This downtown San Diego condo deal is a larger 1br, 1.5 bath condo that’s over 1,000sqft.  It’s on a low floor, but it faces west and not over the railroad tracks.  Another great part of this condo is that there are two balconies!  Oh yeah, another plus is that the condo is listed just above $400K.  Finally, possibly the best thing about this deal is that it’s not a short sale, nor an REO!

If you’re interested in this property or any other deals in San Diego, please call Denny Oh at 858–243–2092 or email me at denny@sandiegoh.com

Again, most of the deals I blog about, including this one, are not my listings…I just think they’re great values.

Click here to see all the condos for sale at The Grande

Click here to see more great downtown San Diego condo deals.

Some of the people who are in contract may try and assign their condos to another buyer, convince Bayside to lower their price, switch to another unit or simply walk away from their deposit.  I still haven’t been able to see too much of Bayside, but I can’t wait to get a full tour.  With the protected views(for the most part), highend appliances and functional amenities, I think people are going to love Bayside.

Bosa’s addition of Bayside to the Columbia District is yet another reason why I think buildings like The Grande and Sapphire Tower will only increase in value.  As more and more land gets developed along the waterfront, homes prices are going to rise.  Here’s a quick list of things to come…

• Lane Field – 2 high end hotel towers
• Irvine Company – 36 story commercial highrise(where do you think all those employees will want to live/rent?)
• Navy Broadway Complex – 4 highrises with hotel, commercial, retail and green space
• Broadway Pier – the pier will be redesigned and expanded, creating a more inviting place to visit
• North Embarcadero Visionary Plan – from the airport to Seaport Village, the Embarcadero will get a face lift, revitalizing downtown’s waterfront.
• Kettner and Ash – Bosa’s next(maybe not next, but probably) highrise condo building…which will be a 287 unit, 35 stories and I can promise you will not be cheaper than Bayside.

With all these factors coming into play, along with the influx of buyers we’re now seeing, I think today’s buyers are going to be very happy with their purchases in the near future.  Yes, prices may still come down a bit and I’d even argue that they will come down some more.  BUT…we’re not going to see decreases like we’ve already seen and another 5–10% in 5–10 years won’t even matter.  What will matter is when you look back 5 years from now, wishing you had purchased a home and taken advantage of this incredible market.

Why wait?  Why not look for that great deal now?  Why not have me tell you about the best deals out there?

Click here to learn more about what’s going on downtown.

Click here to read about more great downtown San Diego condo deals.

Denny Oh 858–243–2092 denny@sandiegoh.com

Bayside at the Embarcadero is downtown San Diego’s newest luxury highrise condo building.  It’s a Bosa development and from the little I’ve seen, I think Bayside will be a hit.  It’s a high end luxury highrise, with great water and city views. 

Since the highrise is just being completed, not everyone who’s in escrow has actually closed escrow, allowing some units to be reassigned.  This way, you would be able to take over someone else’s unit and pay a lower price than what the general public would pay. 

Condo #2206 is a G floorplan and is a 2br+den unit.  It’s measured at 1387 sqft and has north west views(water, city and airport) that are protected.  Priced at $871,000, this is $627/sqft.  If you’re interested in this deal, or others at Bayside, please let me know. 

Click here to search all the condos for sale at Bayside.

Click here to see more great downtown San Diego deals.

Horizons is centrally located between First Ave and Front Street, between Market and Island.  It’s next to Ralph’s grocery store, Horton Plaza, the Children’s Museum and the Gaslamp District.  Horizons was Bosa’s first development in San Diego and offers some incredible views.  Let me know if you want more info on this incredible downtown San Diego condo deal.

Click here to see all the condos for sale at Horizons.

Click here to see all the great condo deals I’ve written about.

The majority of visitors came from other cities within California, 36% coming from Southern California.  Arizona led the rest of the states, accounting for 14% of all visitors.  This also reflects the amount of “Zonies” who purchase summer homes in San Diego.  I think about one third of my downtown clients are from Arizona and are looking for a second home, so they can escape the summer heat – they also love the convenience of highrise living(especially since they can just lock their doors and leave for months at time). 

As San Diego grows, I think we’ll see a drastic change in property values.  It’s definitely going to take some time, but once it starts, we’re all going to regret not having purchased more real estate.  If you have any questions about San Diego real estate, I’d be happy to send you some info.  And if you haven’t been downtown lately, come take a look…there’s a LOT going on.

Click here to search the MLS.

Click here to see some of downtown San Diego’s best condo deals.

I got to see a C floorplan on the 26^th floor, which is a 2 bedroom+den, 2 bath condo with 1400 sqft.  The C floorplan is located on the south west corner of the highrise and gets some great water views and some city views as well.  The finishes through out the condos in Bayside are all very nice.  No more GE Profile, no more Bosch…Bayside offers appliances by Viking, Snaidero and Miele.  The kitchen islands also come with a wine cooler(at least the few that I got to see did), walkin closets

and self closing drawers(no more worrying about them slamming shut).  The drawers also had some pull out shelves, making it much easier to access whatever you have in there – again, I’m not sure if this is standard, or an upgrade.

The kitchens were probably the most noticeable upgrade that I noticed at Bayside(compared to their previous highrises).  They offer top of the line names and very sleek and stylish finished.  The lobby and common amenities were also surprisingly nice.  They don’t compare to Electra’s conservatory, but then again, what can?  I think that Bayside’s lobby fits the building and isn’t boring, but not over the top.  The community room/lounge area is also one of the more functional, inviting ones I’ve seen.  It has multiple TVs and all the typical things(pool table, full kitchen), but seems more inviting and usable. 

The Bayside condos also offer a theater room with a popcorn maker, Enoteca – their wine tasting room, which connects to a conference room…all of which were fairly impressive.  My one question though, is why did Bosa put in such a large wine refrigerator in the wine room?  Are people actually going to leave their wine in the common room?  Is Bayside going to stock it for the residents?  And on a lesser note, the whiteboard in the conference room is way too far back from the counter and not very functional.  Bayside also has what appears to be an informal library – or maybe it’s just another sitting area?

Bayside’s pool and outdoor lounge area are very nice.  It’s on the 3^rd floor, along with all the other amenities, but it doesn’t seem to get the crazy wind coming through like other non-ground floor pools.  It’s on the north side of the highrise, but it gets a lot of sun(then again, it is June).  The gym is also a little larger than most others I’ve seen and of course, there’s a dry and wet sauna with his and her’s dressing/shower rooms. 

I’m still skeptical on some of the other floorplans, particularly the larger penthouses with the pony walls in the master bedrooms, but I’m way more impressed with Bayside than I am with Electra.  I still wish Bosa would hire a new architect – someone who would allow for 9–10 foot ceilings, true floor-to-ceiling windows and larger bedrooms.  With that said, I’ve only seen a few condos…I’ll hold out until I see some more and make my final decision.  But so far, Bayside isn’t too shabby…

Click here to search the condos for sale at Bayside – but keep in mind that not all of the condos are listed here.  For a full list of available condos, please contact Denny Oh at 858–243–2092 or denny@sandiegoh.com.

The point of this post is not to say, I told you so….but rather to let you know that deals do not last long.  And as I said earlier, if you are looking to buy a home, you need someone working for you who will notify of you these deals ASAP.  Reading blogs and checking out Zillow is great, but it probably won’t get you that incredible deal you’re all looking for.  And keep in mind, I don’t post all of the deals I come across on my blog – I send the best ones to my clients, not my readers.  If you’re interested in working with me, or simply have a question/suggestion for me, I’d love to hear from you.  And if it’s not me, just be sure to find someone who knows what they’re doing and someone you can trust. 

Denny Oh 858–243–2092 denny@sandiegoh.com

California set aside $100 million towards this credit, but hurry up.  As of June 12th 2009, only $69,534,047 of the $100 million is left and there have been 9,145 applications submitted which would account for $88,252,190 of the fund.  If you’d like a list of homes that qualify for this tax credit, email me at denny@sandiegoh.com or call me at 858–243–2092. 

Additionally, if you qualify, you can still receive the $8000 first time home buyer tax credit. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.  Click here to see some great downtown San Diego condo deals.

At $6 a gallon, Dickinson argues that on a positive note, SUVs will disappear, Los Angeles will get cleaner air and thousands of lives will be saved, due to less driving.  On the otherside, the lack in gas tax revenue will lead to the deterioration of roads, bridges and the privatization of highways and higher tolls.  As gas prices reach $10 a gallon, the article predicts that “electric cars [will] reign supreme,” biking will gain popularity and obesity will decline.  Conversely, Disney World will close and luxuries like snowmobiles will get too expensive to enjoy.

Dickinson goes further and points out that as prices get higher and higher, “Americans [will] flock to cities,” public transportation will be more convenient and at $20 a gallon, “ninety percent of Americans [will] live in cities” and “70 percent [will] never own a car.”  Will gas prices ever even come close to this?  I guess it depends on who you ask.  Clearly, we’ve seen several indications that this isn’t too far off.

And if this does happen, why wouldn’t people move downtown?  Why wouldn’t businesses move to higher density areas and why wouldn’t people live closer together?  Could rising gas prices ultimately be what causes downtown San Diego’s home prices to skyrocket?  I’ve always said that downtown San Diego condos prices will take off when a larger commercial sector gets established, but I never thought about rising gas prices being the driving factor…but I suppose it makes perfect sense.

If you have any questions about downtown San Diego, or San Diego real estate in general, please let me know.  You can also see some of downtown San Diego’s best condo deals by clicking here.

Denny Oh 858–243–2092 denny@sandiegoh.com

Does this mean the bottom is behind us?  Doubtful.  Although we’re seeing slightly higher prices, we still have plenty of short sales and foreclosures that will continue to keep prices down.  I anticipate that we’ll see another 10% or so in price drops over the next year, followed by a flat bottom.  My guess is that people will begin to see profits in the 5–7 year range. 

The median price of $295,000 is 43% below the “all-time high of $517,500, set in November of 2005” and people are beginning to take advantage of it.  People are able to buy homes in areas that they never imagined they could.  There are less multiple offers and rates are low(even though they just went up).  I’m seeing a lot more “I want to start looking now because I think we’re near the bottom” buyers and I’m also seeing more sellers who are looking to get rid of their homes.  If only I hadn’t bought my home in 2005…