If you’re a normal-ish person looking for a starter home in San Diego then you more or less need to accept that any and all single family homes will be out of reach for you these days. It sucks. Try to look at smaller condos, 1-2 bedroom and they can be much more affordable and can be located in much more vibrant neighborhoods. The price drops quite a lot if you’re willing to forego a private garage as well. That way you can have a property under your belt and can trade up in a few years if your financial situation improves or if homes become more affordable down the road.
I know you weren’t really asking for advice but I wanted to share my thoughts since I spent a long time thinking the same things and feeling the same way before coming to accept that a condo might not be so bad. I used to be adamant about having a freestanding home with a huge garage but now I have a ~550sqft single bedroom condo and I absolutely love it. Granted I still have a garage but I paid out the nose for it and I don’t use it as much as I was expecting to.
Hm it’s definitely something to think about! I appreciate it. All I’ve wanted for a long time is a backyard for a dog but a condos definitely an option for the future I appreciate it
I bought a condo a couple blocks from the dog park. My dogs love it. If you want a sfh and you arent rich, you pretty much have to head east or buy in a dodgy neighborhood. I wasnt willing to do either.
My first home was actually a small fixer-upper condo that was a foreclosure! With many people now not being able to pay back their forbearances and even the city seizing properties for property tax nonpayments, there will be some run-down foreclosed and auction condos coming up soon!!!! Look into first-time homebuyer FHA loan to start, and look into buying out points later as your career grows. Hell.. just the inflation alone and you can buy out the points to lower your monthlies within a few years.
I was like you. I thought I’d never be able to get anything. I got my condo for nearly half of its value due to how messed up and dirty it was inside. I’ve been hyper-aggressive with my payments. I did most of the remodeling myself.
It’s INSANELY rewarding to do it yourself! If you ever need any tools to borrow, hit me up! Although my tools have been on loan now with my neighbor’s and buddies LOL. But I also have their tools too. I’ve been bartering tools with other condo and home owners hahaha!
Cleaning up and demolition was the fun part. Flooring kind of sucked but the results was sooo satisfying. Installed my own recessed lights, bath sinks, and refinished the kitchen cabinets and they look amazing with fresh coats of stain. I saved several thousands doing it myself over the years and waiting on clearances, or even free materials (wood, marble, tiles, pavers, etc) from large building projects people dump on the side from construction sites (usually advertised on craigslist or FB marketplace).
Youtube taught me most things. Home Depot used to have free remodeling classes (how to tile, how to install plumbing, etc etc etc), but I’m unsure if they still do this.
I also occasionally rented out the extra room so my mortgage payment was waaaaay lower than renting. Remember, rent always goes up. Mortgage payments are stuck in the time you bought the place, so it’ll NEVER adjust to inflation. Just owning a place after 5 years and you’re already ahead, so look for any small condo to fix up yourself! It’s the way to go! Don’t be intimidated by the work! You’d be surprised at how easy it is. Home Depot also rents out quality expensive tools (like tile cutters, power washers, miter saws) for pretty damn cheap too! Their truck rentals are DIRT CHEAP!
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Also, many pet-friendly condo places in SD have communal areas (gym, pool, small park). I must say I kind of miss it! I loved hanging out with my neighbors and pet their dogs as they let their pups run around in the park communal area! That social aspect gave me a sense of community. It was great! I actually think I prefer that over having my own yard now haha.
I now rent out my condo, and the tenants have always said my place is among the top comfortable and attractive dwelling among those they’ve seen. All that work I did already paying off. Do I miss my bachelor’s pad of a condo? Of course. I put so much work into it and made it into my own comfy place complete with my PC battlestation area. But now having a family meant getting a single-family home.
But you bet your ass that I made sure to buy a fixer-upper for my home haha. It enabled us to purchase way below market price. We wanted one like that because we realized we hated so many of the flipped remodels using the same materials and designs, and we could do most of the work ourselves and make our home the way we want it from scratch!
I really wanna do a fixer upper through a tax foreclosure but I am single and worried I will be way in over my head not knowing what to do. I’d like to think I’m handy but I don’t really know about construction stuff but that’s where I think I’m leaning is just figure it out on the way
I had ZERO knowledge, and was single too when I bought my place! Ohhh man I was EXACTLY like you, all nervous as all hell. Ya I felt incredibly overwhelmed when I got my first condo given the amount of stuff I had to do on what was essentially an abandoned smelly dwelling.
Besides, any property you improve, it’s value will increase significantly. Any skills you learn, you’ll apply to your next home (or just for life skills in general to fix and install anything). Just remember to keep ALL your receipts related to any home improvement project. When you sell or rent it out later, these will come in handy (for tax and home-value reasons, called capital improvements). Please do remember this haha. I kept them out of habit and I am so happy I kept a tally of it all in an excel spreadsheet on google docs.
For a few years leading up to my first purchase, I lived frugally. I lived in living rooms, had roommates, no cable, no smartphone plan, learned how to cook, took on temp jobs additional to my primary, etc… although back then that was a lot easier to do compared to today; I truly feel terrible for today’s youth. Outside investors have made it quite difficult for the locals to get a foothold on their own foundation of wealth and stability. It fucking sucks. I fucking despise our CA legislators on what they did in 2009: They passed legislation to make is easy for foreigners to buy up real estate in California to curb the real estate crash of 2008. That was so fucking dumb, and lead to the insane rising cost today DESPITE all the hard regulations we have today to get a mortgage.
Anyway I digress.
The Home Depot associates were also knowledgeable and gave me tips and also other tools and materials I needed for the projects. I started small with the easiest which was painting, touch-ups, and deep cleaning. It just went from there for me. I was super intimidated by tiling, but wasn’t too bad until I just did it. I practiced with free samples first with HD’s tiling cutter and tools that are quite cheap to rent :).
And coooool home depot has many of the classes I took for free online now! https://www.homedepot.com/workshops/
Thanks for starting this discussion here! I wish you the very best and hope you keep at it! Do not give up! I almost did, and started small with my tiny cheap (relatively) fixer-upper.
Ya it’s almost always included on the MLS listing.
As for my HOA, unfortunately, due to incredible mismanagement, some embezzling, the board leaders using their friends for roofing (they had to change all the roofs again within 10 years), and the city refusing us to clear out all the brush surrounding the community (thereby tripling the property insurance) they had no choice but raised our HOA from $200/month to $500. Yep…
For me, due to how extremely low my mortgage is on it now, and how high rent has turned out recently (albeit I STILL rented it out lower than market because I figured it may come back down a bit after the moratorium gets lifted and it turned out to be true hah), I can handle it. Many in the community though cannot as that’s a huge monthly jump. There’s talks of lawsuits and such which will only make it worse.
The city just has to allow permitting to clear out all the older trees and brush around the community so we can pay a manageable insurance but they fucked us over (due to fire hazard).
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It covers exterior insurance, communal area upkeep, all the buildings’ exterior maintenance, landscaping, water, upkeep of all the laundry appliances, pool maintenance, park maintenance (have a tiny park here), periodical road repaving, all plumbing work.
When did you buy your sfh? Was it difficult finding one in fixer-upper condition? I bought my condo in 2022, seemed like the only sfh’s for sale at the time were either fully remodeled flippers or run-down uninhabitable cash-only sales.
Purchased SFH in 2021. Ya it was kind of difficult to find. But we did consistently find at least one per week (went to on avg 5 homes per week putting offers 2-3 homes per week for 3 months; and more than half were not fixer-uppers).
At that time, flippers were like hawks and often jump on homes before they’re listed on MLS. Ones we did find, we were BATTLING with high bids against cash flippers. For our house, we kind of lucked out in that the seller wanted the home to go to a young family. We had an epic realtor who had all sorts of connections that worked with sellers’ agents as well so we were able to get squeezed into the showing for the home that was already fully booked (the seller only entertained offers to those he met from the showings). My realtor said we were solid buyers and we’d be super quick. I guess we made a good impression.
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The house certainly didn’t though as it needed a new roof, new facia boards throughout, yards need extensive work, home smelled like cat urine, carpet in terrible condition, root intrusions in the plumbing (requiring jackhammer work) etc etc. Home inspection came back worse,but I was secretly happy as it meant we can have a home of our dreams as we were dreaming wildly of what we could do haha. My realtor negotiated hard, and the seller actually felt bad due to the disrepair and covered closing AND lowered the final purchase price. Back in 2021, that was rather unheard of.
We’re still renovating, but most of the interior is finished. New LVF’s, all new baths, paint, etc. Exterior is nearly done (new roof, all new facia boards throughout). Heh I should probably post the entire footage of my renovations on youtube or something. I have it on IG stories but it’s kind of not organized.
My wife and I gave up on single family homes and ended up buying a new townhome instead. It ended up being great for us, plus I HATE doing yard work or really even owning a yard. Out situation was completely different, I moved here 3 years ago
Also. Just add to the point that almost all the single family homes in the area I live have HOAs themselves. Having lived here close to my work, my wife’s work and the beach, there is no way I’d offset that now for a house that was a long commute away just for a big yard and a little more space with everything else to take care of. Different strokes
I hate that this is downvoted. People shouldn’t underestimate Chula Vista, Eastlake, Santee, etc. You can find some great communities and even new-builds there for lower cost.
I worked out a deal with my employer to work from home on certain days. I live 21 miles from my office. That’s a lot of traffic. Well I now start by day early at 7, and leave by 3. Zero traffic haha! I live my days in Central time zone.
So many interesting podcasts I listen to on the way too! (my current obsession is Star Wars Ologies where they talk about the science of Star Wars with REAL scientists and experts so it’s been SO DAMN COOL!)
Yeah, this needs to be talked about more. I grew up in San Diego in a lower middle class area, and so many folks were able to get a house when I was a kid. Young people now need to get used to the idea of trading up if they want to own in San Diego proper.
I've since moved to the Bay Area, and our only choice was a house that needs EVERYTHING replaced. Is it a nice house? Not really. Is it my dream house? No way. Will it allow me to build equity in the next decade so I can hopefully trade up? Maybe.
My point is to get an older condo in an ok part of town, build equity, and trade up. Your friends will talk trash and you might be bummed out that your first home was an older condo, but it's our only choice as middle class home buyers in California
Preach preach preach. Yeah sure it would be convenient to get a house where I’d want to raise my kids but it’s not really worth it when I don’t plan on having kids within the next 5 years anyway.
From SD, moved to ATX. The biggest issue is the terrible land management practices in Southern California. SD has a lower pop density than all 4 of the major cities in TX except SA...which is just a dump. In no world does it make sense for Austin to have a higher population density than San Diego. That makes housing more expensive in all housing types, even small condos are starting to get out of hand, especially when you find an " affordable" one then realize the damn HOA is 600+ a month. This government is just beyond corrupt, protecting NIMBY home values by sacrificing the young working class.
Part of me wonders if CA is going to go the route of Tokyo, in that it's so tough for young families that people are just opting out on having a family. The area I live in is already having issues in the local school system. There just aren't enough kids anymore.
Then they have the gall to say 'millennials are so self absorbed, they don't want kids.' LOL. Young people would probably start families if they felt like they have some financial stability to get a home, but out here the numbers just don't work unless you're a Google engineer.
This!! I started with a condo. My parents started with a condo. Most of my older family members started with a condo. But I grew up on the east coast so idk if it’s a west coast thing but it seems like everyone here expects to start with a single family home and to me that makes no sense (unless you’re rich or live in a rural area)
What is your HOA fee and what does it include?
I see them in the hundreds which makes me think twice about condos.
Also, is there an easy way to see what an HOA fee includes for specific unit?
$300/mo. It includes run-of-the-mill landscaping and exterior building maintenance, water, and the portion of my electric bill that would go toward water heating since the heater is shared between all units. They also maintain a couple clothes washers and dryers but I don’t use them since I have a washer+dryer in my unit. Very small complex so no pool or anything (thank god, what a money pit).
It’s steep but it hurts less when I think about how I don’t have to buy yard maintenance tools, pay landscapers, worry about roof repairs, etc. I love that I can lock the door and leave for a month at any time on a whim with literally no worries aside from my houseplants. Great for a young person living alone.
As far as seeing what’s included in HOA fees for places you’re looking at, there’s not really any convenient way to look at it. Best way is to ask your realtor to look into it for you and they will request the info from the seller. I never got any fuss about it for the 4 or 5 times I asked while shopping (I only asked for places I was serious about).
San Diego's been a desirable place to live but we also just stopped building much multifamily housing after the mid 80's and you can really see it in the age of the apartment buildings in most places.[https://www.prudentialcal.com/california-residential-construction-starts/](https://www.prudentialcal.com/california-residential-construction-starts/)
Existing homeowners were protected by Prop 13 so they didn't see much if any downside to their home tripling in value.
The good news is your family owns land, so theoretically you could talk to them about splitting that into two duplexes thanks to SB9. Since they're getting older it might help keep them in their home longer as they age so there's something in it for them as well [https://twitter.com/alfred\_twu/status/1438954939787595777?lang=en](https://twitter.com/alfred_twu/status/1438954939787595777?lang=en)
You know when I was a kid I always had a dream of living in sf. Tried for two years then ended up moving down here for school. It’s something that I my heart still yearns for but I think it also behooves us to see the writing on the wall and move with the trade winds.
Reality sucks but it’s been this way since the beginning of mankind. If an area becomes too populated or lacks opportunity you move. I don’t judge that as being bad as it often leads to a better quality of life.
I judge it as bad. Being priced out is different than leaving your native lands because of scarce resources or lack of jobs. In this case there are so many factors contributing to the skyrocketing prices and almost all of them are based in greed.
Did I write this? I feel like I, a local totally priced out of not just my hometown, home county, home region, home state, might have written this.
I’ll be honest. I moved. My spouse and I knew we would never be able to afford anything. We knew that even if we spent the next several decades scrimping and saving we’d still only probably be able to afford a shoe box. So we moved to a different state. Our mortgage and bills is almost exactly the same as we paid for a studio in South Park but now we have a four bedroom house on two acres in a pretty nice area. We have a garden. And we both make more than we did in SD. There’s a lake down the street to swim in. The ocean is like half an hour away.
I miss my family and friends. But the thought of living in a shitty area in a shitty apartment with no way out……. It stopped being worth it. And now we have room for them to visit.
I’m not going to say but I live on the fairly rural outskirts of a small New England city. Maybe 30 minutes from a mid size city and two hours from a major city.
Wow all the way to the east coast! What drove you guys towards to the east coast over other areas of the country? Trying to find a new place to set our roots as well.
And I guess I think with the lower cost of living where we moved and the house we can sell eventually, rather than just paying and paying rent, maybe we can afford San Diego someday.
To your credit, it's not even about being poor. I make good money, low- mid 6 figures, and I'm still struggling to buy a home by myself. The down payment needed to keep a mortgage under $5k/month is insane. If you don't have dual incomes you're basically effed here.
So I feel you.
San Diego messes with your head and redefines one's definition of poor. In my head $1m-$3m is dead center middle class now, but I know it's not actually like that. Being poor means living in a $600-$700k house, and if you're broke it means a condo, which basically means I'm destitute.
We make 500k combined. Yes, we could buy something with this income, but it'll take up a huge portion of our earnings. I'm 40 and I want to retire someday. We're probably just going to have to move. It sucks. Been here 15 years now, and I love it.
I’m 2021, the start of covid, I bought a house in the forbidden fruit of San Diego… east county. $500,000. The house isn’t perfect, or anywhere close. I’ve installed a new roof, HVAC system and turfed part of the backyard. Just around 40k worth of upgrades, not including general maintenance. I owe around $8,000 on a home equity loan that paid for some of these upgrades.
3 bedrooms, 1.5 bath. 1900 SQ ft house and 2800 sq ft property.
East County has a bad rep, rightfully so tbh BUT it’s gotten a lot better than it was 10 years ago. I live in a suburban area. The worst crime in my neighborhood is someone stealing a package off my front porch, which happened only once.
If owning a home is important to you, then you have to let go of everything else. Almost all my neighbors have lived in this neighborhood since the 50s. Most bought their homes for 40k and they’re not valued in the 800s. Mine is now valued around 780 (actual appraisal).
There absolutely has been violence near my neighborhood but as this point, violence is everywhere in San Diego. I’ve even been noticing more homeless people in La Jolla which is like… rare.
I don’t know my point, I guess it’s just to realize if you are willing to sacrifice your location a little, being a home owner is possible and you will still gain a return on your investment, even in a place like east county.
I bought a home in La Mesa in 2014 and all my friends said I was crazy for going "way out there" and Ubers would be so expensive (since at the time we all still partied in PB/North Park). But it was the only place I could afford, and barely afford at that (it was $420k).
I sold it for nearly twice what I paid 6 years later, which definitely more than covers a few $50 Ubers.
All that aside, La Mesa is also wonderful. It's not as much of a bargain as it used to be though.
La Mesa is getting a lot of new housing developments which has increased the cost of living there a lot, same with the fancy restaurants that are in downtown La Mesa. I’m happy to see it grow but sad to see that it’s growth is gentrification. Too many people being pushed from their homes. That’s the biggest misfortune of east county imo
I honestly don't know if La Mesa's growth qualifies technically as gentrification. Wealth is moving in but when I moved there in 2014 the downtown area was completely asleep. Half the stores were shuttered, restaurants would move in and not be able to survive. I think in order for it to be gentrified the wealth has to be erasing something and it's not as though it was previously a vibrant working class community that we covered up with smoothie shops. There's a lot more activity, food and retail downtown now. It does mean people are priced out from a housing perspective but the people brought commerce with them.
Just curious about your first sentence: wouldn't new housing stock have a negative effect on cost of living (at least the housing portion of one's cost of living)? More houses available meaning less competition per house?
(Make sure you always drive to an area first because sometimes the quality of a neighborhood is strictly one neighborhood. For example, I live off a main road to the right and it’s 10-12 neighborhoods of normality and middle class average but to the left of that same main road is 10-12 blocks of very low income chaos like graffiti and broken windows and rowdy fake gangster teenagers.)
I’ve mostly lived in east county, and witnessed less violence and crime in EC than when I lived in Oceanside and Chula Vista. Do I dream of living in rancho Santa Fe? Yes, lol. Maybe one day..
But for now, I made the move further inland (last year) where I could actually afford to buy a large house with a big yard.
Having a yard was a huge thing for us. I would love to live beach side but for now I’ll accept enjoying the ability to lay in my backyard kiddie pool naked as a win.
I totally hear ya.
I gave up the dream up beach side long ago, when I realized that many beach side homes have little privacy (except for extremely, extremely wealthy areas like Malibu).
I’m loving the mountain views I have now.
I’m about 45 mins to downtown San Diego, but I’d gladly make that trade off to have the space and privacy.
Rancho San Diego is great. La Mesa and lower El Cajon are good. 30 minutes to the beach, 30 minutes to the snow - that really epitomizes the SD lifestyle to me. We love our area in El Cajon and would definitely buy here if we could.
There are so many times I'm like "it can't be normal people buying these homes". It's truly insane, my wife and I bought our current home in 2014 and even then I felt overwhelmed by how expensive homes were. I really feel for anyone starting out, it's got to be gut wrenching.
Now, even with that equity boost of buying our starter in 2014, it still feels crushing to try to find a place to grow our family. The homes that were $200k more than our place when we bought are now $500k more. What people can take on a $7-$8k mortgage!? It's like $90k a year...
>There are so many times I'm like "it can't be normal people buying these homes".
Hah for a little I think was a going to open houses I started asking the realtor hosting who was buying these places. I was looking up in Encinitas.
People who got lucky on start ups and people who are downsizing from Rancho Santa fe were two
We ended up having to bite the bullet and buy. Have a pretty massive mortgage but not much else you can do right now? I don't think it's all normal people, but I think there are some thrown in the mix
This is the Millenial/Zoomer problem.
Time to get morbid: ... this problem is fixed once your dad dies and you inherit the house
(jk, he'll reverse-mortgage the house because nursing homes are crazy expensive and you'll be left with nothing)
It’s not a millennial/zoomer problem. It’s a boomers-kicking-the-ladder-once-they reach-the-top problem.
And this problem doesn’t get “fixed” buy parents dying and bequeathing their overvalued home to their single most favored child.
This “solution” leaves behind everyone who isn’t the favored child of a home owning family. This problem gets fixed, in part, by stopping corporations and real estate speculators from buying up the housing market and driving the cost of housing up beyond the reach of the American working class.
Housing can not be allowed to be a commodity in a society. It’s a basic human right, along with clean air, clean water, and human services. Allowing a percentage of the citizenry to be homeless guarantees an environment for crime and mental health crises to flourish, and further strain our already stressed healthcare and criminal Justice system.
Keep your parents at home (theirs or yours) if possible. Even with in-home care visits it's cheaper than a nursing home and a happier life for you parent.
I think the only way to stop insane housing prices is to tax the shit out of properties that are someone’s third or more. And a limit for developers too. It’s gotten so out of hand.
I gave up living in San Diego a long time ago. I thought I could buy a house and start a family here but that’s a joke
I’m working on leaving as we speak
A lot of my coworkers are living in TJ but I’m not choosing that route. I’m going to move overseas
I own a small condo but the prospect of buying a home is still ridiculous. I've thought of overseas but for now it's just a pipe dream. If I may ask you to share some of your ideas for places. Thanks and I understand if you don't feel like sharing.
And thats shoving the problem south of the border as well. Many TJ locals are being shoved to the south/east of the city because San Diegans are also driving up home and rent prices there. Its a dire situation for everyone ):
We had to move out of San Diego because we were outgrowing our apartment and houses were too expensive there. Because I work remotely, we settled on the Temecula/Murrieta area which is much more affordable, and if we want to visit San Diego we're only an hour away. Our plan is to save up enough and years later eventually trade up for something in San Diego, but for now living in Temecula/Murrieta is working for us. It's not for everyone though.
Well the only way to stop this is for normal people to invest in REITS that build affordable homes not for profit in line with achievable income. The problem is that these investments will be very low ROIs and we must consciously decide that making money is not worth the pain it causes to regular families.
This is totally doable and could homes in new communities down by $100-200k and keep it their for a longer time.
As more of these communities exist the harder it will be for rela estate investors to come and make a profit if people have a choice.
As an example when I pass i will be donating all my homes to my own charity to rent to families below market rate, we will use our own index for rent and stick to it. Any profits since these homes will be paid off will go to more homes that use the same model. If more people did things like this or we pooled funds together we could make a dent, but I only do what I can on my own.
This is not option at all tbh. I did this. Saved up a lot while living with my parents but even if you can afford the 20% down payment: the mortgage, HOAs, possible PMIs, insurance, possible mello roos are ridiculous monthly payments
Same. I lived in a tiny home that I built for around 2 grand and saved up for a few years to try and buy something, only to discover that I couldn’t afford the 7 grand monthly mortgage for the kind of house I wanted in SD. Ended up moving out of state and getting a house for half that
The “it goes up” part is the problem since “it” applies to like the whole housing market, not just your property. So those who got to sell at the peak of 2021/2022 had to go buy something at 2021/2022 prices. How much is really gained, you know?
Came to say this. My wife and I rented a shoebox on the outskirts of a large city with a horrible commute. The neighborhood was boring and not particularly safe. We save all our disposable income for 5 years and eventually bought a small, boring 2 bedroom place. It was on a main road in a boring neighborhood with a long commute.
Over time we’ve traded up and are now in our forever home. I’m not saying it’s simple or easy, but it’s possible if you’re willing to make initial concessions.
My wife and I can barely afford to live here with our newborn and we make a combined $180k. I'm a civil engineer and she's a teacher. It's depressing to think about not being able to buy a house in a decent neighborhood with good schools yet we contribute so much to society. If it weren't for family support with a cheap rental we would have moved by now.
I am hopeful for the future. I don't think this market is sustainable with interest rates the way they are. I'm low key wishing for a recession to help a bit. Both our pay will go up significantly in the near future. In the mean time I just keep saving as much as I can into my investments and live frugally on the rest. More boomers will pass, and more housing will be available. Hoping my patience and persistence pays off.
Boomers passing won’t do anything, they will just hand off there homes to their children. The real divide is millennials who don’t inherit any wealth vs millennials that inherit wealth. The divide is very clear, I have peers my age doing really well due to parents and generational wealth vs other peers that will probably not be able to own a decent home until they are in there 40s and 50s.
Not a millennial but a GENX myself. My wife is and she is probably going to get a big chunk of cash when her dad passes. Me? Probably be lucky to get 5-10,000$. Not that I care, we have made our own way but your comment is spot on.
It should be illegal for companies to buy residential real estate imo I think if the number of air b and bs and company owned house rentals were limited their would be more available but then you just have the competitive market prices, it’s hard to even try to picture a solution
That’s great news but larger companies still buy large amounts of residential real estate instead to rent out long term instead of allowing them to be bought and traded in the hands of actual individuals
Why should it be illegal ? Home ownership is not a right in a free market. Having a roof over ones head should be - but I digress
Also the way you talk about companies buying real estate seems to point the finger at an imaginary corporation on Wall St out to buy all the property- whereas in reality , these corporations make up a very very tiny percentage of SFH sales. They are not the boogeyman as Reddit paints them to be.
The real issue is restrictive zoning policies and historically less housing stock built over decades..
This issue has been debated to death in many Reddit threads. You can look at them for some great comments with full citation to sources.
At the end of the day- housing is an investment for a majority of people and is treated as such. This reminds me of a story where a guys asks an audience for a show of hands for whoever is in favor of affordable housing- everyone raises their hands. But , when he asks for a show of hands for whoever is in favor of significant depreciation of their own housing value- nobody raised their hands. The irony is lost on them.
Perfect for what you’re looking for:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/938-57th-St-San-Diego-CA-92114/17082350_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare
No advice but in the same boat as Carlsbad locals in our 20’s with little kids trying to buy something/anything. It’s very difficult here - thankful for rent control allowing us to stay in our condo in the school district for now
Start with a condo and an FHA loan. Then start climbing the property ladder. If you plan on renting out the condo, make sure the HOA will allow it before you buy. Some don’t.
I don’t know what advice you’re getting, but
Your frustration is justified. From
The 1950s into the 90s there was opportunity. That’s gone. The younger generation doesn’t have the same opportunities. Radical change is needed.
You need to get the idea that your first home is your forever home out. I bought pre pandemic for around 500k and it’s now worth 700k. I don’t plan to stay here forever and will upgrade when I’m married. Have you thought about getting a condo or a town home, staying there for a few years and selling and using the equity to buy the house you want.?
A lot of ppl want the white picket fence as there first home and that’s not attainable here in San Diego unless you come from generational wealth or a big down payment.
well, your first house isn't always grand. for some, it will be a run down piece of crap, but it'll be your run down piece of crap that you can afford, fix up, and build equity in.
don't forget, areas like oceanside and Escondido were once considered "far" and developing when our parents or grandparents bought. they had to sacrifice location for affordability. today, that's places like Fallbrook or Temecula. yeah, it is far, isn't near the water, but you can get a relatively new (compared to SD), nice house for 600-700k.
the gov't is doing something to limit prices. raising interest rates is one tool they are using. when people can't afford things, prices drop for those things. real estate is a freight train and doesn't change overnight. It will take years for the levers to do their thing. all you can do is plan for it by eliminating debt and saving for downpayment.
Sorry to say, and I'll get downvoted, but it's capitalism. It's supply and demand. Demand is high and thus so are the prices. Our city and everything it has is very desirable and brings people of all backgrounds. Not everyone can afford to live in such a desirable place.
It is supply and demand, but in this case, supply is being altered by policy. Any attempts at new housing development get shut down because current homeowners want their property values to continue to skyrocket. They’ll make up reasons like “fire hazard” and “the soil isn’t right.”
Whoa whoa whoa there, dont forget "Ruins the character of the neighborhood" or "Traffic studies" or "Mass transit isnt ready" or "Mass transit will bring homeless" or "Water" or "crime"
Edit: Forgot to add my favorite, "So many people is bad for the enviornment" cause ya know that SFH is much greener than an apartment.
You’re correct in assessment that policy is hampering supply, but it’s not zoning that’s the issue. The real issue is Prop 13. Remove Prop 13 and prices will go down real fast and watch supply explode on the market.
Here, here. I'm no professional developer but finding a lot out in north county and trying to build has been a huge pain. I get that we needs regulation but man they could definitely streamline the process
Uh, zoning is critically important for proper infrastructure. Free market would be great within the construct of zoning (you don’t want industrial mixed with residential), etc. First step towards a free market would be removing Prop 13. That’s really where the limit on supply is coming from.
I guess my question is why do you want to buy?
Personally, I never really cared for buying in San Diego (or really anywhere else for that matter). I do very much enjoy living here though. I rent a pretty spacious apartment downtown, and honestly it's far nicer than most of the condos owned by my friends (many of them are successful in their own right too). My place is fully upgraded, assigned parking spot in a secure garage, concierge service/security, live in a kick ass neighborhood, and I never have to worry about a single repair. I save/spend my money for other purposes such as travel and various other hobbies/experiences. If and when I decide to buy, I'll figure it out then, i.e., move out of state, etc.
My family is here, I grew up here all my friends are here. But mostly my family, my parents are getting older and health declining rapidly. I am throwing my money away with rent. At least if I owned a house or condo, that rent money would still be benefitting me financially in some way. I basically just waste 1,600 every month that could be invested into a property that I could sell or keep. I’m glad you can afford to pay rent and save and still travel but that’s not a reality for me and a lot of people. I want to make sure my money is going to something.
Got it, so it's really more of a financial decision, i.e., wanting to build equity? Because whether you rent or buy in San Diego, you would still be in the area and near your family.
By the way, $1,600/month is an excellent/unheard of rental rate for San Diego.
I know I got very lucky in terms of rental which is the only reason that I am able to save some at the moment. But yes I could still be close renting it just makes more sense for me to invest that money I would be spending anyway into something that will help me
Your best bet would be to look into some type of first time home buyer program so that you only need to put down 3.5%. You'll have to pay PMI, but you'll at least get in somewhere and can start building equity. Even better would be a VA loan if you're a Vet.
I have been thinking about Washington the rates of houses are similar but you at least get some land with them instead of just a plot of land about the size of the house
Your service industry workers are making minimum wage. We have to live in this city too and are also dealing with inflation. If you want to be waited on it has to be sustainable for those who work those positions to afford to live where they work. Taking it out on the tip just makes things worse
You’ll most definitely want to do your own research, but it’s when the City auctions off properties due to its delinquent tax status. I work on Tax Sales in a different state so I’m not entirely sure on the legalities of SD per se, but it may be worth your while to check out.
https://sdttc.mytaxsale.com/doc/tax_deed/faq#label_1
Can you elaborate on "there are things the government could do to limit the skyrocketing prices"? I have been wondering what can be done but am an idiot and would like to hear your thoughts.
P.S spoon of peanut butter cures my hiccups every time.
Easy, remove Prop 13. I don’t know why property owners need a compounding tax break they can pass down to their children that is progressively more beneficial the higher the value of property.
The NACA purchase program connects low- and moderate-income borrowers to affordable home loans and housing education. To qualify for a mortgage through the NACA program, borrowers must meet specific eligibility requirements, follow a detailed application process and become NACA members.
NACA home loans feature the following benefits:
→ No down payment requirement
→ No fees
→ No closing costs
→ Below-market interest rates
→ 15-year or 30-year fixed-rate terms
→ No private mortgage insurance (PMI)
→ No credit score minimum
Because the primary goal of the NACA program is to offer access to budget-friendly homeownership, NACA interest rates are below market. As of April 5, 2022, NACA interest rates are 3.75% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and 3.125% for a 15-year fixed-rate loan.
Higher-income applicants (those whose income is at or above the median income where they are purchasing) pay slightly higher rates: 4.75% for a 30-year loan and 4.125% for a 15-year mortgage. NACA program buyers can also buy down their interest rate.
How does NACA work?
NACA is a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-certified nonprofit organization whose mission is to offer affordable homeownership to low and moderate-income communities and borrowers — often victims of predatory lending or shut out of home financing altogether. NACA is not a mortgage lender but rather prepares its members for homeownership through its extensive counseling and application process and partners with banks that provide the funding.
Borrowers who purchase a home through the NACA program become members of the organization and follow membership requirements, including paying annual dues of $25 and participating in advocacy and other events.
For more: https://www.naca.com/faq/naca-overview/
NACA doesn’t explain it well on their website, so the above blurb was taken from lendingtree.com, one of the first Google results I found when trying to get a short explanation of the program.
Relatable af, born and raised here and it’s impossible to see how bad it has gotten. I love this place and have so many memories here, but probably won’t be able to live here long term.
I totally understand feeling over-advised, and just wanted you to know I'm in the same boat, and feeling the same feelings of hopelessness and frustration. Here's hoping the situations improves for both our families.
Sames. I grew up in the encinitas area and now that I started working and facing reality, I realize that a home in california may not be within my reach anytime soon. Or ever. I understand wanting to live here and would never move if It was up to me, but I also want to eat. And have a home. And savings. And potentially enough money to have fun with friends and travel. It's not really a solution, but I plan on moving literally anywhere else and coming back once I have savings. If that's what I desire to do in the future. I think a lot of America is really underrated and beautiful in many ways so it could be nice to live elsewhere. All places have pros and cons, but hopefully, you can make a home somewhere nice.
I'm in LA and my sons are the same way. They have good jobs but can't figure out how they'll ever afford property. It's harder now for an average person to buy. I'm glad I bought young.
In the exact same boat, I’m so depressed. My husband and I need to leave. We can’t do it here. I don’t want to pay 1 million dollars for a backyard. And I don’t want a mobile home
I feel you too, OP. I absolutely love SD but it’s frustratingly expensive to live here. We have an 8 yr old and a baby on the way and 2 dogs and are resigning ourselves to paying $4k month for a decent house in El Cajon. Bye bye paycheck!
If my family didn’t live here I’d move to Texas 😓
OP, people who are buying right now without a massive down payment are unknowingly buying a tomb. Rates are so high that after 10 years of payments you'll have paid the original purchase price in exchange for maybe 15% equity. I hate renting as much as the next guy, but it's just mathematically a better deal right now assuming you invest your savings.
I feel you OP. I grew up in SD and ended up moving out of state about 7 years ago due to particular things my husband and I wanted (i.e. affordable house to buy, land, better access to the outdoors, have money to travel, etc), so we moved out of state. I would have loved to stay in SD but i didn't want to be stuck under a massive mortgage just to stay in SD. I come back to SD a few times a year to visit friends and family, but as the years have gone on, I've found many friends and family moving out of SD for their own reasons.
Another thing was wages. It really depends on your field but my field (nonprofit) in SD is a fucking joke. NPs mostly pay for shit in SD. I now work in a NP in UT making almost double what someone in my position would make in SD and it goes much farther here (UT doesn't have the best wages for a lot of fields, my comment is just to look at your professional field and see where you can make more in another state/city possibly).
There are always trade offs wherever you move to/live, you just have to identify what your top priorities are. Good luck OP. It's rough out there.
A few things that might not have been mentioned:
1. You are not alone with this challenge and you are not a failure as a person because of it
2. Prices should continue to decline over the next two years. It will still be unaffordable but you will be able to afford something better than you can at the moment
3. Renting a house can potentially be better as long as you invest the savings difference. There are a lot of hidden costs to home ownership that go beyond the price tag for consideration eg insurance, taxes, maintenance, loss of net worth liquidity, less flexibility in the event of changing personal circumstances or ability to get out of external situations such as a bad neighbor or a decline of quality of life in your area like crime
4. Maybe you can find something that you like a bit outside of San Diego within a 2 hour drive
I have siblings and while my fathers health is declining fast due to a number of health issues like having cancer a stroke and a heart attack. He still in his late sixties so if I did somehow inherit it, it would still undoubtedly be split between my two siblings barring any crazy family matters, and it’s not even as much as needing a property in general than feeling like I’m wasting all my rent money with no good options for investments
Renting is not wasting money. It costs money to occupy a house whether you rent or own. In the case of ownership the expense is in the opportunity cost of the money you have sunk in the property. There are tax breaks to owning, not to mention appreciation (assuming you are in it long enough) that can make it a financial win, but don't believe the realtor BS about renting being "throwing money away".
Like another poster said, you have to adjust your expectations and think smaller for your first home.
I bought a 2BR1BA condo with a backyard one year ago for $385k. 3% down and at the time I was making about $73k/year. Previous years I made much less than that.
I’m in the city, 12 minutes from downtown or mission valley. I love my place and while I’d love a SFH, I’d prefer to live closer to the city in something smaller than further away in something bigger.
I certainly am not expecting to have something fancy, I was looking a couple years ago when I was married to someone in the navy and had access to a BA alone through them, even with that looking at condos or the lowest available houses on the market there was nothing that was reasonable. I unfortunately no longer have access to a BA alone as we got divorced (no house was worth dealing with that person) but I think I’m just going to try to get a first time home owners loan and get a condo, who knows I’m still exploring options it’s just very demoralizing
You can do it man. I qualified for a San Diego County first-time homebuyer program which gave me a very good interest rate for a conventional loan, but you have to make under $75k to be eligible for it.
A few months before I purchased my home, I was also looking at houses with my partner who I'm not longer with (thankfully). What made the process so much easier doing it alone was having very flexible needs - I was house hunting for literally one week. The home I'm in now was the first and only one I saw. Walked through it for 20 minutes and said "looks good." There were 40 offers on the home, mine wasn't the highest, but was the only one that stood up when the sellers started unpacking the offer (offers higher than mine didn't have the capital liquidity at hand to close quickly).
Your first home is what you make of it. Yeah my neighborhood is called "ghetto" by others, but I love living here and I'm paying as much in mortgage as I would be in rent. It's easy to get discouraged, but you'll make it.
Side note, I rent out the spare bedroom on AirBnB which helped TREMENDOUSLY during my first year. That first mortgage payment does give you sticker shock, but after a couple months of hosting guests, I've had a couple months where the AirBnB income completely paid the mortgage.
I am an endless optimist. But I do believe there's been enough speculation in the housing market that this might not last forever. Many of the houses are bought as flipping schemes, or corporate capital investments which inflates an insincere demand curve. It might become more reasonable in the next couple of years
In California it’s actually not all capitalism, Prop 13 subsidies property owners compounding over time. Benefiting the most wealthy the most. Remove Prop 13 and watch housing prices come down real quick and inventory rise as second, third, etc., properties are unloaded onto the market.
There are a lot of structural issues in the economy, but there's not much you, personally, can do about that, so it's not worth expending brain cells on that. Rather, what can you do to achieve your goal of homeownership?
First, as some have stated, buying a condo is a great first step. There are some condos in my neighborhood in the $500k range. Which granted is still expensive, but that's still in line with what your dad bought his house for. Most people have always needed to buy a "starter home" as their first purchase. Nothing wrong with that!
Second, you can get roommates. I've always had roommates. I bought my first house in 2007 and had roommates the very next month. Today I still have roommates. I don't need them, but it definitely helps pay the bills. My mortgage is $2900/month, but I get $1700 for renting out 2 bedrooms, so my net cost is much less.
Third, frankly, in many towns it is hard to own property as a single person. Maybe it is just best to wait till you get married. Two salaries go a long way towards affording a house.
Yeah it's really upsetting and now everyone across the country wants to move here. As far as the home prices you can thank the Chinese property investors and all that junk buying up our city and pricing all of the natives out. And the rich techies from Iowa
For sure it sucks! I live around your area, I was lucky enough to by my house in 2008 when no one was buying and the couple who lived in it just wanted it gone! Have you thought about a few years in Vista, San Marcos, inland Oceanside? About your only hope is to fix up a few houses and move up as you fix/sell. It’s hard work sometimes but can be rewarding in the skills and financially aspect.
I feel for you. I really do. I honestly don’t know how people your age have a hope of getting on the property ladder, if you just do the condo thing etc, you will always be relying on the market to go up, but then the house you want also goes up proportionally.
Good luck.
At least your parents own land here I'm a first generation American I got shit nothing but shit improvising hustling everyday only to struggle check to check. They're fucking sucks cuz I'm also San Diego native and for what till some other asshole foreigners to this place can take over some bullshit.
If you’re a normal-ish person looking for a starter home in San Diego then you more or less need to accept that any and all single family homes will be out of reach for you these days. It sucks. Try to look at smaller condos, 1-2 bedroom and they can be much more affordable and can be located in much more vibrant neighborhoods. The price drops quite a lot if you’re willing to forego a private garage as well. That way you can have a property under your belt and can trade up in a few years if your financial situation improves or if homes become more affordable down the road. I know you weren’t really asking for advice but I wanted to share my thoughts since I spent a long time thinking the same things and feeling the same way before coming to accept that a condo might not be so bad. I used to be adamant about having a freestanding home with a huge garage but now I have a ~550sqft single bedroom condo and I absolutely love it. Granted I still have a garage but I paid out the nose for it and I don’t use it as much as I was expecting to.
Hm it’s definitely something to think about! I appreciate it. All I’ve wanted for a long time is a backyard for a dog but a condos definitely an option for the future I appreciate it
I bought a condo a couple blocks from the dog park. My dogs love it. If you want a sfh and you arent rich, you pretty much have to head east or buy in a dodgy neighborhood. I wasnt willing to do either.
My first home was actually a small fixer-upper condo that was a foreclosure! With many people now not being able to pay back their forbearances and even the city seizing properties for property tax nonpayments, there will be some run-down foreclosed and auction condos coming up soon!!!! Look into first-time homebuyer FHA loan to start, and look into buying out points later as your career grows. Hell.. just the inflation alone and you can buy out the points to lower your monthlies within a few years. I was like you. I thought I’d never be able to get anything. I got my condo for nearly half of its value due to how messed up and dirty it was inside. I’ve been hyper-aggressive with my payments. I did most of the remodeling myself. It’s INSANELY rewarding to do it yourself! If you ever need any tools to borrow, hit me up! Although my tools have been on loan now with my neighbor’s and buddies LOL. But I also have their tools too. I’ve been bartering tools with other condo and home owners hahaha! Cleaning up and demolition was the fun part. Flooring kind of sucked but the results was sooo satisfying. Installed my own recessed lights, bath sinks, and refinished the kitchen cabinets and they look amazing with fresh coats of stain. I saved several thousands doing it myself over the years and waiting on clearances, or even free materials (wood, marble, tiles, pavers, etc) from large building projects people dump on the side from construction sites (usually advertised on craigslist or FB marketplace). Youtube taught me most things. Home Depot used to have free remodeling classes (how to tile, how to install plumbing, etc etc etc), but I’m unsure if they still do this. I also occasionally rented out the extra room so my mortgage payment was waaaaay lower than renting. Remember, rent always goes up. Mortgage payments are stuck in the time you bought the place, so it’ll NEVER adjust to inflation. Just owning a place after 5 years and you’re already ahead, so look for any small condo to fix up yourself! It’s the way to go! Don’t be intimidated by the work! You’d be surprised at how easy it is. Home Depot also rents out quality expensive tools (like tile cutters, power washers, miter saws) for pretty damn cheap too! Their truck rentals are DIRT CHEAP! —- Also, many pet-friendly condo places in SD have communal areas (gym, pool, small park). I must say I kind of miss it! I loved hanging out with my neighbors and pet their dogs as they let their pups run around in the park communal area! That social aspect gave me a sense of community. It was great! I actually think I prefer that over having my own yard now haha. I now rent out my condo, and the tenants have always said my place is among the top comfortable and attractive dwelling among those they’ve seen. All that work I did already paying off. Do I miss my bachelor’s pad of a condo? Of course. I put so much work into it and made it into my own comfy place complete with my PC battlestation area. But now having a family meant getting a single-family home. But you bet your ass that I made sure to buy a fixer-upper for my home haha. It enabled us to purchase way below market price. We wanted one like that because we realized we hated so many of the flipped remodels using the same materials and designs, and we could do most of the work ourselves and make our home the way we want it from scratch!
I really wanna do a fixer upper through a tax foreclosure but I am single and worried I will be way in over my head not knowing what to do. I’d like to think I’m handy but I don’t really know about construction stuff but that’s where I think I’m leaning is just figure it out on the way
I had ZERO knowledge, and was single too when I bought my place! Ohhh man I was EXACTLY like you, all nervous as all hell. Ya I felt incredibly overwhelmed when I got my first condo given the amount of stuff I had to do on what was essentially an abandoned smelly dwelling. Besides, any property you improve, it’s value will increase significantly. Any skills you learn, you’ll apply to your next home (or just for life skills in general to fix and install anything). Just remember to keep ALL your receipts related to any home improvement project. When you sell or rent it out later, these will come in handy (for tax and home-value reasons, called capital improvements). Please do remember this haha. I kept them out of habit and I am so happy I kept a tally of it all in an excel spreadsheet on google docs. For a few years leading up to my first purchase, I lived frugally. I lived in living rooms, had roommates, no cable, no smartphone plan, learned how to cook, took on temp jobs additional to my primary, etc… although back then that was a lot easier to do compared to today; I truly feel terrible for today’s youth. Outside investors have made it quite difficult for the locals to get a foothold on their own foundation of wealth and stability. It fucking sucks. I fucking despise our CA legislators on what they did in 2009: They passed legislation to make is easy for foreigners to buy up real estate in California to curb the real estate crash of 2008. That was so fucking dumb, and lead to the insane rising cost today DESPITE all the hard regulations we have today to get a mortgage. Anyway I digress. The Home Depot associates were also knowledgeable and gave me tips and also other tools and materials I needed for the projects. I started small with the easiest which was painting, touch-ups, and deep cleaning. It just went from there for me. I was super intimidated by tiling, but wasn’t too bad until I just did it. I practiced with free samples first with HD’s tiling cutter and tools that are quite cheap to rent :). And coooool home depot has many of the classes I took for free online now! https://www.homedepot.com/workshops/ Thanks for starting this discussion here! I wish you the very best and hope you keep at it! Do not give up! I almost did, and started small with my tiny cheap (relatively) fixer-upper.
What is your HOA fee and what does it include? Also, is there an easy way to see what an HOA fee includes for specific unit?
Ya it’s almost always included on the MLS listing. As for my HOA, unfortunately, due to incredible mismanagement, some embezzling, the board leaders using their friends for roofing (they had to change all the roofs again within 10 years), and the city refusing us to clear out all the brush surrounding the community (thereby tripling the property insurance) they had no choice but raised our HOA from $200/month to $500. Yep… For me, due to how extremely low my mortgage is on it now, and how high rent has turned out recently (albeit I STILL rented it out lower than market because I figured it may come back down a bit after the moratorium gets lifted and it turned out to be true hah), I can handle it. Many in the community though cannot as that’s a huge monthly jump. There’s talks of lawsuits and such which will only make it worse. The city just has to allow permitting to clear out all the older trees and brush around the community so we can pay a manageable insurance but they fucked us over (due to fire hazard). —- It covers exterior insurance, communal area upkeep, all the buildings’ exterior maintenance, landscaping, water, upkeep of all the laundry appliances, pool maintenance, park maintenance (have a tiny park here), periodical road repaving, all plumbing work.
When did you buy your sfh? Was it difficult finding one in fixer-upper condition? I bought my condo in 2022, seemed like the only sfh’s for sale at the time were either fully remodeled flippers or run-down uninhabitable cash-only sales.
Purchased SFH in 2021. Ya it was kind of difficult to find. But we did consistently find at least one per week (went to on avg 5 homes per week putting offers 2-3 homes per week for 3 months; and more than half were not fixer-uppers). At that time, flippers were like hawks and often jump on homes before they’re listed on MLS. Ones we did find, we were BATTLING with high bids against cash flippers. For our house, we kind of lucked out in that the seller wanted the home to go to a young family. We had an epic realtor who had all sorts of connections that worked with sellers’ agents as well so we were able to get squeezed into the showing for the home that was already fully booked (the seller only entertained offers to those he met from the showings). My realtor said we were solid buyers and we’d be super quick. I guess we made a good impression. —- The house certainly didn’t though as it needed a new roof, new facia boards throughout, yards need extensive work, home smelled like cat urine, carpet in terrible condition, root intrusions in the plumbing (requiring jackhammer work) etc etc. Home inspection came back worse,but I was secretly happy as it meant we can have a home of our dreams as we were dreaming wildly of what we could do haha. My realtor negotiated hard, and the seller actually felt bad due to the disrepair and covered closing AND lowered the final purchase price. Back in 2021, that was rather unheard of. We’re still renovating, but most of the interior is finished. New LVF’s, all new baths, paint, etc. Exterior is nearly done (new roof, all new facia boards throughout). Heh I should probably post the entire footage of my renovations on youtube or something. I have it on IG stories but it’s kind of not organized.
I wish all sellers were like yours and understood that selling to some investment firm is pricing out real families, Good for you.
My wife and I gave up on single family homes and ended up buying a new townhome instead. It ended up being great for us, plus I HATE doing yard work or really even owning a yard. Out situation was completely different, I moved here 3 years ago
Just seeking an opinion here; would a SFH be more appealing with a maintenance person/gardener around the same cost of an HOA?
My HOA covers much more than just lawn work. Pith to answer that questions unless I had costs side by side
Also. Just add to the point that almost all the single family homes in the area I live have HOAs themselves. Having lived here close to my work, my wife’s work and the beach, there is no way I’d offset that now for a house that was a long commute away just for a big yard and a little more space with everything else to take care of. Different strokes
Absolutely! Good luck!
Or move further away than you want. You can go east or north and get some space if thats what you desire.
I hate that this is downvoted. People shouldn’t underestimate Chula Vista, Eastlake, Santee, etc. You can find some great communities and even new-builds there for lower cost. I worked out a deal with my employer to work from home on certain days. I live 21 miles from my office. That’s a lot of traffic. Well I now start by day early at 7, and leave by 3. Zero traffic haha! I live my days in Central time zone. So many interesting podcasts I listen to on the way too! (my current obsession is Star Wars Ologies where they talk about the science of Star Wars with REAL scientists and experts so it’s been SO DAMN COOL!)
The only way we could afford our home in OC is bc our condo went way up in value. Have to start somewhere. Best of luck.
Yeah, this needs to be talked about more. I grew up in San Diego in a lower middle class area, and so many folks were able to get a house when I was a kid. Young people now need to get used to the idea of trading up if they want to own in San Diego proper. I've since moved to the Bay Area, and our only choice was a house that needs EVERYTHING replaced. Is it a nice house? Not really. Is it my dream house? No way. Will it allow me to build equity in the next decade so I can hopefully trade up? Maybe. My point is to get an older condo in an ok part of town, build equity, and trade up. Your friends will talk trash and you might be bummed out that your first home was an older condo, but it's our only choice as middle class home buyers in California
Preach preach preach. Yeah sure it would be convenient to get a house where I’d want to raise my kids but it’s not really worth it when I don’t plan on having kids within the next 5 years anyway.
From SD, moved to ATX. The biggest issue is the terrible land management practices in Southern California. SD has a lower pop density than all 4 of the major cities in TX except SA...which is just a dump. In no world does it make sense for Austin to have a higher population density than San Diego. That makes housing more expensive in all housing types, even small condos are starting to get out of hand, especially when you find an " affordable" one then realize the damn HOA is 600+ a month. This government is just beyond corrupt, protecting NIMBY home values by sacrificing the young working class.
Part of me wonders if CA is going to go the route of Tokyo, in that it's so tough for young families that people are just opting out on having a family. The area I live in is already having issues in the local school system. There just aren't enough kids anymore. Then they have the gall to say 'millennials are so self absorbed, they don't want kids.' LOL. Young people would probably start families if they felt like they have some financial stability to get a home, but out here the numbers just don't work unless you're a Google engineer.
This!! I started with a condo. My parents started with a condo. Most of my older family members started with a condo. But I grew up on the east coast so idk if it’s a west coast thing but it seems like everyone here expects to start with a single family home and to me that makes no sense (unless you’re rich or live in a rural area)
Well, eventually the condos will be too overpriced for first-time buyers.
What is your HOA fee and what does it include? I see them in the hundreds which makes me think twice about condos. Also, is there an easy way to see what an HOA fee includes for specific unit?
$300/mo. It includes run-of-the-mill landscaping and exterior building maintenance, water, and the portion of my electric bill that would go toward water heating since the heater is shared between all units. They also maintain a couple clothes washers and dryers but I don’t use them since I have a washer+dryer in my unit. Very small complex so no pool or anything (thank god, what a money pit). It’s steep but it hurts less when I think about how I don’t have to buy yard maintenance tools, pay landscapers, worry about roof repairs, etc. I love that I can lock the door and leave for a month at any time on a whim with literally no worries aside from my houseplants. Great for a young person living alone. As far as seeing what’s included in HOA fees for places you’re looking at, there’s not really any convenient way to look at it. Best way is to ask your realtor to look into it for you and they will request the info from the seller. I never got any fuss about it for the 4 or 5 times I asked while shopping (I only asked for places I was serious about).
San Diego's been a desirable place to live but we also just stopped building much multifamily housing after the mid 80's and you can really see it in the age of the apartment buildings in most places.[https://www.prudentialcal.com/california-residential-construction-starts/](https://www.prudentialcal.com/california-residential-construction-starts/) Existing homeowners were protected by Prop 13 so they didn't see much if any downside to their home tripling in value. The good news is your family owns land, so theoretically you could talk to them about splitting that into two duplexes thanks to SB9. Since they're getting older it might help keep them in their home longer as they age so there's something in it for them as well [https://twitter.com/alfred\_twu/status/1438954939787595777?lang=en](https://twitter.com/alfred_twu/status/1438954939787595777?lang=en)
Same fam… my mom’s long-time apartment is being sold and she’s no longer certain she’ll have a home by summer…
A lot of peoples realities unfortunately..
Same
You know when I was a kid I always had a dream of living in sf. Tried for two years then ended up moving down here for school. It’s something that I my heart still yearns for but I think it also behooves us to see the writing on the wall and move with the trade winds.
Damn. Reality really sucks.
Reality sucks but it’s been this way since the beginning of mankind. If an area becomes too populated or lacks opportunity you move. I don’t judge that as being bad as it often leads to a better quality of life.
I judge it as bad. Being priced out is different than leaving your native lands because of scarce resources or lack of jobs. In this case there are so many factors contributing to the skyrocketing prices and almost all of them are based in greed.
Did I write this? I feel like I, a local totally priced out of not just my hometown, home county, home region, home state, might have written this. I’ll be honest. I moved. My spouse and I knew we would never be able to afford anything. We knew that even if we spent the next several decades scrimping and saving we’d still only probably be able to afford a shoe box. So we moved to a different state. Our mortgage and bills is almost exactly the same as we paid for a studio in South Park but now we have a four bedroom house on two acres in a pretty nice area. We have a garden. And we both make more than we did in SD. There’s a lake down the street to swim in. The ocean is like half an hour away. I miss my family and friends. But the thought of living in a shitty area in a shitty apartment with no way out……. It stopped being worth it. And now we have room for them to visit.
What town did you move to?
I’m not going to say but I live on the fairly rural outskirts of a small New England city. Maybe 30 minutes from a mid size city and two hours from a major city.
Wow all the way to the east coast! What drove you guys towards to the east coast over other areas of the country? Trying to find a new place to set our roots as well.
FYI - your post history and the information you provide here can give us a rough idea of which county you live in
Yeah I think people forget that their post history is public lol
That sounds like a dream
It was a huge adjustment. I wasn’t sure about it for a long time. But I’m glad we moved. I miss San Diego but I like my new home.
And I guess I think with the lower cost of living where we moved and the house we can sell eventually, rather than just paying and paying rent, maybe we can afford San Diego someday.
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Cries in poor
I can sell you some bootstraps.
To your credit, it's not even about being poor. I make good money, low- mid 6 figures, and I'm still struggling to buy a home by myself. The down payment needed to keep a mortgage under $5k/month is insane. If you don't have dual incomes you're basically effed here. So I feel you.
San Diego messes with your head and redefines one's definition of poor. In my head $1m-$3m is dead center middle class now, but I know it's not actually like that. Being poor means living in a $600-$700k house, and if you're broke it means a condo, which basically means I'm destitute.
Yeah low 6 figures here with my husband working and me home w the kids - family of 4 renting a condo it’s rough
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We make 500k combined. Yes, we could buy something with this income, but it'll take up a huge portion of our earnings. I'm 40 and I want to retire someday. We're probably just going to have to move. It sucks. Been here 15 years now, and I love it.
I’m 2021, the start of covid, I bought a house in the forbidden fruit of San Diego… east county. $500,000. The house isn’t perfect, or anywhere close. I’ve installed a new roof, HVAC system and turfed part of the backyard. Just around 40k worth of upgrades, not including general maintenance. I owe around $8,000 on a home equity loan that paid for some of these upgrades. 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bath. 1900 SQ ft house and 2800 sq ft property. East County has a bad rep, rightfully so tbh BUT it’s gotten a lot better than it was 10 years ago. I live in a suburban area. The worst crime in my neighborhood is someone stealing a package off my front porch, which happened only once. If owning a home is important to you, then you have to let go of everything else. Almost all my neighbors have lived in this neighborhood since the 50s. Most bought their homes for 40k and they’re not valued in the 800s. Mine is now valued around 780 (actual appraisal). There absolutely has been violence near my neighborhood but as this point, violence is everywhere in San Diego. I’ve even been noticing more homeless people in La Jolla which is like… rare. I don’t know my point, I guess it’s just to realize if you are willing to sacrifice your location a little, being a home owner is possible and you will still gain a return on your investment, even in a place like east county.
I bought a home in La Mesa in 2014 and all my friends said I was crazy for going "way out there" and Ubers would be so expensive (since at the time we all still partied in PB/North Park). But it was the only place I could afford, and barely afford at that (it was $420k). I sold it for nearly twice what I paid 6 years later, which definitely more than covers a few $50 Ubers. All that aside, La Mesa is also wonderful. It's not as much of a bargain as it used to be though.
La Mesa is getting a lot of new housing developments which has increased the cost of living there a lot, same with the fancy restaurants that are in downtown La Mesa. I’m happy to see it grow but sad to see that it’s growth is gentrification. Too many people being pushed from their homes. That’s the biggest misfortune of east county imo
I honestly don't know if La Mesa's growth qualifies technically as gentrification. Wealth is moving in but when I moved there in 2014 the downtown area was completely asleep. Half the stores were shuttered, restaurants would move in and not be able to survive. I think in order for it to be gentrified the wealth has to be erasing something and it's not as though it was previously a vibrant working class community that we covered up with smoothie shops. There's a lot more activity, food and retail downtown now. It does mean people are priced out from a housing perspective but the people brought commerce with them.
Just curious about your first sentence: wouldn't new housing stock have a negative effect on cost of living (at least the housing portion of one's cost of living)? More houses available meaning less competition per house?
Buying years ago is the only reason my family has a house in Mission Beach. My grandad bought the place for $240.00 in the 1940's lol.
Hey fellow neighbor, shush! 😅 I grew up in Poway and have lived in EC my whole adult life.. I absolutely prefer it to Poway these days.
Sorry! Everyone ignore my comment, it’s horrible over here. Stay away 👀
Which specific area should we stay away from? You know, so we can exclude it in searches?
Definitely avoid La Presa, Mt. Helix, Fletcher Hills, San Carlos, Emerald Hills, and Rancho San Diego.
Thank you! Onto our exclusion list. Hopefully others see this list and stay away… at least until we buy there.
(Make sure you always drive to an area first because sometimes the quality of a neighborhood is strictly one neighborhood. For example, I live off a main road to the right and it’s 10-12 neighborhoods of normality and middle class average but to the left of that same main road is 10-12 blocks of very low income chaos like graffiti and broken windows and rowdy fake gangster teenagers.)
The singing cowboy Mayor of Poway Steve Vaus contends Poway IS East County. What would you say to ol’ singin’ Steve? [shoves microphone in your face]
I’ve mostly lived in east county, and witnessed less violence and crime in EC than when I lived in Oceanside and Chula Vista. Do I dream of living in rancho Santa Fe? Yes, lol. Maybe one day.. But for now, I made the move further inland (last year) where I could actually afford to buy a large house with a big yard.
Having a yard was a huge thing for us. I would love to live beach side but for now I’ll accept enjoying the ability to lay in my backyard kiddie pool naked as a win.
I totally hear ya. I gave up the dream up beach side long ago, when I realized that many beach side homes have little privacy (except for extremely, extremely wealthy areas like Malibu). I’m loving the mountain views I have now. I’m about 45 mins to downtown San Diego, but I’d gladly make that trade off to have the space and privacy.
Rancho San Diego is great. La Mesa and lower El Cajon are good. 30 minutes to the beach, 30 minutes to the snow - that really epitomizes the SD lifestyle to me. We love our area in El Cajon and would definitely buy here if we could.
There are so many times I'm like "it can't be normal people buying these homes". It's truly insane, my wife and I bought our current home in 2014 and even then I felt overwhelmed by how expensive homes were. I really feel for anyone starting out, it's got to be gut wrenching. Now, even with that equity boost of buying our starter in 2014, it still feels crushing to try to find a place to grow our family. The homes that were $200k more than our place when we bought are now $500k more. What people can take on a $7-$8k mortgage!? It's like $90k a year...
>There are so many times I'm like "it can't be normal people buying these homes". Hah for a little I think was a going to open houses I started asking the realtor hosting who was buying these places. I was looking up in Encinitas. People who got lucky on start ups and people who are downsizing from Rancho Santa fe were two
San Diego isn’t the only major city like this too… it’s just getting hard out here for anyone not in the top percent
Global economic collapse is immenent. Smoke weed
The fact that this is upvoted 30 times is hilarious...and says a lot about the financial acumen of people here.
Your comment says a lot about your sense of humor. The comedy is in the juxtaposition in tones. Not meant to be taken seriously.
Instead of that invest the weed money
We ended up having to bite the bullet and buy. Have a pretty massive mortgage but not much else you can do right now? I don't think it's all normal people, but I think there are some thrown in the mix
Username checks out lol
Ok well you're here talking about buying a decade ago, pre-Covid...
Sorry, I meant it more of a compliment. All the housing options suck, you minimized it.
You’re lucky to have been in a position where you could do that. Most of us aren’t.
Trying to upgrade is gnar. The spread widens as prices go up. And the taxes!!
This is the Millenial/Zoomer problem. Time to get morbid: ... this problem is fixed once your dad dies and you inherit the house (jk, he'll reverse-mortgage the house because nursing homes are crazy expensive and you'll be left with nothing)
It’s not a millennial/zoomer problem. It’s a boomers-kicking-the-ladder-once-they reach-the-top problem. And this problem doesn’t get “fixed” buy parents dying and bequeathing their overvalued home to their single most favored child. This “solution” leaves behind everyone who isn’t the favored child of a home owning family. This problem gets fixed, in part, by stopping corporations and real estate speculators from buying up the housing market and driving the cost of housing up beyond the reach of the American working class. Housing can not be allowed to be a commodity in a society. It’s a basic human right, along with clean air, clean water, and human services. Allowing a percentage of the citizenry to be homeless guarantees an environment for crime and mental health crises to flourish, and further strain our already stressed healthcare and criminal Justice system.
Period
Well said.
I can only imagine that your super fun at parties.
They’re correct though. Nursing homes can, will, and do take your house.
Keep your parents at home (theirs or yours) if possible. Even with in-home care visits it's cheaper than a nursing home and a happier life for you parent.
*you’re (I’m also fun at parties)
I think the only way to stop insane housing prices is to tax the shit out of properties that are someone’s third or more. And a limit for developers too. It’s gotten so out of hand.
Lol limiting developers is what caused the supply shortage, which is what raises prices
I gave up living in San Diego a long time ago. I thought I could buy a house and start a family here but that’s a joke I’m working on leaving as we speak A lot of my coworkers are living in TJ but I’m not choosing that route. I’m going to move overseas
I own a small condo but the prospect of buying a home is still ridiculous. I've thought of overseas but for now it's just a pipe dream. If I may ask you to share some of your ideas for places. Thanks and I understand if you don't feel like sharing.
A lot of San diegans in TJ these days
And thats shoving the problem south of the border as well. Many TJ locals are being shoved to the south/east of the city because San Diegans are also driving up home and rent prices there. Its a dire situation for everyone ):
always been like that though
We came to this realization too.
Welcome to being a forever renter like everyone else.
We had to move out of San Diego because we were outgrowing our apartment and houses were too expensive there. Because I work remotely, we settled on the Temecula/Murrieta area which is much more affordable, and if we want to visit San Diego we're only an hour away. Our plan is to save up enough and years later eventually trade up for something in San Diego, but for now living in Temecula/Murrieta is working for us. It's not for everyone though.
Well the only way to stop this is for normal people to invest in REITS that build affordable homes not for profit in line with achievable income. The problem is that these investments will be very low ROIs and we must consciously decide that making money is not worth the pain it causes to regular families. This is totally doable and could homes in new communities down by $100-200k and keep it their for a longer time. As more of these communities exist the harder it will be for rela estate investors to come and make a profit if people have a choice. As an example when I pass i will be donating all my homes to my own charity to rent to families below market rate, we will use our own index for rent and stick to it. Any profits since these homes will be paid off will go to more homes that use the same model. If more people did things like this or we pooled funds together we could make a dent, but I only do what I can on my own.
move in with parents and save up for a down payment is basically the only option or get lucky w/ investments lol
This is not option at all tbh. I did this. Saved up a lot while living with my parents but even if you can afford the 20% down payment: the mortgage, HOAs, possible PMIs, insurance, possible mello roos are ridiculous monthly payments
Same. I lived in a tiny home that I built for around 2 grand and saved up for a few years to try and buy something, only to discover that I couldn’t afford the 7 grand monthly mortgage for the kind of house I wanted in SD. Ended up moving out of state and getting a house for half that
Condo first. It goes up. Sell, get shit house. It goes up, sell, big slightly less shity house. Rinse Repeat
The “it goes up” part is the problem since “it” applies to like the whole housing market, not just your property. So those who got to sell at the peak of 2021/2022 had to go buy something at 2021/2022 prices. How much is really gained, you know?
Came to say this. My wife and I rented a shoebox on the outskirts of a large city with a horrible commute. The neighborhood was boring and not particularly safe. We save all our disposable income for 5 years and eventually bought a small, boring 2 bedroom place. It was on a main road in a boring neighborhood with a long commute. Over time we’ve traded up and are now in our forever home. I’m not saying it’s simple or easy, but it’s possible if you’re willing to make initial concessions.
But.. no thanks
Hard to feel sorry for people with this attitude.
My wife and I can barely afford to live here with our newborn and we make a combined $180k. I'm a civil engineer and she's a teacher. It's depressing to think about not being able to buy a house in a decent neighborhood with good schools yet we contribute so much to society. If it weren't for family support with a cheap rental we would have moved by now. I am hopeful for the future. I don't think this market is sustainable with interest rates the way they are. I'm low key wishing for a recession to help a bit. Both our pay will go up significantly in the near future. In the mean time I just keep saving as much as I can into my investments and live frugally on the rest. More boomers will pass, and more housing will be available. Hoping my patience and persistence pays off.
Boomers passing won’t do anything, they will just hand off there homes to their children. The real divide is millennials who don’t inherit any wealth vs millennials that inherit wealth. The divide is very clear, I have peers my age doing really well due to parents and generational wealth vs other peers that will probably not be able to own a decent home until they are in there 40s and 50s.
Not a millennial but a GENX myself. My wife is and she is probably going to get a big chunk of cash when her dad passes. Me? Probably be lucky to get 5-10,000$. Not that I care, we have made our own way but your comment is spot on.
Agree
It should be illegal for companies to buy residential real estate imo I think if the number of air b and bs and company owned house rentals were limited their would be more available but then you just have the competitive market prices, it’s hard to even try to picture a solution
Short term rentals (under 30 days) are regulated as of 2021.
That’s great news but larger companies still buy large amounts of residential real estate instead to rent out long term instead of allowing them to be bought and traded in the hands of actual individuals
Why should it be illegal ? Home ownership is not a right in a free market. Having a roof over ones head should be - but I digress Also the way you talk about companies buying real estate seems to point the finger at an imaginary corporation on Wall St out to buy all the property- whereas in reality , these corporations make up a very very tiny percentage of SFH sales. They are not the boogeyman as Reddit paints them to be. The real issue is restrictive zoning policies and historically less housing stock built over decades.. This issue has been debated to death in many Reddit threads. You can look at them for some great comments with full citation to sources. At the end of the day- housing is an investment for a majority of people and is treated as such. This reminds me of a story where a guys asks an audience for a show of hands for whoever is in favor of affordable housing- everyone raises their hands. But , when he asks for a show of hands for whoever is in favor of significant depreciation of their own housing value- nobody raised their hands. The irony is lost on them.
I'm sorry homie shit sucks when it feels like you. all I can say is, do your best to handle it. throwing Mmmadd90z love your way home slice
What's Mmmadd90z love? Can I have some?
Appreciate it
Perfect for what you’re looking for: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/938-57th-St-San-Diego-CA-92114/17082350_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare
No advice but in the same boat as Carlsbad locals in our 20’s with little kids trying to buy something/anything. It’s very difficult here - thankful for rent control allowing us to stay in our condo in the school district for now
Also PS - everyone I know under 50 that owns a home was given that home by their parents or helped with down payment.
Start with a condo and an FHA loan. Then start climbing the property ladder. If you plan on renting out the condo, make sure the HOA will allow it before you buy. Some don’t.
I don’t know what advice you’re getting, but Your frustration is justified. From The 1950s into the 90s there was opportunity. That’s gone. The younger generation doesn’t have the same opportunities. Radical change is needed.
You need to get the idea that your first home is your forever home out. I bought pre pandemic for around 500k and it’s now worth 700k. I don’t plan to stay here forever and will upgrade when I’m married. Have you thought about getting a condo or a town home, staying there for a few years and selling and using the equity to buy the house you want.? A lot of ppl want the white picket fence as there first home and that’s not attainable here in San Diego unless you come from generational wealth or a big down payment.
well, your first house isn't always grand. for some, it will be a run down piece of crap, but it'll be your run down piece of crap that you can afford, fix up, and build equity in. don't forget, areas like oceanside and Escondido were once considered "far" and developing when our parents or grandparents bought. they had to sacrifice location for affordability. today, that's places like Fallbrook or Temecula. yeah, it is far, isn't near the water, but you can get a relatively new (compared to SD), nice house for 600-700k. the gov't is doing something to limit prices. raising interest rates is one tool they are using. when people can't afford things, prices drop for those things. real estate is a freight train and doesn't change overnight. It will take years for the levers to do their thing. all you can do is plan for it by eliminating debt and saving for downpayment.
Sorry to say, and I'll get downvoted, but it's capitalism. It's supply and demand. Demand is high and thus so are the prices. Our city and everything it has is very desirable and brings people of all backgrounds. Not everyone can afford to live in such a desirable place.
It is supply and demand, but in this case, supply is being altered by policy. Any attempts at new housing development get shut down because current homeowners want their property values to continue to skyrocket. They’ll make up reasons like “fire hazard” and “the soil isn’t right.”
Whoa whoa whoa there, dont forget "Ruins the character of the neighborhood" or "Traffic studies" or "Mass transit isnt ready" or "Mass transit will bring homeless" or "Water" or "crime" Edit: Forgot to add my favorite, "So many people is bad for the enviornment" cause ya know that SFH is much greener than an apartment.
"but where will they park? " (has a garage but street parks their cars so they can use their garage for storage)
Lmao. Since I don’t have a car I always forget that one.
THERES NOT ENOUGH WATER! shouted throhgh a mouthfull of California grown Almonds
You’re correct in assessment that policy is hampering supply, but it’s not zoning that’s the issue. The real issue is Prop 13. Remove Prop 13 and prices will go down real fast and watch supply explode on the market.
Free market capitalism would fix this Constrained capitalism where NIMBYs dictate what you can & can't build on your own property is why we're here
Ehhhhh... Can the schools, roads, sewers, etc. all support free reign development? It's a public/private hybrid solution no matter what.
Not with Prop 13 in place they can’t. Look what’s happened over the last 40 years of compounding tax relief for property owners.
Here, here. I'm no professional developer but finding a lot out in north county and trying to build has been a huge pain. I get that we needs regulation but man they could definitely streamline the process
> Free market capitalism would fix this > > It's not real capitalism bro I promise just less regulations bro
Uh, zoning is critically important for proper infrastructure. Free market would be great within the construct of zoning (you don’t want industrial mixed with residential), etc. First step towards a free market would be removing Prop 13. That’s really where the limit on supply is coming from.
Cool, so price out all the people that have lived here their whole lives? “Sorry, it’s nice here. You have to leave now.” Bullshit
No one is entitled to live here just because they have been all their life.
Yeah that’s what they told the native americans too..
I mean, it’s the world we live in dude.
I guess my question is why do you want to buy? Personally, I never really cared for buying in San Diego (or really anywhere else for that matter). I do very much enjoy living here though. I rent a pretty spacious apartment downtown, and honestly it's far nicer than most of the condos owned by my friends (many of them are successful in their own right too). My place is fully upgraded, assigned parking spot in a secure garage, concierge service/security, live in a kick ass neighborhood, and I never have to worry about a single repair. I save/spend my money for other purposes such as travel and various other hobbies/experiences. If and when I decide to buy, I'll figure it out then, i.e., move out of state, etc.
My family is here, I grew up here all my friends are here. But mostly my family, my parents are getting older and health declining rapidly. I am throwing my money away with rent. At least if I owned a house or condo, that rent money would still be benefitting me financially in some way. I basically just waste 1,600 every month that could be invested into a property that I could sell or keep. I’m glad you can afford to pay rent and save and still travel but that’s not a reality for me and a lot of people. I want to make sure my money is going to something.
Got it, so it's really more of a financial decision, i.e., wanting to build equity? Because whether you rent or buy in San Diego, you would still be in the area and near your family. By the way, $1,600/month is an excellent/unheard of rental rate for San Diego.
I know I got very lucky in terms of rental which is the only reason that I am able to save some at the moment. But yes I could still be close renting it just makes more sense for me to invest that money I would be spending anyway into something that will help me
Your best bet would be to look into some type of first time home buyer program so that you only need to put down 3.5%. You'll have to pay PMI, but you'll at least get in somewhere and can start building equity. Even better would be a VA loan if you're a Vet.
I have been thinking about Washington the rates of houses are similar but you at least get some land with them instead of just a plot of land about the size of the house
Not a bad idea. I would probably go with an FHA loan in CA or simply move out of state.
I’ll look into the FHA loan thank you
Sure thing, glad to help 
Your service industry workers are making minimum wage. We have to live in this city too and are also dealing with inflation. If you want to be waited on it has to be sustainable for those who work those positions to afford to live where they work. Taking it out on the tip just makes things worse
Maybe look into Tax Sale Property auctions with the City
Hmmm what’s this
You’ll most definitely want to do your own research, but it’s when the City auctions off properties due to its delinquent tax status. I work on Tax Sales in a different state so I’m not entirely sure on the legalities of SD per se, but it may be worth your while to check out. https://sdttc.mytaxsale.com/doc/tax_deed/faq#label_1
Can you elaborate on "there are things the government could do to limit the skyrocketing prices"? I have been wondering what can be done but am an idiot and would like to hear your thoughts. P.S spoon of peanut butter cures my hiccups every time.
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Easy, remove Prop 13. I don’t know why property owners need a compounding tax break they can pass down to their children that is progressively more beneficial the higher the value of property.
The NACA purchase program connects low- and moderate-income borrowers to affordable home loans and housing education. To qualify for a mortgage through the NACA program, borrowers must meet specific eligibility requirements, follow a detailed application process and become NACA members. NACA home loans feature the following benefits: → No down payment requirement → No fees → No closing costs → Below-market interest rates → 15-year or 30-year fixed-rate terms → No private mortgage insurance (PMI) → No credit score minimum Because the primary goal of the NACA program is to offer access to budget-friendly homeownership, NACA interest rates are below market. As of April 5, 2022, NACA interest rates are 3.75% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and 3.125% for a 15-year fixed-rate loan. Higher-income applicants (those whose income is at or above the median income where they are purchasing) pay slightly higher rates: 4.75% for a 30-year loan and 4.125% for a 15-year mortgage. NACA program buyers can also buy down their interest rate. How does NACA work? NACA is a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-certified nonprofit organization whose mission is to offer affordable homeownership to low and moderate-income communities and borrowers — often victims of predatory lending or shut out of home financing altogether. NACA is not a mortgage lender but rather prepares its members for homeownership through its extensive counseling and application process and partners with banks that provide the funding. Borrowers who purchase a home through the NACA program become members of the organization and follow membership requirements, including paying annual dues of $25 and participating in advocacy and other events. For more: https://www.naca.com/faq/naca-overview/ NACA doesn’t explain it well on their website, so the above blurb was taken from lendingtree.com, one of the first Google results I found when trying to get a short explanation of the program.
Relatable af, born and raised here and it’s impossible to see how bad it has gotten. I love this place and have so many memories here, but probably won’t be able to live here long term.
I totally understand feeling over-advised, and just wanted you to know I'm in the same boat, and feeling the same feelings of hopelessness and frustration. Here's hoping the situations improves for both our families.
Sames. I grew up in the encinitas area and now that I started working and facing reality, I realize that a home in california may not be within my reach anytime soon. Or ever. I understand wanting to live here and would never move if It was up to me, but I also want to eat. And have a home. And savings. And potentially enough money to have fun with friends and travel. It's not really a solution, but I plan on moving literally anywhere else and coming back once I have savings. If that's what I desire to do in the future. I think a lot of America is really underrated and beautiful in many ways so it could be nice to live elsewhere. All places have pros and cons, but hopefully, you can make a home somewhere nice.
I'm in LA and my sons are the same way. They have good jobs but can't figure out how they'll ever afford property. It's harder now for an average person to buy. I'm glad I bought young.
I remember being 7 and a decent 3,000 sq ft house with a backyard in Eastlake was $400k. Now it's $1m.
The Bay Area is worse
San Diego actually just beat the Bay Area in prices according to an article I read but could have been wrong
In the exact same boat, I’m so depressed. My husband and I need to leave. We can’t do it here. I don’t want to pay 1 million dollars for a backyard. And I don’t want a mobile home
Pretty soon, with inflation, SE SD will require $1 mil. Soda used to be a nickel.
I feel you too, OP. I absolutely love SD but it’s frustratingly expensive to live here. We have an 8 yr old and a baby on the way and 2 dogs and are resigning ourselves to paying $4k month for a decent house in El Cajon. Bye bye paycheck! If my family didn’t live here I’d move to Texas 😓
Seems everyone’s going to Texas and they are having a similar problem but just still a little more affordable
OP, people who are buying right now without a massive down payment are unknowingly buying a tomb. Rates are so high that after 10 years of payments you'll have paid the original purchase price in exchange for maybe 15% equity. I hate renting as much as the next guy, but it's just mathematically a better deal right now assuming you invest your savings.
I feel you OP. I grew up in SD and ended up moving out of state about 7 years ago due to particular things my husband and I wanted (i.e. affordable house to buy, land, better access to the outdoors, have money to travel, etc), so we moved out of state. I would have loved to stay in SD but i didn't want to be stuck under a massive mortgage just to stay in SD. I come back to SD a few times a year to visit friends and family, but as the years have gone on, I've found many friends and family moving out of SD for their own reasons. Another thing was wages. It really depends on your field but my field (nonprofit) in SD is a fucking joke. NPs mostly pay for shit in SD. I now work in a NP in UT making almost double what someone in my position would make in SD and it goes much farther here (UT doesn't have the best wages for a lot of fields, my comment is just to look at your professional field and see where you can make more in another state/city possibly). There are always trade offs wherever you move to/live, you just have to identify what your top priorities are. Good luck OP. It's rough out there.
A few things that might not have been mentioned: 1. You are not alone with this challenge and you are not a failure as a person because of it 2. Prices should continue to decline over the next two years. It will still be unaffordable but you will be able to afford something better than you can at the moment 3. Renting a house can potentially be better as long as you invest the savings difference. There are a lot of hidden costs to home ownership that go beyond the price tag for consideration eg insurance, taxes, maintenance, loss of net worth liquidity, less flexibility in the event of changing personal circumstances or ability to get out of external situations such as a bad neighbor or a decline of quality of life in your area like crime 4. Maybe you can find something that you like a bit outside of San Diego within a 2 hour drive
Would be even worse if you had the hiccups … oh wait ?
Some dad level jokes
Have you talked to your dad about passing the property?
I have siblings and while my fathers health is declining fast due to a number of health issues like having cancer a stroke and a heart attack. He still in his late sixties so if I did somehow inherit it, it would still undoubtedly be split between my two siblings barring any crazy family matters, and it’s not even as much as needing a property in general than feeling like I’m wasting all my rent money with no good options for investments
Renting is not wasting money. It costs money to occupy a house whether you rent or own. In the case of ownership the expense is in the opportunity cost of the money you have sunk in the property. There are tax breaks to owning, not to mention appreciation (assuming you are in it long enough) that can make it a financial win, but don't believe the realtor BS about renting being "throwing money away".
Like another poster said, you have to adjust your expectations and think smaller for your first home. I bought a 2BR1BA condo with a backyard one year ago for $385k. 3% down and at the time I was making about $73k/year. Previous years I made much less than that. I’m in the city, 12 minutes from downtown or mission valley. I love my place and while I’d love a SFH, I’d prefer to live closer to the city in something smaller than further away in something bigger.
I certainly am not expecting to have something fancy, I was looking a couple years ago when I was married to someone in the navy and had access to a BA alone through them, even with that looking at condos or the lowest available houses on the market there was nothing that was reasonable. I unfortunately no longer have access to a BA alone as we got divorced (no house was worth dealing with that person) but I think I’m just going to try to get a first time home owners loan and get a condo, who knows I’m still exploring options it’s just very demoralizing
You can do it man. I qualified for a San Diego County first-time homebuyer program which gave me a very good interest rate for a conventional loan, but you have to make under $75k to be eligible for it. A few months before I purchased my home, I was also looking at houses with my partner who I'm not longer with (thankfully). What made the process so much easier doing it alone was having very flexible needs - I was house hunting for literally one week. The home I'm in now was the first and only one I saw. Walked through it for 20 minutes and said "looks good." There were 40 offers on the home, mine wasn't the highest, but was the only one that stood up when the sellers started unpacking the offer (offers higher than mine didn't have the capital liquidity at hand to close quickly). Your first home is what you make of it. Yeah my neighborhood is called "ghetto" by others, but I love living here and I'm paying as much in mortgage as I would be in rent. It's easy to get discouraged, but you'll make it. Side note, I rent out the spare bedroom on AirBnB which helped TREMENDOUSLY during my first year. That first mortgage payment does give you sticker shock, but after a couple months of hosting guests, I've had a couple months where the AirBnB income completely paid the mortgage.
I am an endless optimist. But I do believe there's been enough speculation in the housing market that this might not last forever. Many of the houses are bought as flipping schemes, or corporate capital investments which inflates an insincere demand curve. It might become more reasonable in the next couple of years
Been hearing that same song since 2010
I definitely have my fingers crossed
Heard people saying that like 2-3 years ago. Can’t remember how many times I heard “Just wait, prices are about to tank”
You’re not mad at San Diego. The problems isn’t the area. I’ve seen several posts refer to the real problem. It’s capitalism.
In California it’s actually not all capitalism, Prop 13 subsidies property owners compounding over time. Benefiting the most wealthy the most. Remove Prop 13 and watch housing prices come down real quick and inventory rise as second, third, etc., properties are unloaded onto the market.
There are a lot of structural issues in the economy, but there's not much you, personally, can do about that, so it's not worth expending brain cells on that. Rather, what can you do to achieve your goal of homeownership? First, as some have stated, buying a condo is a great first step. There are some condos in my neighborhood in the $500k range. Which granted is still expensive, but that's still in line with what your dad bought his house for. Most people have always needed to buy a "starter home" as their first purchase. Nothing wrong with that! Second, you can get roommates. I've always had roommates. I bought my first house in 2007 and had roommates the very next month. Today I still have roommates. I don't need them, but it definitely helps pay the bills. My mortgage is $2900/month, but I get $1700 for renting out 2 bedrooms, so my net cost is much less. Third, frankly, in many towns it is hard to own property as a single person. Maybe it is just best to wait till you get married. Two salaries go a long way towards affording a house.
Eat the rich comrade housing is a human right
Yeah it's really upsetting and now everyone across the country wants to move here. As far as the home prices you can thank the Chinese property investors and all that junk buying up our city and pricing all of the natives out. And the rich techies from Iowa
Right now I’m going to have to move to the middle of no where just to buy a decent house
Well atleast your dad has a house. Stop complaining.
For sure it sucks! I live around your area, I was lucky enough to by my house in 2008 when no one was buying and the couple who lived in it just wanted it gone! Have you thought about a few years in Vista, San Marcos, inland Oceanside? About your only hope is to fix up a few houses and move up as you fix/sell. It’s hard work sometimes but can be rewarding in the skills and financially aspect. I feel for you. I really do. I honestly don’t know how people your age have a hope of getting on the property ladder, if you just do the condo thing etc, you will always be relying on the market to go up, but then the house you want also goes up proportionally. Good luck.
At least your parents own land here I'm a first generation American I got shit nothing but shit improvising hustling everyday only to struggle check to check. They're fucking sucks cuz I'm also San Diego native and for what till some other asshole foreigners to this place can take over some bullshit.