San Diego: America’s Finest City
San Diego is a vibrant and young-feeling city, but it is actually the birthplace of California. Originally populated by the Kumeyaay, its first European discovery in 1542 was accomplished by Portuguese explorer Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo sailing under the Spanish Flag (1499 - 1543). He landed in San Diego’s Point Loma and claimed the area for Spain.
There’s little chance Juan Cabrillo would recognize much about America’s Finest City today. San Diego is now the 8th largest city in the United States, with a population of 2.9 million. It is affectionately tagged as America’s Finest City because of the warm hospitality it extends to all, it balmy climate along with stunning natural beauty and views.
At the same time, San Diego is also the world’s 29th richest city and urban area in terms of GDP. What is the significance of this distinction? The top 30 cities ranked by GDP account for around 16 percent of the world’s entire gross domestic product (2005).
In addition being noted for its vibrant economy, San Diego is also known for the liveliness of its residents. Sports Illustrated once called San Diego “Sportstown USA” because San Diegans of all ages are so active. That is not surprising, since San Diego has over 70 miles of beaches and coastline, approximately 100 golf courses, and countless miles of trails for both hikers and horses. San Diego is also the home for the San Diego Chargers football team, as well as baseball’s San Diego Padres.
The gentle and relatively arid climate in San Diego presents the opportunity for year round outdoor sports and activities–as well as gardening. The Wikipedia chart below exemplifies this perfect climate:
| Weather Averages for San Diego | |||||||||||||
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high °F | 65.1 | 65.7 | 64.9 | 66.7 | 67.1 | 69.3 | 73.0 | 74.8 | 75.4 | 73.4 | 68.9 | 65.3 | 70.2 |
| Avg low °F | 48.9 | 50.7 | 52.9 | 55.6 | 59.2 | 61.9 | 65.7 | 67.3 | 65.7 | 61.0 | 54.0 | 48.7 | 55.0 |
| Avg high °C | 18.4 | 18.7 | 18.3 | 19.3 | 19.5 | 20.7 | 22.8 | 23.8 | 24.1 | 23.0 | 20.5 | 18.5 | 21.2 |
| Avg low °C | 07.3 | 08.3 | 09.5 | 11.0 | 13.3 | 15.2 | 17.3 | 18.3 | 17.0 | 13.9 | 10.0 | 07.5 | 12.8 |
| Precipitation (in) | 2.28 | 2.04 | 2.26 | 0.75 | 0.20 | 0.09 | 0.03 | 0.09 | 0.21 | 0.44 | 1.07 | 1.31 | 10.77 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 57.9 | 51.8 | 57.4 | 19.0 | 05.1 | 02.3 | 00.8 | 02.3 | 05.3 | 11.2 | 27.2 | 33.2 | 273.6 |
| Source: worldclimate.com January, 2007 | |||||||||||||
Many San Diego residents originally came as tourists and visitors, and returned to spend the rest of their days in this coastal paradise. San Diego’s central and outlying economy is amazingly sound and diverse. San Diego County is a large and fertile agricultural center that also offers a broad employment base in manufacturing, aerospace, technology, aircraft and shipbuilding, as well as scientific and medical research. It is also one of the largest biotech centers in not only the United States, but the world.
San Diego’s Balboa Park area is the largest urban cultural center in the United States. It is home to not only the world famous San Diego Zoo, but to 15 different museums including an aerospace museum, art and history museums, science museum, railroad museum, and the Old Globe Theater(s). Here both locals and visitors find an ever-changing venue of exhibitions, plays, musicals and events. Though there is an admission fee to the museums and theatrical performances, entrance to the park is free.
Other attractions in San Diego would include:
Things to Do With Kids in San Diego
San Diego Chargers Football Team
San Diego Padres Baseball Team
San Diego Library (it’s not just books anymore!)
San Diego County includes not only the City of San Diego, but also a number of other incorporated cities and towns:
Carlsbad (including La Costa and Aviara)
Chula Vista
El Cajon
Encinitas (including Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Leucadia and Olivenhain)
Escondido
Imperial Beach
La Mesa
Lemon Grove
National City
Poway
Santee
Solana Beach
Vista
Neighborhoods and communities within the City of San Diego would include the following:
| Please feel free to click through this site to explore communities and real estate in and throughout San Diego County, including beach communities such as Coronado, La Jolla, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside. For more inland serenity, golf and sunshine, you may want to look at luxury real estate and homes� in Rancho Santa Fe, Cielo, The Crosby, The Bridges, Santa Luz, La Costa,� and Carmel Valley.� Also in high demand are homes, condos and horse properties� in San Marcos, Lake San Marcos, Vista, Fallbrook, and the lovely� Warner Springs.� If you have any questions about these San Diego neighborhoods or other areas and communities please feel free to call or email and we’ll share all we can!Real estate listing information provided throughout this site is intended for consumer’s personal and non-commercial use. Listing data for San Diego properties is provided through Sandicor, San Diego County’s Multiple Listing Service.� Every attempt is made to update listing information on a daily basis, so that your search for properties will be as meaningful as possible.San Diego’s real estate market remains a lively one, and has become a very favorable one for home buyers.� Inventory levels are at much healthier levels than before, and in some cases we are negotiating short sales for our home buyers and sellers. It is a busy market! Almost daily, we receive calls and emails from people seeking relocation to San Diego coastal communities–or from locals seeking to upgrade or downsize. And of course, there are some who simply wish to pocket a tax-free gain they may have acquired by living in their home for two of the last five years. The San Diego real estate market is a very fluid one!If you are thinking of selling, we have buyers. If you are seeking to buy, we know San Diego and which properties might meet your needs.� We look forward to working with you and your relocation needs!Be sure to check out consumer links, school information, free reports,useful tools, and real estate answers too.Thanks for visiting San Deigo’s online real estate source. Please bookmark this site for future reference, come back often, and make yourself at home. We’ll leave the door open and the lights on! | |
The search for San Diego real estate and homes in the area might include any one of these cities–or unincorporated areas of San Diego County. To check availabilities, please feel free to call any member of The Murphy Group at 877-818-8197–or search the San Diego MLS online.
California and San Diego Voters Have Spoken
November 5th, 2008 Categories: San Diego, San Diego Beaches, San Diego Events
California and San Diego Voters
At election time in California, it is always interesting to see what issues voters put on the ballots with their Propositions-and the voting results are always interesting.
Yesterday, California and San Diego voters passed or voted down the following issues:
Passed the controversial Propositon 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California.
Passed Proposition 2, which calls for the humane treatment of farm animals.
Defeated Propositon 4, which would have required parental approval for California teen abortions.
Passed Proposition 1-A, which will provide high speed train service between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Locally, San Diego County voters
Passed Propositon D, which bans alcohol consumption on San Diego beaches.
Passed Proposition K, which will keep sand on Encinitas beaches.
Passed Propositon H, which increases Del Mar’s bed-tax, or transient occupancy tax (TOT), on Del Mar hotel and vacation rental stays to 13 percent.
Defeated Propositon O, which would have put San Marcos redevelopment and growth plans on the skids.
Passed Proposition S, the San Diego School Bond measure.
As a side note, Controversial San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre was defeated by Judge Jan Goldsmith.
These are only a few on the propositions and choices put before California and San Diego voters yesterday, but are some I was following with interest. And the issue that somehow excites me the most is the prospect of having a high speed train running between Los Angeles and San Francisco. That, of course, would also help connect San Diego to San Francisco via rail–and I am already fantasizing about the trip.
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San Diego Real Estate Independents
November 1st, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News, San Diego, San Diego Market Trends, San Diego Real Estate
The plural of anecdote is not data , (J.K. Galbreath), but sometimes anecdotal evidence evolves into verifiable data–especially when the landscape is littered with dead canaries.
In this case, I am referring to casualties in real estate brokerage–particularly in the San Diego real estate market. For the last couple of decades, we heard the warnings and saw lots of anecdotal evidence that small brokerages and Mom and Pop realty shops were being absorbed by big blue franchises such as Prudential, Coldwell Banker, ReMax and the like.
Few thinking of starting a real estate brokerage business in those days would consider doing so without an umbilical cord tied to one of the big franchises. In exchange for around 6 percent of an office’s commission flow (and substantial buy-in fees), the franchise provided national advertising, referrals–and strict guidelines for local operations. Everything from signs to stationery to office location were subject to franchise approval.
For 25 years, real estate franchises dominated the landscape and data suggested that it would be nigh to impossible to exist without the franchise umbilical cord–and that independent real estate companies would go the way of the blacksmith, the eight track player and full service gas stations.
But then the real estate market crashed–and crashed hard. Consolidation became the guiding buzzword (anecdotally and in the San Diego real estate market that I observe) as offices closed merged and downsized. In Coronado, I hear, there were once four offices representing a certain franchise. There is now one.
In fact, because of so many office closures, one might think that it would be difficult to find a real estate office in San Diego, but that is not the case–because a surprising phenomena has been occurring during the last couple of years:
The proliferation of the independent real estate brokerage.
When San Diego’s real estate market shattered, homes may have remained intact, but in defiance of conventional wisdom, small independent brokerages proliferated. Most broke away from large San Diego franchises like Prudential California Realty, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, various Century 21 offices, ReMax and the like.
I’m not sure hard numbers exist, but the anecdotal evidence does. New real estate companies with fun names are dotting the once orderly landscape. Kris and Steve Berg broke away from Prudential California Realty and San Diego Castles Realty and formed –and we are currently in escrow with Pineapple Hut Realty. Then, of course, when Sotheby’s International Realty closed its doors in San Diego, we decided to transform Sotheby’s Murphy Group into San Diego Previews Real Estate.
And I swear there are hundreds dozens of other real estate brokers who have done the same thing.
And rather than sending 6 percent of our earnings up a one-way umbilical cord, we can now spend that money locally and better serve our clients with the money saved. Additionally, the internet has drastically changed the way people shop for homes. Savvy home sellers are demanding a strong online presence for their homes–and also know that Google may tell them more about their prospective Realtor® than any glossy flip chart or resume.
Five years ago, none of us expected that we would be selling homes five years out for less than what they sold for then. Nor did we expect our franchise brokerages to be closing doors and offices.
But someone wiser than I once commented about change and how to avoid ulcers by adapting to what life throws your way:
If you fall in the mud puddle, check your pockets for fish.
….and of course, to be grateful for the unexpected gifts that come our way.
You may also be interested in reading:
When the Tails Wags the Dog
Tips for San DIego Home Buyers
Weasels in the Chicken Coop: Loan Fraud in San Diego
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San Diego Disaster? Use Twitter
August 18th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad Real Estate, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, Real Estate News, San Diego
I started using Twitter a few months ago, and at first had trouble understanding how it could be of benefit to me or my family.This online site allows a maximum of 140 characters for users or “Twitterers” to post their ideas, activities and breaking news. Based on relationship, the value of their Twitters–or simple curiosity, just about anyone can “follow” anyone.
At first it mostly seemed like social chatter, with some interesting links to stories and photos. But when an earthquake rumbled through Southern California a few weeks ago, there were immediate Twitter reports. Those following Twitter probably had a better handle on what was happening than the news media. A couple of San Diego Realtors were reporting via Twitter the gentle shaking, while reports from Long Beach and Los Angeles reported something stronger.
We knew within minutes that there was likely no real damage from this quake, this time.
But what if this were the big one? What if a major hurricane hits the Southern coasts? What about tornadoes? Or terrorist attacks?
Experience has shown that in times of regional disasters, cell and telephone networks often break down from everyone calling at once. This leaves anguished families and friends worrying about the safety of their loved ones.
It might be wise to now go set up a Twitter account and encourage your friends and family to do the same. That way, you will be able to instantly check on each other via cell phone texting (dial 40404) or the internet. If you do sign up, be sure and follow me on Twitter at: RobertaMurphy
This YouTube video by David Stephenson explains how Twitter could work if San Diego were to be hit with a major disaster–and it occurs to me that we should also ask our fire, police and safety officials to set up their own Twitter accounts so that we could get official reports and updates.
–Roberta Murphy
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Quick Search for San Diego Luxury Homes
August 13th, 2008 Categories: La Jolla, Luxury Homes, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego
I fell in love with RealBird’s mapping technologies a few years ago, and just about flipped when I saw how we could create a mapping site devoted solely to San Diego’s luxury home market–with prices starting at $2 million: Luxury Casas
As the maps on LuxuryCasas show, the majority of these San Diego luxury homes are in the La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe areas, but are also scattered throughout the county, with a total of 826 results.
The RealBird wizards have a number of products, including their new Search on Maps tool that allows the viewer to not only get instant property valuations, but to also read restaurant reviews and pick up a coupon at the same time. Think of it as an interactive and virtual Yellow Pages.
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Michael Aguirre: San Diego a Foreclosure Sanctuary?
August 4th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News, San Diego, San Diego Real Estate
by Roberta Murphy
I maintain a few Google Alerts, and one of them is for embattled San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre and his positively stupid amazing idea of turning San Diego into a Foreclosure Sanctuary.
He intends to stop foreclosures in San Diego, and to prove the power of his convictions has sued Bank of America–and has other banks in his myopic sights.
I was in San Francisco at a real estate conference when the news hit, and even Golden Gate liberals there were rolling their eyes. All tongues were wagging about San Diego real estate falling off the edge of the earth if Aguirre prevails in halting foreclosures in San Diego.
Imagine the possible consequences if such political grandstanding succeeds:
1. What lender would even consider offering home loans in San Diego, without at least a 50 percent down payment (perhaps)?
2. What incentive would any homeowner in San Diego have for keeping their payments current? Foreclosures would be outlawed in San Diego, remember?
3. If you think San Diego real estate and homes are a bargain today, just wait–at least if you are a cash buyer. Prices would fall through the floorboards for sure if lenders are blocked from securing their investments, and abandon the San Diego real estate market entirely.
This is a scenario ripe with possibilities and consequences. We can only hope that courts throw out Aguirre’s folly quickly and that San Diego finds a replacement for City Attorney even faster.
All just my opinion, of course….
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