Carlsbad, CA–The San Diego real estate market has taken a beating the last few years, but recent stats show that home sales and prices are picking up and leveling out. What many have forgotten during this downturn is that San Diego remains one of the most desirable places to live on this planet.
Are San Diego homes still expensive? Yes. But a recent US News and World Report story that looks at 10 Pricey Cities That Pay Off includes not only San Diego, but five other California cities as well: San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Salinas, San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles. Other cities on the list include Boston, New York, Naples, FLA and Honolulu.
Author Mathew Bandyk explains that these cities are all high priced for selected reasons: Fine weather and coastal location top the list. Also critical are cultural and recreational opportunities, trade productivity, universities that produce an educated workforce–and proximity to natural resources.
San Diego was ranked seventh on the list, with trade productivity that compares to Philadelphia. San Diego arguably has the finest weather of all, but also boasts three universities: University of California San Diego, San Diego State University and the private University of San Diego. The metro area also has a number of community colleges that also contribute to San Diego’s highly-trained work force. These students and grads, in turn, help support San Diego arts and very walkable urban neighborhoods.
Anecdotally and in our real estate practice, we are seeing more and more potential employers targeting San Diego as a great place to live–and conduct business.
Why?
It’s the climate, of course–and the beaches, and the city, the educated work force, proximity to desert (golf) and mountains (ski and boarding) and more recently, homes in San Diego that are more affordable than most other cities on the list. It’s a combination that’s hard to beat. —Roberta Murphy