the 3rd Quarter of 1979. The worst performance over three years in the San Diego Market was -32% in the three years ended with the 3rd Quarter of 2009.
| Time Period | San Diego Metropolitan Area Real Estate Appreciation |
| Last 5 Years | 41% |
| Last 10 Years | 48% |
| Last 20 Years | 205% |
The question now is what happens moving forward. Is San Diego is going to remain a seller's real estate market amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, which no one knows when it is going to end? These numbers can be positive or negative depending on which side of the fence you are — Buyer or Seller? Both home prices and sales have both risen in recent months, despite the turmoil in other areas of the economy. Low inventory and steady demand are two of the key driving factors affecting San Diego’s housing market outlook for 2021.
At the same time, the industry is adapting to the current environment by conducting business using technologies such as virtual showings and e-signing to help buyers and sellers with their housing needs in the face of these challenges. Sellers, brokers, and homebuyers seem to be adjusting to restrictions imposed on the real estate industry because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The constraint on available inventory and a decline in new listings is keeping the San Diego housing market skewed to sellers. In August, the Sales-to-List Price Ratio was approximately 100%, which means there is not much price gap between what sellers are offering and what buyers are buying. The decrease in the number of active listings also indicates that inventory will very tight over the coming months. It's an opportune time for sellers to list their properties on the market as sales to list price ratio is almost 100%.
For buyers in San Diego, the mortgage rates are at their lowest, so they should take advantage of scooping up their favorite deals which otherwise are taken away by seasoned investors in the bidding wars. However, when you consider the current supply-and-demand situation, it’s easy to see why San Diego's real estate market forecasts are mostly favorable through 2020 and into 2021. There aren’t nearly enough homes listed for sale to satisfy the current level of demand from buyers.
Despite the COVID19 pandemic, San Diego and the entire metro area market is so hot that it hasn't shifted to a buyer’s real estate market. In a balanced real estate market, it would take about five to six months for the supply to dwindle to zero. In terms of months of supply, San Diego can become a buyer’s real estate market if the supply increases to more than five months of inventory. And that’s not going to happen. This housing market is skewed to sellers due to persistent imbalance in supply and demand.
This is also true across much of Southern California, as we head into the fall of 2020. In fact, the Southern California region was recently singled out as having the steepest decline in housing inventory over the past year or so. It’s a positive sign for homebuyers, especially for those to want to invest in San Diego real estate. If they invest now, they could aim for a greater ROI, once the market bounces back in 2021 (hoping the crisis would be over by then).
Therefore, it could be a great window of opportunity for home buyers ready to purchase a property as far as affordability is concerned as many of them can’t afford to buy a median-priced home in San Diego. Also, if listings linger on the market for longer, buyers have a special edge in negotiating sales prices. As a result, buyers who enter the market at this should have more options than usual when it comes to choosing a property. So they should take advantage of scooping up their favorite deals which otherwise are taken away by seasoned investors in the bidding wars.
The US housing market is heating up with an increase in home buying despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The real estate sector has been one of the most resilient areas of the economy during the severe economic shutdown. The latest housing market trend to be seen is that the lack of supply is leading to a decline in existing home sales even though new home sales have jumped nearly 13% year over year. While uncertainty remains on what effects the upcoming elections and any seasonal resurgence of COVID-19 may have on the financial and housing markets, the healthy housing demand we see today will create significant tailwinds in the near term.
San Diego Real Estate Foreclosure Statistics 2020
Here are some foreclosure statistics of the San Diego real estate market. As per the foreclosure data by Zillow, in San Diego 0.3 homes are foreclosed (per 10,000). This is lower than the San Diego-Carlsbad Metro value of 0.5 and also lower than the national value of 1.2. The percent of delinquent mortgages in San Diego is 0.4%, which is lower than the national value of 1.1%. The percent of San Diego homeowners underwater on their mortgage is 5.0%, which is lower than San Diego-Carlsbad Metro at 5.0%.
There are currently 273 properties in San Diego, CA that are in some stage of foreclosure (default, auction, or bank-owned) while the number of homes listed for sale on RealtyTrac is 1,979. In August, the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing in San Diego, CA was 10% lower than the previous month and 78% lower than the same time last year. Currently, the zip code with the highest foreclosure rate is 92113, where 1 in every 4629 housing units is foreclosed. So, you’d find a lot of distressed sellers in this area and get some discounted off-market deals. 92104 zip code has the lowest foreclosure rate, where 1 in every 7720 housing units becomes delinquent.
| Potential Foreclosures in San Diego | 273 (RealtyTrac) |
| Homes for Sale in San Diego | 1979 |
| Recently Sold | 7728 |
| Median List Price | $675,000 (1% rise vs July 2019) |
San Diego Real Estate Investment: Should You Invest or Not?
Should you consider San Diego real estate investment? Many real estate investors have asked themselves if buying an investment property in San Diego is a good investment? You need to drill deeper into local trends if you want to know what the market holds for the real estate investors and buyers in 2020. Although this article alone is not a comprehensive source to make a final investment decision for San Diego, we have collected ten evidence-based positive things for those who are keen to invest in the San Diego real estate in 2020. Let’s look at the state of the San Diego real estate market and the factors driving the property market short and long term.
The San Diego Housing Market Is a Relative Bargain
California is known for its insane real estate prices. San Diego stands out as a relatively affordable real estate market. The median home price is around $550,000. This sounds bad if you compare it to the national average of $300,000, but it is a bargain in California. You could snap up several San Diego rental properties for the price of one home in San Francisco. The San Diego housing market is cooling. Home price appreciation fell below 5%, and home prices in some areas are declining due to decreasing demand. This is an improvement over the 6 to 8% appreciation San Diego had been seeing. The expanding inventory of houses on the market makes this a great time to invest in the San Diego housing market.
San Diego's Housing Supply Is Constrained As New Construction of Homes is Quite Slow
San Diego is a growing housing market. However, construction in San Diego has stalled. Single-family residential construction is well below the demand for such homes in the San Diego housing market. There has been faster growth in the construction of multi-family housing in the San Diego real estate market, but that is also below historic rates. Currently, both single-family and multi-family housing construction is increasing in San Diego. Even though there are more multi-family starts over single-family homes in terms of raw numbers, the percentage of single-family homes being constructed outpaces that of multi-family units.
San Diego also shares several geographic constraints that other California coastal cities do. You can’t build on water. The Cowles Mountains limit how much the city can expand inland, constraining housing supply. Regulations limit high-density construction, preventing the area from meeting demand with too many tall condo towers. So, too, do the wilderness areas off-limits to construction like Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and Cleveland National Forest.
The Diverse Student Market Feeds the San Diego Rental Market
San Diego is a major metropolitan area, and it is home to several colleges and universities. The University of California at San Diego is one of the largest. It is sometimes confused with San Diego State University, a different campus, and the University of San Diego. Point Loma Nazarene University is a Christian school in San Diego. National University is located in nearby La Jolla. Smaller schools like the Art Institute, Alliant International University, Azusa Pacific University, Brandman University, Miramar College, Mesa College, and California College of San Diego fill out the San Diego real estate market.
A side benefit of the diversified student market is that you can buy multiple properties across the San Diego housing market and enjoy a “diverse” investment portfolio. You won’t see demand for the property rise and fall based on the popularity of a flagship school, and the strong San Diego housing market allows you to rent it to newcomers to the area or military officers if you can’t fill the unit with students.
San Diego’s economy isn’t as reliant on tourism as other coastal towns. Instead, defense and the military are a larger part of the local economy. This dumps tens of thousands of renters into the San Diego real estate market who will never buy because they could be deployed elsewhere in a year or two. The military also gives generous allowances for those who rent San Diego rental properties, keeping rents near the military base strong regardless of the state of the economy.
San Diego Rental Prices Are Increasing Year-Over-Year
The San Diego real estate market has been ranked among the ten most expensive real estate markets in the country, though it ranks below several other West Coast cities. This creates massive demand for San Diego rental properties by those who simply cannot afford to buy homes. The rental market will continue to grow as the city grows an estimated 500,000 population by 2050, adding tens of thousands each year. The median rent in San Diego is $2700. The rent you’d receive on single-family San Diego rental properties would, of course, be much higher.
If you find a good bargain and make it family-friendly, you could charge well over $3000 a month. If you can convert San Diego rental properties into smaller units, you’d receive around $2200 a month for a one or two-bedroom apartment. The cash on cash returns for properties in the San Diego housing market is around 2.5% for traditional rental properties and nearly 2% if you rent on Airbnb. The fact that the city isn’t too dependent on tourism means you could rent properties on the beach to newcomers, locals, and students if tourism is slow.
San Diego Average Rent – As of August 2020, the average rent for an apartment in San Diego, CA is $2222 which is a 0.54% decrease from last year when the average rent was $2234, and a 2.48% increase from last month when the average rent was $2167, according to Rentjungle.com.
- One-bedroom apartments in San Diego rent for $1922 a month on average (a 1.3% decrease from last year).
- Two-bedroom apartment rents average $2370 (a 3.5% decrease from last year).
- The average apartment rent over the prior 6 months in San Diego has increased by $110 (5.2%)
- One-bedroom units have increased by $66 (3.6%).
- Two-bedroom apartments have increased by $99 (4.4%).
According to RentCafe.com, the average rent for an apartment in San Diego is $2,237, a 4% increase compared to the previous year. About 40% of the apartments can be rented for less than $2000, and 60% of the apartments can be rented for more than $2,000 per month. This shows that rent prices are very high in San Diego. 198,654 or 39% of the households in San Diego, CA are renter-occupied while 304,809 or 60% are owner-occupied.
San Diego Real Estate Market Is More Landlord Friendly Good For Short Term Rentals
We can’t say that California is landlord-friendly. However, specific cities are better for landlords and real estate investors than others. One reason to invest in the San Diego housing market over San Francisco or Los Angeles is the fact that San Diego is one of the few big cities that doesn’t have rent control. The city has groups fighting proposals to apply rent control to San Diego rental properties in addition to apartments.
San Diego has many tourist attractions. Balboa Park is home to the San Diego Zoo, the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Desert Garden, the local youth Symphony, a Japanese garden, and a golf complex. There’s a SeaWorld in San Diego, an MLB stadium, the USS Midway Museum, and the San Diego zoo safari park. On top of this is the mild weather and proximity to the beach. Any San Diego rental properties in easy reach of these attractions command a premium on rental sites like Airbnb.
Demand for rentals in the San Diego real estate market soars during Comic-Con, one of the biggest comic conventions in the country. The only limit on San Diego rental properties has been the fluctuating rules by the city council, such as a measure passed limiting rentals to primary residences that were rescinded a few months later in 2018. Yet permission for rentals is limited in many master-planned communities and condo developments, keeping rents for Airbnb and other short-term rentals strong.
San Diego Is A Great Place Place To Live In
San Diego is a great place to live in which makes real estate investment a lucrative opportunity. It has nice sunny weather and impressive beaches. It has more than 300 parks, including Mission Trails Regional Park, and 40,000 acres of undeveloped open space. Balboa Park has the world-famous San Diego Zoo, Old Globe Theatre, and museums. San Diego Zoo is also one of the prettiest zoos in the world to walk around. U.S. News analyzed 125 metro areas in the United States to find the best places to live based on the quality of life and the job market in each metro area, as well as the value of living there and people's desire to live there.
San Diego, California was ranked:
- #36 in Best Places to Live
- #51 in Best Places to Retire
- #3 in Best Places to Live in California
- #5 in Most Expensive Places to Live
- #9 in Best Places to Live for Quality of Life
- #12 in Safest Places to Live
San Diego is home attracts millennials with its higher education opportunities and big-city amenities such as excellent restaurants, dive bars or clubs, and a great nightlife. The craft beer scene in San Diego is one of the best in the world. North County is desirable for young families whereas millennials are moving downtown and to communities to the northeast as a result of gentrification and the diverse entertainment options centralized in those areas.
Where To Invest In San Diego Real Estate Market?
Are you looking for an investment property in the San Diego real estate market? Maybe you have done a bit of real estate investing in San Diego but want to take things further and make it into more than a hobby on the side. It’s only wise to think about how you can and should be investing your money. In any property investment, cash flow is gold. San Diego offers an ideal mix of limited supply, high demand, and excellent income potential.
San Diego's mild climate, miles of beaches, fun attractions, and great schools make the city one of America's best places to live. If you’re going to invest in California, it needs to be in San Diego. Good cash flow from San Diego investment properties means the investment is, needless to say, profitable. A bad cash flow, on the other hand, means you won’t have money on hand to repay your debt.
Therefore, finding the best investment property in San Diego in a growing neighborhood would be key to your success. The three most important factors when buying a real estate anywhere are location, location, and location. The location creates desirability. Desirability brings demand. You should focus on neighborhoods with relatively high population density and employment growth. Both of them translate into high demand for housing. There should be a natural and upcoming high demand for rental properties. Demand would raise the price of your San Diego rental property and you should be able to get a good return on your investment over the long term.
The neighborhoods in San Diego must be safe to live in and should have a low crime rate. The neighborhoods should be close to basic amenities, public services, schools, and shopping malls. A cheaper neighborhood in San Diego might not be the best place to live in. A cheaper neighborhood should be determined by these factors – Overall Cost Of Living, Rent To Income Ratio, and Median Home Value To Income Ratio. It depends on how much you are looking to spend and if you are wanting smaller investment properties or larger deals in Class A neighborhoods. The inventory is low, but opportunities are there.
Some of the popular neighborhoods in or around San Diego are Carmel Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Point Loma, Pacific Beach, Mission Valley, Mira Mesa, Rancho Penasquitos, Bonita, Del Cerro, North Park, La Jolla, 4s Ranch, Mission Hills, Otay Ranch and Rancho Santa Fe. As we write this, the asking price of single-family homes for sale in San Diego (on Realtor.com) starts from $132,000 for a 3-bedroom house and can go up to $37M for a luxury 10-bedroom house located in the Northern San Diego neighborhood.
You can get a beautiful 3-bedroom new construction single-family house for around $379,000 in the Southern San Diego neighborhood — which quite an affordable entry price as San Deigo home prices are some of the most expensive in all of the United States.
Here are some of the best neighborhoods in San Diego where you can buy an investment property.
Encanto is one of San Diego’s most affordable neighborhoods if you want to buy an investment property. According to Neighborhood Scout Encanto’s median real estate price is $405,140, which is cheaper than 69.5% of California homes. Encanto is a hilly neighborhood located in the southeastern part of San Diego, California. The neighborhood of Encanto is split into two sections, North Encanto (which lies north of Broadway), and South Encanto (which lies south of Broadway).
The name Encanto usually refers to the neighborhood of Encanto, but it can also refer collectively to the neighborhoods of the Chollas Valley planning area, which consists of Chollas View, O'Farrell, Lincoln Park, Emerald Hills, Valencia Park, Broadway Heights, Alta Vista, Rosemont, as well as Encanto. The citizens' community planning group that represents these eight neighborhoods in accordance with the City of San Diego Council Policy 600-24 is named the Chollas Valley Community Planning Group.
The Encanto Neighborhoods Community Plan is designed to expand the existing retail, commercial and light industrial areas along the main transportation corridors and the villages surrounding the trolley stops at 47th and Market streets, and Euclid Avenue and Market Street. Its cultural heart is the Market Street Village, situated along Chollas Creek and the trolley stop at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Market Street.
With its proximity to San Diego Bay just 2 1/2 to 5 miles away, temperatures tend to be mild. The area offers excellent opportunities for infill development, including commercial, transit-oriented mixed-use along the main corridors, and view lots for single-family residential in the surrounding hills.
Nestor is another relatively affordable neighborhood in San Deigo having a median real estate price of $500,280, which is less expensive than 60% of the neighborhoods in California. The average rental price in Nestor is currently $1,788, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 68.1% of California neighborhoods. Nestor is a residential neighborhood in the southern section of San Diego, and part of the Otay Mesa-Nestor community planning area. Zillow predicts that home values in Nestor would increase by 4.6% in the next 12 months.
It neighbors Palm City and Otay Mesa West to the east, Egger Highlands to the north, San Ysidro to the southeast, and the Tijuana River Valley to the south. Major thoroughfares include Coronado Avenue, Saturn Boulevard, Hollister Street, and Tocayo Avenue. According to Areavibes.com, the cost of living in Nestor is 19% lower than the San Diego average and 13% higher than the national average. On their livability index, it ranks better than 42% of areas in San Diego.
The Otay Mesa-Nestor community planning area is located in the southern region of the City and is bounded on the north by Chula Vista, on the east by the community of Otay Mesa, on the south by the Tijuana River Valley and the San Ysidro community, and on the west by Imperial Beach. Twenty percent of the planning area consists of schools, parks, transit, and other public facilities, while vacant, undeveloped, agricultural, and mineral extraction and processing uses comprise the remaining 15 percent.
Emerald Hills is a fairly good neighborhood in SanDiego to invest in real estate. It is a calm neighborhood with many green spaces nearby for residents to visit. Most areas in this neighborhood are quiet, as noise from the streets and other parts of the city is rarely an issue. It is bordered by Oak Park and California State Route 94 on the north, Chollas View and Euclid Avenue on the west, Encanto on the east, and Valencia Park and Market Street on the south. Major thoroughfares include Kelton Road and Roswell Street.
Most houses for sale in this neighborhood are located in places that are not very suitable for walking since carrying out daily needs is sometimes difficult. The Median Home Value in Emerald Hills is $418,600 and Zillow predicts a rise of 4.2% in the next twelve months.
Another urban area that is great for investment is Downtown/City Center. It is one of the best places to live in California. It offers residents a dense urban feel and more than 70% of the residents rent their homes. So it is a great neighborhood to buy rental properties due to high demand. Downtown's public schools are above average. The Median Home Value in Downtown is $572,100 and Zillow predicts an increase of 4.5% in the next twelve months. The median rent is around $1,491. It offers a good nightlife with restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues. Niche.com ranks it #25 among the best neighborhoods to live in San Diego.
The cheapest or most affordable neighborhoods to rent in San Diego are Alta Vista, where the average rent goes for $975/month, Broadway Heights, where renters pay $975/mo on average, Emerald Hills, where the average rent goes for $975/mo, City Heights East, where renters pay $975/mo on average $1,383, Darnall with an average rent of $1,439, and Rolando, where the average rent price is 1,484.
If housing supply meets housing demand, real estate investors should not miss the opportunity since entry prices of homes remain affordable.
Apart from San Deigo, you can also invest in several other real estate markets in California. California has the 6th largest economy in the entire world. This is largely driven by its innovative production, the heavy tech sectors in the state, and more. Apart from the San Diego real estate market, you can also invest in another hot market in San Jose. San Jose is part of Silicon Valley, a place where $100,000 a year or higher salaries from competing for tech firms has driven up the cost of real estate.
But what about the San Jose housing market itself? San Jose is the third-largest city in California, home to roughly a million people. It has the highest cost of living in any area in the U.S., and it is one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. If you want to invest in the San Jose real estate, you may not need to buy and renovate. Instead, if you know of industrial or commercial properties near major employers they may need to convert to employee housing, you could buy now and hold until it sells.
If that doesn’t happen, you could still turn it into a co-working space. In January 2018, Redfin ranked the ten hottest neighborhoods in the United States. Nine of the ten were in San Jose. When single home prices fall from 1.2 million to 1 million, homes now sit on the market for several days instead of being snapped up immediately.
The other good place for real estate investment in California is Sacramento. Sacramento is an island of sanity in an overpriced, over-regulated, and overheated West Coast housing market. It reflects the California ideal that most of the state has lost, and that’s we recommend it to investors over the “hotter” California metro areas. These are the same factors causing many Californians themselves to vote with their feet and move here instead of moving out of the state altogether.
If you’re considering Sacramento real estate investment, the diverse rental market is a definite plus. Being a state capital, it is home to several universities. This allows you to rent to the relatively large student market in addition to the local population. There is, of course, the University of California campus in Sacramento, but you could own investment properties by American River College and other, smaller schools in the area, too.
NORADA REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS has extensive experience investing in turnkey real estate and cash-flow properties. We strive to set the standard for our industry and inspire others by raising the bar on providing exceptional real estate investment opportunities in many other growth markets in the United States. We can help you succeed by minimizing risk and maximizing the profitability of your investment property in San Diego.
Consult with one of the investment counselors who can help build you a custom portfolio of San Diego turnkey properties. These are “Cash-Flow Rental Properties” located in some of the best neighborhoods of San Diego.
Not just limited to San Diego or California but you can also invest in some of the best real estate markets in the United States. All you have to do is fill up this form and schedule a consultation at your convenience. We’re standing by to help you take the guesswork out of real estate investing. By researching and structuring complete San Diego turnkey real estate investments, we help you succeed by minimizing risk and maximizing profitability.
Buying or selling real estate, for a majority of investors, is one of the most important decisions they will make. Choosing a real estate professional/counselor continues to be a vital part of this process. They are well-informed about critical factors that affect your specific market areas, such as changes in market conditions, market forecasts, consumer attitudes, best locations, timing, and interest rates.
Is It The Right Time To Invest In Real Estate? – The national homeownership rate is on the decline for the first time since 2017. As demographics change and baby boomers retire, you’re seeing Millennials who may not be ready to buy houses. In 2018, Millennials made up about 22 percent of the population in the United States. They’re choosing to rent over buying a single-family home or an apartment. Rising home prices and shortage of starter homes have not left Millennials many choices but to delay homeownership. Moreover, it's even harder to take out a mortgage for those who have student loan debt.
Remember, caveat emptor still applies when buying a property anywhere. Some of the information contained in this article was pulled from third party sites mentioned under references. Although the information is believed to be reliable, Norada Real Estate Investments makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees, either express or implied, as to whether the information presented is accurate, reliable, or current. All information presented should be independently verified through the references given below. As a general policy, the Norada Real Estate Investments makes no claims or assertions about the future housing market conditions across the US.
References:
Latest Market Data, Trends, and Statistics
https://www.car.org/marketdata/interactive/citylevelstats
https://www.car.org/marketdata/data/countysalesactivity
https://www.zillow.com/SanDiego-ca/home-values
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/san-diego/real-estate
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/San-Diego_CA/overview
https://www.sandiegorealestatehunter.com/blog/san-diego-real-estate-market-forecast
http://www.homebuyinginstitute.com/news/san-diego-more-moderate-forecast
https://www.zillow.com/research/2020-hot-markets-south-26293/
California COVID-19 Economic/Market Update
https://car.sharefile.com/share/view/s2a8899fc081428a8
Cooling market
https://www.10news.com/news/making-it-in-san-diego/making-it-in-san-diego-slowing-housing-market-could-create-buying-opportunity
New housing supply
https://journal.firsttuesday.us/san-diego-housing-indicators-2/29246
Relatively cheap market
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/27/spring-housing-market-could-be-coolest-in-recent-years-realtorcom.html
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/real-estate/sd-fi-corelogic-home-20180724-story.html
Rental rates
https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ca/san-diego
http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/san-diego-population
Landlord friendly
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/real-estate/sd-fi-rent-control-20180703-story.html
Short term rentals
https://www.mashvisor.com/blog/airbnb-san-diego
https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2018/mar/07/city-lights-airbnb-forcing-you-out
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/tourism/sd-fi-airbnb-regulations-council-20181022-story.html
College market
https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges/m/san-diego-metro-area
Foreclosures
https://www.realtytrac.com/statsandtrends/ca/san-diego-county/san-diego
General stats
http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/san-diego-population
https://www.sandiego.org/articles/east-county/san-diego-east-mountains.aspx
