San Diego is one of those towns where most people think that they can't afford a condo. Growing up in Philadelphia, east coasters think living in San Diego is an unattainable Soutern California paradise. Frankly for awhile they were right. Prices were high and only getting higher. During the San Diego condo boom, thousands of new units went up and now there is somewhat of a glut of condos. This has made builders drastically drop their prices in some areas making some amazing deals out there and making the market affordable to all potential buyers. 2 years ago, you could not find a 2 bedroom San Diego condo for under $500,000. Now even 5 minutes down the street from my house you can pick up some nice 2 bedroom condo conversions or some slightly older condos for the high $200,000's.

The fantasy of living in this Southern California wonder land is finally attainable for most people. I don't think there is anywhere in the world I would rather live. The weather is amazing all year round and the people are incredible. If you are looking for some more affordable San Diego condos, you may want to check out areas such as North Park, Hillcrest, and southern San Diego in Chula Vista. They are some beautiful affordable single family homes down in Chula Vista.

As a San Diego resident now, I am heading down to the Padres game tonight where it is military night. The ballpark downtown is one of the best in the country and I would encourage people to make it out to a game if they make it to town.

The largest condo website in the country will soon be adding one of San Diego's most intriguing downtown's new addresses The Mark.

This beautiful new address is The Mark of San Diego.   You can view this new condos listing of their website here.  The residences will range from $400 to 3.7M.  If you’re a buyer of this property you can expect concierge, 24 hours per day lobby attendants and a new fitness facility.

I personally love this building because of it’s location, attention to detail and floorplans.  I visited The Mark’s website and found this website as a GREAT resource.   My wife is an Interior Designer and pointed out the nice layouts.   For those interested in a walk through, you’ll notice floor plans ranging from 1 bedroom at 899 sq.ft. to 3 bedrooms at 2441.  I love baseball so any sports fans would love to this location because you’re very close to the stadium.  

I did my research and found out that this building a project by Doug Wilson.     Doug Wilson he led the design and re-development of the Symphony Towers and created Park Loft.    In the next week NCO is proud to launch a Doug Wilson project on the largest condo website in the country.

 In the next week we’ll be up-loading all these beautiful images of this property.   Stay tuned!

During 2007, Southern California and more specifically San Diego and Los Angeles, were hit very hard by the declining market.  This is no secret.  As we watched the whisper of a real estate bubble turn to a national media frenzy the sales of San Diego condos and Los Angeles condos slowed dramatically causing inventory levels to rise, values to drop, and layoffs to occur in the construction and mortgage industries.  The most optimistic of analysts and economists stated in 2005 that there was no bubble and that the market might correct but not crash.  This was true for some markets but not most.  Now these more optimistic analysts are saying that we will continue to see condo and home values decrease for another 6 months to a year and start to see a correction in 2009.  Of course this means that market conditions may not be what we would consider “good” until 2010 or 2011.

Some real estate professionals in San Diego and Los Angeles feel that there is at least an inkling of consumer confidence starting to emerge.  Not so much in the fact that the market will correct soon and become healthy, but that for long term thinkers and condo buyers…now is the time to buy.  There are and will continue to be great opportunities through 2008. 

Think back to a time when you saw something that someone else had or that you wanted so badly.... Did you beg your mother or father to get it for you if you promised to be good? Did you vow to do the dishes for 2 weeks in a row or pinky swear to never fight with your siblings again?

Was is it a bike or a calculator watch? Was it a a pony? Regardless of what it was, it was marketed the right way and it reached its intended audience. That concept in it self is very straightforward; An entity considers their development to be built to the highest standards to serve a purpose. At NewCondosOnline we are the best condominium advertising outlet on the internet, BARNONE! What makes us the best? We reach a targeted market of homebuyers and investors by implementing a wide variety of specific tools that the consumer would use. Google, MSN, Yahoo? We spend more than a MILLION dollars a year in optimizing our web presence! We work with 1300 different developers across the WORLD; Belize, The Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Washington D.C, New York City.... you name it and we are there. Its something we take very seriously over here and we are only going to step it up from here. 2008 is going to be a very productive year and we are expecting to see another successive year of growth.

So if you're trying to reach your intended audience *HOMEBUYERS* , come see us. We'll get your name out there and help you show off that beautiful development you've been working on.

A staggering number of climatic events are threatening some major cities in the United States in the past 10 years. Atlanta is seeing a depletion of their natural water source and that grim reality is leading to panic around the world as we are beginning to face the facts that our natural resources are not unlimited. We are also seeing an increase in greenhouse gases and harmful carbon dioxide emission especially in large cities including Los Angeles and Washington D.C. It seems like we are digging our own grave by doing this to our atmosphere and earth; what is of more concern is that the earth will see an increase in hurricanes, floods, snowfall, heatwaves and ice storms.

 As gripping and urgent as this situation is, there is hope. Hope because we as a people are taking the proper steps by reducing emissions, greenhouse gases, water consumption, energy consumption and implementing more strict guidelines for the future. This is GREAT news for the potential and current home-buyer because as more strict standards go into place, we see an increase in the quality of a budding condo or  town home development using state of the art technology in making you living as clean and energy efficient as possible.

 We are on our way to reducing the negative effects that have been causing so much harm to our environment. The end result points towards a new frontier of modern living that promises to make the world a better place. 

Los Angeles in the winter is thought to be a sunny haven for super models and infamous actors. While many actors reside in L.A, the weather is very, very chilly. I know its cold when the ambient temp gauge on my new BMW M5 is prefaced with a "snowflake" icon. Although the weather is chilly and people are gearing up for the Holidays, the sale and excitement of individuals buying condos and moving to Los Angelesis somewhat staggering. Many of our developments have been receiving more traffic during this "cold" season than in some of our more recent busy months. I have a feeling that is due to several factors, including but not limited to home and condo prices dropping and a new type of buyer moving in.

Greetings from the sunny city of San Diego! My name is James Law and I am new to the team at www.newcondosonline.com and I am very excited to get started with the firm but more importantly I am eager to develop exposure to our new listings and clients! I am from the Aspen valley in Colorado and have been skiing and mountain biking since I was a little lad. My family spent time traveling and dividing our seasons between Aspen in the winter and San Diego in the summer and travelling in between.

I consider myself lucky becuase I was able to see what different areas in the U.S had to offer as far as residential development and growth. I feel like NewCondosOnline.com is a great fit for me becuase they are maximizing exposure for exciting new developments in the U.S and abroad and being apart of such a remarkable process gets me motivated to meet new clients and offer a great service in an expanding marketplace.

As most people know, San Diego is recovering from massive wild fires that destroyed numerous homes and structures.  Aparently, last night a San Diego condo complex in the La Jolla area was set ablaze around 1 AM when one of the resident's candles caught the room on fire.  The condo development only has 8 units but 4 of the eight were damaged.  Estimated damages amounted to approximately $900,000.  Let's be more careful people!

The SD Union Tribune reported today that KB Homes will not build a high-rise in San Diego.  Instead, Affirmed Housing will move in and create affordable housing rentals which will be available in a couple years.  This move by KB Homes is largely due to the current condition of the real estate market here in San Diego.  San Diego condos have been sprouting up all over the city over the last several years yet developers are having a tough time selling out their units.  Will this be a growing trend?  Will more apartments be erected instead of new condo developments?  Maybe developers should keep on building high-rises that can adjust to the market.  Meaning, should developers build build apartments and once conditions improve, convert them to condos?  You may get some resistance from current tenants but it couldn't hurt to consider this.

If you want to read more about this in the Union Tribune, you can here: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070924-9999-1m24switch.html

In San Diego and Southern California right now, subprime mortgages (which are designed for individuals with low credit scores) are getting stricter as far as lending standards go, which is making some would-be homebuyers turn to renting. Many new condo and home buyers are facing larger downpayments and higher monthly payments, because lenders (locally and nationally) recently raised underwriting standards to stabilize increasing loan defaults. With an overall occupancy rate in San Diego unchanged in the past year of 96.5%, landlords are expected to see increased earnings based on steady job growth and continually increasing economic activity.

But will these loan market issues really make renting a more affordable option than owning? Not necessarily, and this is why. Now that a subprime crackdown has occurred, more and more would be homeowners are being pushed towards rentals. But this new demand for rentals is resulting in an increase in rental prices accross the board for Southern California. As rental prices rise, mortgages may begin to start to look attractive again, even in the subprime mortgage market. With average two-bedroom units renting at an average of $1,300/month this year in San Diego, we have already seen a 2.5% increase in rental costs in the past year. Should this continue, we may start to see rental units begin to catch up with mortgage payments, making owning a viable option once again. Check out over 80 new and pre-construction projects throughout San Diego County at www.newcondosonline.com

A ferocious fire has been blazing on Catalina Island of the coast of California!  What is the deal with California and our natural disasters?  If it’s not fires, it’s floods and mud-slides.  As if the prices of homes and condos are not enough in California, people also have to worry about their house getting caught in a rapidly spreading brush fire and sliding down the hill due to rain and flooding!  The fire on Catalina Island is yet another example of fire destroying precious real estate, both commercial and residential.  Luckily, our client Mitchell Development, was not effected by the fire.  Their community, Vista Glenar which is a beautiful mix of condos and townhomes with prices over $1.3 million, was left unharmed. 

Finally, some positive news for the San Diego “home” front.  Home purchase contracts and refinance contracts actually rose significantly last week as rates took a dip.  Basically, this shows us two things.  First, the buyers are still there eager and willing…they are simply playing the waiting game as we all have known for a while.  Second, it appears that rates are not going to rise in any significant fashion.  They are still fluctuating and at historically healthy levels. 

Many people who have purchased San Diego condos in the past few years are now refinancing their adjustable rate mortgages that have recently “adjusted”…UP!  I own a condo in San Diego that I purchased a little over three years ago at an adjustable rate mortgage rate of 4.89%.  That’s about as good as it gets.  When the rate adjusted however it went up to 7.98%...ouch!  Since the condo is a rental property, refinancing will not command a rate much better than the adjusted rate…just something to look out for. 

Is what happened last week a sign of good things to come?  We certainly hope so.  We definitely know the buyers are here, the demand to buy San Diego condos and homes is still here, but people are still waiting.  The time is now. 

We always love to hear about closed buyer's from our service at www.newcondosonline.com.  Today a buyer lead from our site closed on a unit at the beautiful Sapphire Tower in San Diego. 80% of all home buyers start their search online and many web leads turn into buyers. Internet advertising is now the only true cost effective way for builders to advertise their new construction condo projects.  This buyer today also puts to rest the argument that people do not buy expensive units online. Sapphire Tower is San Diego's premier new luxury condo tower and the units here are the best of the best from $600,000 to $3 million.  Think about the commission the builder saves on this unit. Let's say the price on the unit is approx $1 million. Normally with a 3% broker co-op, the builder would have to pay $30,000 to an outside agent. With listings starting from only $375 per month, if a builder sells one unit per year they still save thousands of dollars with www.newcondosonline.com.  The sales and marketing for this project is handled by Urban Housing Partners in San Diego.  San Diego has exploded with growth in downtown residential units in the last 5 years. With over 30 new projects large home builders such as Lennar, Bosa, and Centex have realized the value in this beautiful city and they have all built some amazing projects. San Diego is home to www.newcondosonline.com and we advertise about 80 properties in this area.   To find out more about how we can help bring buyers to your properties, contact us today at 1-800-930-4752.

Mayfair Homes is one of San Diego County's most respected developers. Recently, this prestigious firm has brought on Avalon and Trilogy on 5th to promote on NCO. Ready in June of '07 and September of '07 respectively, these two new construction condo communities are both located in desirable parts of San Diego.

Avalon is located in the heart of Pacific Beach, only steps to the ocean. Living in Pacific Beach is nothing but pure enjoyment as I can speak from experience. The surf is great as is the nightlife and the restaurants. If you're an active one, look no further! These condos are exquisite as are the stylish and upscale amenities.

Trilogy on 5th has 2 bedrooms beginning in the $500,000s and start of at 1,166 sf. Located in the Bankers Hill area of Hillcrest, this development will surely capture the hearts of many! Come check out the unique floor plans and plush amenities here on NCO.

What's wrong with this picture. It's raining on a late April day in San Diego and in Chicago its sunny and warm. I guess the condo sales offices in the windy city will be doing better than those in the finest city. I mean if you can't go outside in San Diego you pretty much can't do anything. Chicago is used to covering up and staying inside so they must feel pretty good right now. The real down side to rain in Southern California is watching the natives drive. It's like going to an old school car derby, where drivers try to destroy other cars. Here all of the accidents become the news story of the day. The sky becomes overcast and suddenly all of the drivers go into a trance and start ramming everything in sight, or sliding through intersections. Here is some advice to SoCal drivers: If you find yourself in Chicago in late January, and white stuff is falling from the sky, take a cab.

Fun, Sun, and Surf are three intangibles that you'll be able to enjoy when you buy a new condo at South Coronado Shores.  These condos are extremely affordable - starting in the $100,000s and will be ready next month!  Unit sizes range from 600 SF - 900 SF and this development boasts first rate amenities.  Such home amenities include: Stainless Stee Appliances, Granite Counter Tops and Custom Maple Cabinets (to name a few).

Community amenities are nothing short of fantastic featuring a pool with lounge chairs, a courtyard, and my favorite - 9 blocks to Pacific Beach!  Come see why owning here is a no-brainer.  You can check out all the amenities of South Coronado Shores at www.NewCondosOnline.com.

 

Barrat American- City Square and Aragon

With all the different San Diego Condos to choose from, Barrat American has produced 2 new projects that really stand out.

The first one is called City Square - SEE IT HERE

City Square by Barratt American offers vibrant urban living in Escondido townhomes. These new homes in north San Diego County stand proud within the heart of downtown Escondido’s urban vibe. 27 art galleries, 5 theaters, live music, museums, and award-winning restaurants – they’re all here. More so than all other new homes in Escondido, the attached homes in City Square are uniquely positioned to take advantage of all that Escondido and the surrounding areas of north San Diego county have to offer. A short drive away you’ll find wine tasting, golf, the Wild Animal Park and miles and miles of open space. With prices beginning from the high $300,000s, these urban residences are the ultimate value in Escondido real estate.

The second development is called Aragon - SEE IT HERE