Summer is just about here, and so is PCS season. This list should help any VA eligible buyers that are interested in Downtown San Diego’s communities. Active listings are available to view: all Downtown San Diego condos for sale. To receive updates of new listings: on the search page click on the “Alerts” icon  and login with your preferred email address. Personal information is kept confidential and is not shared.

Little Italy

Acqua Vista:

VA Approved - Aqcua Vista - Little Italy

382 units – 18 floors

From the high $100k’s to $500k

Amenities include valet parking, 24 hour community attendant, exercise facilities, pool, spa and recreation area.

———-

Aperture:

VA Approved - Aperture - Little Italy

86 units – 11 floors

From the $300k’s to $800k

Amenities include secured access and underground parking

———-

Portico:

VA Approved - Portico - Little Italy

84 units – 5 floors

From the $100k’s to the high $200k’s

Amenities include secured access and underground parking

———-

La Vita:

VA Approved - La Vita - Little Italy

304 units – 24 floors

From the high $200k’s to $900k

Amenities include landscaped courtyard with water feature and barbeque area, pool, spa, fitness center, on-site management

———-

Marina District

Atria:

VA Approved - Atria - Marina District

149 units – 4 floors

From the $200k’s to the $500k’s

Amenities include a community room, barbeque area, conference/media room, fitness center and roof deck.

———-

East Village | Ballpark District

Park Boulevard East:

VA Approved - Park Boulevard East - East Village

107 units – 6 floors

From the $200k’s to the $400k’s

Amenities include spa and deck area, bike storage, underground parking and convenient trolley access

———-

Park Boulevard West:

VA Approved - Park Boulevard West - East Village

120 units – 6 floors

From the $200k’s to the $400k’s

Amenities include spa and deck area, fitness center, bike storage, underground parking and convenient trolley access

———-

Park Terrace:

VA Approved - Park Terrace - East Village

224 units – 14 floors

From the high $100k’s to the $700k’s

Amenities include underground parking, fitness center, fifth floor club room and second floor outdoor terrace, dining area and lounge.

———-

Gaslamp District

The Lofts at 777 6th Avenue:

VA Approved - The Lofts at 777 6th Avenue - Gaslamp District

103 units – 4 floors

From the $100k’s to the $200k’s

Amenities include business center, central courtyard, secured access and underground parking for some units

Produce at Market 32

When Mondo’s taco shop closed a few months ago, we were admittedly bummed. However, now that Market 32 Farmer’s Market (1000 Island Ave.) has moved in to the 10th and Island location in the M2i building (and with the excellent Lolita’s a few blocks south to serve our taco needs), we feel everything has worked out in our favor! Market 32 is a family-owned business which got its start at a fresh fruit stand in Yuma before moving to Downtown San Diego and opening the new East Village location. As a Yuma native living in East Village, this feels near and dear to my heart and I can attest that the owners have had over 50 years’ experience in farming and definitely know the ins and outs of the business. Thus, Market 32 can stock an impressive variety of local produce at excellent prices–much lower than even Costco–and I have a feeling downtown residents and restaurants alike will be frequent customers.

In addition to Market 32’s produce offerings, there is a wide array of nuts and dry goods to choose from. Baked goods are organic from Bread on Market a couple blocks away. There are even some grab-and-go sandwiches and salads. And at the counter, you can have a made-to order smoothie or acai bowl. You can also purchase fresh flower bouquets to spruce up your downtown condo!

Market 32 is open 8 am-7 pm on weekdays and 9 am-6 pm weekends. Seriously, check out the prices–you’ll be amazed. Also, there is something to be said for the pleasant evening stroll down to the corner market to pick up fresh, non-processed items–it’s part of the reason we moved downtown. And, should you bring your dog with you, there is always a water dish and treat jar out front!

Market 32

We’ve been getting a lot of interest in “the blue building next to the freeway”. Vantage Point, which has had a seemingly disastrous time getting to completion, is now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. During construction starts and stops, it seemed the project may be doomed. But in the last few months as the siding has been finished, windows installed, and a few decorative touches have been added, a lot of people (including myself) have been turning their heads and taking notice. There is a lot of intrigue surrounding the building that is more than twice the size (by number of units) as 98% of Downtown buildings.  Consider me a fan (so far).

May is the target for move-in, and it looks as if they are on track. There are still quite a few units available starting from $358,000 and going up to $1061,000.  Two floor plans are sold out – the two bedroom/two bath plan plan V and the two bedroom plus den/two bath plan U. All other plans have at least one unit available. Units are available on floors two through forty, as well as the garden level.

It will be interesting to see how this projects turns out in the end. Only time will tell…

note: this building is not blue – the film on the new windows has yet to be removed making the building appear as though it’s primary color is blue.

The Legend by Bosa Development is offering discounts and builder incentives on the remaining units. Completed in 2007, Legend is an luxury highrise offering the best Downtown has to offer – location, amenities and views. Legend is the only condominium complex located inside the perimeter of Petco Park.

Legend condos from Petco Park

In addition to three years of paid HOA dues, select units are receiving up to a 7% discount on already discounted prices. Two examples are unit #1407, a two bedroom unit, originally priced at $696,800, then reduced to $655,000, and now available at $635,300. Also, 2204, a wo bedroom + den, was originally priced at $1,249,000, reduced to $1,099,000 and now available at $1,022,000.

Icon in East Village, the Tilted Kilt

Downtown San Diego has posted a slight increase in median home prices for 2008. 92101 is up 7.4% from 2007 prices, despite having a higher than normal amount of unsold inventory. The median price for 2008 was $522,000 compared with $486,000 for 2007.  Home sales were down from 1,331 to 1,061.

Looking closer at each building, you can find distinctly different stories. While some buildings were closing escrows from pre-sell days in 2005/ 2006, other buildings are struggling with high levels of defaults and HOA’s on the brink of being upside down  – and are down from 2007 prices.  Some of struggling HOA’s are actually compounding the downward price pressure by making it difficult for low down payment buyers to obtain financing. Other projects, like Icon (pictured) have been in a builder blow out phase slashing prices in some cases by $100,000.

All in all, however, Downtown San Diego condos have faired well relative to other parts of the County that have seen 40% + declines in value.

CondoDomain, the company with the flat fee buyer brokerage model based out of Boston, has launched operations in San Diego and Washington DC this week.

CondoDomain is a full service real estate brokerage that rebates the commission paid to the buyers agent beyond the flat fee of, in San Diego, $6,000. CondoDomain focuses on the urban markets, utilizing online tools and technology to help consumers search, buy and save. Home buyers have already received over $300,000 in rebates since CondoDomain opened it’s doors.

While most brokerages are in a consolidation phase, CondoDomain has expanded to six new market in just the past two months as a part of a growth plan that includes thirty-three pre-planned destinations.

Downtown offers a variety of parks and open spaces. CCDC has done good job over the years of adding open space throughout the rapidly growing urban core of San Diego.

Check out the map to see what is coming.

The majority of bank owned sales are falling into the entry level range of homes in Downtown San Diego. Over the past 6 months, of 63 bank owned sales that were recorded in the San Diego MLS, 35% fell in the range between $200k – $300k. An additional 25% could be found between $300k and $400k, 17% between $400k and $500k and a then sharp drop above $500k ( to $600k) with 9%.

With a lot of short sales on the market in these ranges that are not selling (I’ll grab some of those numbers later), we can expect to see a healthy (buyers perspective) inventory of foreclosed homes to hang around for the next year, at least.

Foreclosure note: We are closing this week for a client on a unit in Little Italy at 58% of it’s last market sale (last sale was in 04 – Downtown peaked in 06). At $354 per square foot, it is $27 per square less than the average for other bank owned properties. There were 3 offers on this property, all within $15k of each other.

Bank owned properties are proving to be the best deals for attached units in 92101 (Downtown condos) per Sandicor (MLS) records. Using a price per square foot comparison for all units that have sold (per MLS records) over a 6 month history we find that bank owned units are closing, on average, for $61.53 less than properties being sold as short sales. Most of the sales we are seeing for bank owned (and short sale) properties are taking place in the $200k to $300k range followed closely by properties selling in the $300k to $400k range.

Ok. This is starting to get very attractive. 726 square feet of studio in Centex’s Element in East Village. Listed at $186,500 – the otherwise mediocre building that currently separates hip, young urban dwellers from crack-alley vagrants at 15th and Market has reached a sensible level of affordability.

Element is an average building that located about 5 blocks from Petco Park. It’s close enough to the Gaslamp for a 5-10 minute walk, but by no means offers the downtown vibe of an Icon or Alta.

Slowly, however, East Village is growing up around Element. Construction timelines that have been halted as inventory levels spiked and credit markets tightened will soon have projected completion dates once again. As projects like Metro Center move forward, other residential projects will soon follow. And Element, in a futuristic East Village where the vagrants pee on the sides of buildings another 4 blocks east, will have simply been ahead of it’s time.

And that is why my eyes grow and my jaw drops just slightly as I see 726 sq ft come on the market at $187,500.  A unit that will rent between $1200-$1300 whose principal and interest payment are likely going to be under $1200 (for most borrowers) makes me think that the world is starting to make sense again… Well, maybe the world will make sense when the HOA’s aren’t $450/ mo.