San Diego Housing Market News and Analysis

I buy tom yum paste in jars imported from Thailand at the Linda Vista vietnamese supermarket.

It makes good soup, but can also be added to stir fry.

It is a miracle product for me, one spoonful gives anything a Thai flavor. It is a mix of chili, lemongrass, ginger, and onion. To make a "tom yum sauce" for something like chicken, take the paste and mix with an equal part lime juice, or to reduce the intense flavor a bit, further mix with tomato paste or heinz chili sauce.

Loan. At these rates, a no-brainer. Besides, I loan out at 10% + on fix & flips, second TD's, etc. Will do that in the St. George/Washington City area too. (these two cities are joined at the hip. Technically, we'll be in Washington City).

Personally im sick of intoxication. I think cheap legal weed may be harmful to young people. Too much, too easy to get, too cheap. Not as harmful as 5 y. Prison tho.

So tax it more. Make people pay for it or put in the work to grow it themselves. Overpaid thugs in uniform throwing people in cages for possession of a plant isn't a good answer. The cost of sticking people with a criminal record and ruining their opportunities forever is much larger than letting people get intoxicated.

Also, create a society in which people enjoy living and don't want to escape from reality via chemical means.

One of my best friends has been in Burlington VT for about 20 years. His oldest graduates HS this year and he cant wait to get the hell out of there and the cold. He'll be in FLA as soon as possible

Personally, I've been loving the "winter wonderland" that we have had on the East Coast this winter ... nothing more beautiful than NY when it's brisk, snowy, and cold.

Speaking of ice and retirement generally, heres something ive been practicing thats super useful...and really every single person needs to practice...

Falling down.

You can start from a squat and fall towatd your face, back and sides, work your way up to full falls from standing.

Aarp, others have good videos on technique

Probably best physical training exercise anyone 60 and up can work on! Youre gonna fall! Be ready!

Im hoping to work up to the just fall forward from standing and land on concrete on hands/forearms move! Looks awesome on videos! Not there yet.

Imagine how impressed the grandkids would be. You could fall together. Kids could teach us a thing or two. Theyre pros at it.

Dont end up like dr. Atkins. Remember him? Slipped on ice, nyc. If hed trained to tuck his head in, he might still be with us, eating steaks.

Id open a falling down gym, but by the time people want the skill its usually too late! Start now. Actually, now thats my new goal. Im gonna work really hard at being awesome at falling.

I figured. Just checking. I thpught maybe just being out of the game, no debt, no plotting for gains might be an option. Perhaps for other more fearful souls...but not econprof!

Id take the financing too.

My mother fell at 68 and broke her femur. Lived to 89 but that fall led to many others and was the beginning of the end for her. Im an expert at falling. Could have been a Hollywood stunt man. Im ready. Let me know if you need instructors for your gym

really, insurance should pay for the class. preventative medicine.

guy i worked with a long time ago was retired one lousy week when he fell getting out of bed, died a few weeks later. At the time I thought the lesson was, don't retire, but now I'm thinking the lesson was, practice falling. bonked his head really hard.

Falling down practice sounds like a really good Idea.
My mother broke her hip and was never the same.

Maybe wearing a light weight bike Helmet 24 hours a day LOL.
(or at lease when ICE is present)

good aerobic workout too, falling and getting up over and over. good for the bones, strengthens them from impact. increased confidence can actually reduce risk of future falls.

Happy Trails!

This week I rented out the newest purchase. 4BR for 4K/month.

Needless to say, strong demand and rented out in one day.

Made me really want to buy #9 but wife says no. Sad!

New arrivals are coming here from other parts of California and believe it or not Texas!

Will be releasing the second 4S property soon. Good interest there too. I think it had 500+ views in first 24 hours. Many of those viewing want to buy and will be happy a few have made this decision. Prices wouldn't be up if there were a mass exodus. But who knows maybe Newsom will become the next Pharaoh and drive out people to another promised land. :)

4k for 4br in esco, WOW!

My 4/3 in OB has been rented to the same person for 4200 for 5 years. I knew it was a tad below market, but it seems like the cheapest OB 1 bed apartments are now $1700 and cheapest 2 beds are $2400, and there’s a bunch of 2/1 cottages over 3k.

I feel like rents jumped 10% since i checked last 6 months ago.

Here’s some recent stats:

SD prices up 13% in 2020, third best in USA.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/bus...

I can’t find a rental price report published recently. Unfortunately they tend to conflict with each other because they use different sources. Giant complex rents are overrepresented.

There is also a seasonality to rents

We've spent many trips to St. George to get to know it, visit son, etc., so what follows are a lot of items responding to various contributions of readers of this thread.
Yes, property taxes are really that low (about 1/2 of 1% of house value) since homeowner's get about half off on their residence. Other property taxed at slightly over 1% of value, so California's Prop 13 pales in comparison in terms of taxes one actually pays. Since income taxes are about 1/3 those of CA, our tax bite will fall considerably.
Crime and homelessness is vastly lower. From following the on-line local newspaper, I've noticed most crime is from outsiders from Las Vegas, or travelers on I-15, or the low-life repeat offenders common to any city. Local cops are proactive and pull over for minor infractions and discover drugs, intoxication, or suspicious activity and take it from there. Today I read of a guy stopped for throwing a cigarette out the window, so was pulled over, acted suspicious, vehicle searched and he was busted for drug possession with intent to distribute. Was sent to the local jail, which is named, no kidding, Purgatory Correctional Facility.
Utah is rated the most open-carry state in the nation, so be careful when driving there about cutting off a car with Utah plates (joke). Reciprocality laws permit a Utah resident who carries to do so in most every other state. But not California, naturally. Which must be why CA has so little crime and Utah so much. !!!
About Mormonism. St.George is about 2/3 Mormon and the influx of people from the rest of the country is rapidly reducing that percentage. Plenty of other church denominations abound. Mormonism is a spectrum, with many dedicated and devout, and many Mormon in name only. But their stress on health (no coffee, smoking or liquor--rules often broken), education, and fitness is a plus. In general, the people are healthier, younger, whiter, and more courteous than I am used to. Politically conservative, so low taxes and clean government, old-fashioned Americanism, all fine with me, but not for everyone.
Will we miss San Diego weather, cultural amenities, the ocean? Absolutely. But in truth, how often do you go to the beach? The drive and parking make it a one hour chore for us, so is a 2 or 3 per year event. The great quality plays and concerts are also an hour away, while at St. George plays and concerts downtown or at the 8,000 enrollment university are a ten minute drive, albeit not of San Diego quality. Mesquite, Nevada is a scenic 45 minutes away if you want casinos, and Las Vegas another hour on I-15. Ethnic restaurants? All over, and all types. Oh, and they are cheap. Bars? Not many, but growing in number, with two micro-breweries so far.
All this is making the influx of residents mind-blowing. Any house hitting the market is snapped up immediately. Bidding wars? I've been told by one broker that when something new comes on the market the way to get it is not just be pre-qualified, no contingency, full price in your offer, but simply offer more. But maybe that is just broker-talk. I'm hoping to buy troubled houses or condos with all cash, quick close, then fix them up, then get a loan & rent out. Rinse, repeat. Yeah, rents are soaring too.

When i read the book of mormon, it seems, well, absolutely goofy, like a spoofy joke someone wrote for fun. But i have a very very smart and very kind acquaintance who always has a copy, he reads it literally every day. Gets a lot out of it, he says. all religious texts are kind of goofy from the outside. Garden of eden? Really? Silly...

Except the diamond sutra. That ones just perplexing. Perhaps enlightening.

Like any shared fake reality-- money, the afterlife, americanism-- it only works if everyone, or at least the ones you know, are into it.

The market described there is what we have here but even stronger now which you will find if you sell a house here. Much of the country is in this state though SD is particuarly hot. I didnt say no ethnic restaurants, I said no good ethnic restaurants and I'll stand by that. SD is only starting to achieve success in that regard the last several years. St George never will. Of course, we all like different things and it sounds liek you have been there enough to know. I hope it turns out to be all you hope it will be!

BTW I think they call the mormons in name only Jack Mormons.

Off to hit the beach for a nice walk. Some of us do

God is just a Santa Clause for adults. The E is intentional.

By the way, Purgatory is in Maine and Hell is in Michigan

In one of Robert Anton Wilson's books, the government built a wall and declared the state of Georgia to be Hell. They sent violent convicts there to live or die by their own devices. Basically, "do whatever you want but don't leave."

St. George seems like an interesting place to visit and maybe invest in RE. WSJ just had a article that discussed this.
Just not the place for me - too isolated for air travel and not enough ethnic food (SD is bad enough for Chinese food).
I've traveled all over and lived in CA, NY, CO, and HI.

I read the marketwatch "where to retire" and basically it's geared to more non-minority readers.
I mean I could "live" in a lot a places for work, but in retirement, SD is a good trade.

MarketWatch and similar are geared towards people who want low taxes over good healthcare, don't care about "culture", and want a hot climate. Not everyone (not even white people) want those things.

Probably the where matters a lot less than the in what shape and with what mindset and problems question.

Anywhere is great or awful, depending.

Also, eating out is too many calories anyway.

St george, san diego, indiana. One can meditate and practice hackysack technique anywhere.

On the other hand, maybe a really crappy setting could be bad. Still, id value top 1% mental and physical condition over top 1% location by a wide margin.

I once had a job helping [very little help] an old woman in a very expensive nyc apt for a free room and food. I lasted 3 days. I didnt even quit. Just left a note, I just ran out. The vibe was horrible. She radiated unhappiness. She definitely had a cool pad, seemed loaded, had physical health, pretty much. I feel a little bad about it, now, but it was too much for me at that time... she made me want to die.

Now id probably relate to her

You are the very definition of an outlier

the primary things on my retirement to do list are largely location independent.

increased meditation time to 60 min per day.
read 120 min. per day.
nap, 120 min per day.
120 min, hard exercise/yardwork.
sleep, 8 h per day.
play with cat; 30 min.
tea. 30 min.
dental hygiene, 30 min per day
30 min, strength training.
clean up. 60 min per day.

that's 18 hours. let's see. p/t job, maybe 3 h? hackysack; 30 min? yoga; 30 min. up to 22 hours. jeez. still need time to poop.

pretty full and awesome day. Not even sure where I was. maybe i need to slow down though. pretty hectic. need time for movies, and rose-smelling.

Sorry, the above was meant to respond to previous comment about Purgatory Correctional Facility.

Interesting you should mention that. I once taught college economics at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, while teaching at a nearby university. An interesting experience, to say the least. The guys were in the class partly to collect veteran's benefits under the GI Bill, to collect upon release. Because Leavenworth is a federal Pen, they had committed federal crimes, such as smuggling, bank robbing, kidnapping, embezzlement, etc. So they weren't the low-lifes as in local or state facilities. Overall a far more interesting crowd than recent high school graduates, and I enjoyed it.

Famous Mormon tumbles; regrets not practicing.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/mitt...

This falling down gym could be big, should be big, but people are living in denial. they think they'll never fall.

i was at the beach yesterday, falling down over and over again into the sand. I'm sure I looked insane. But who will have the last laugh? eh? who?!

Isn't Leavenworth also a military prison?

since this site was more or less started looking at RE, just wondering if other piggs noticed the genius business deal political leadership of this city pulled off (to help address the homeless issue)