Downtown’s Exciting Growth and Development

After some lean years, we’re finally seeing multitudes of shops and restaurants opening up in Downtown. Much of it is in the ever expanding newer East Village as it continues to grow.  Below are just some of the new venues that we hope to be able to try out this year!

Roosterfish  615 J St.

Good Time Design is continuing its rapid expansion of Bars and Restaurants by taking over the old Palm restaurant location and opening Roosterfish.  Good Time Design has been mopping up East Village locals over the past few years opening bars and eateries such as Bubs, Blind Burro, Southpaw, Bootlegger, Lucky’s Lunch Counter and many more. 

 Roosterfish is slated to be a unique seafood restaurant, with a “social seafood” atmosphere.  The kitchen will be headed by former Oceanair Chef, Sean Patrick Langlais, and will be comprised of 2 storeys, multiple bars and a street level patio.

Stone Brewery  795 J St.

Stone will be making its way into downtown, taking over the long empty old Proper location.  Stone was founded by Greg Koch and Steve Wagner in San Marcos in 1996.  Since then it’s been one of the fastest growing breweries in America, averaging 43% year over year growth for the past 15 years.  Stone’s brews can be found nationally and in both 2008 and 2009 was named “All-Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth” by Beer Advocate.

Current locations include Escondido, Oceanside, South Park, Liberty Station, Kettner Blvd and even Pasadena.  We can’t wait to sip in the sun on the new rooftop patio this summer!

Comun Kitchen & Tavern  935 J St.

Just around the corner from Stone, Chef Chad White will be opening the new “Cheers of East Village” along with partners Shane Brennan and Damien Farrell of Enlightened Hospitality.  The team hopes the new rustic/industrial bar will become the new local hot spot where everyone knows your name.  Expect an opening around May 2014.

Union Kitchen + Tap  335 5^th Ave.

Eric Leitstein of Union Kitchen + Tap and his OMG Restaurant Group have taken over the recently closed Donovan’s Prime Seafood location in the Gaslamp.  Leitstein is in the planning and development stages of what this new location will entail.  He is currently traveling and visiting different venues in order to come up with the inspiration for his new concept.

Tom N Toms Coffee

By the end of the month East Village and Cortez Hill should have 2 new major coffee shops.  Watch out Starbucks, the “Starbucks of Korea” is quickly moving in.  Tom N Toms presently has over 300 locations worldwide, some remain open 24/7.  The shops are meant to be conducive for studying and working and will serve food, coffee drinks, tea, smoothies and juice. 

You’ll find new coffee spots at the bottom of the Strata building, 969 Market St. and in Vantage Point, 1281 9^th Ave.

I know all of you are as excited as I am to have these restaurants and shops in East Village. See you around the neighborhood as we visit these new hot spots.

Written by: 

Rebecca Roman

Economic Outlook for California & San Diego 2014

Harcourts Conference 2014-Notes from CAR’s Chief Economist 

We just returned from our annual conference energized and focused after being acknowledged as part of the top 30 agents in the company's U.S offices for 2013. We enjoyed 2 full action packed days of Keynote speakers and economic breakouts. 

Our own Nicole even took part in a Rock-Star Agent Panel to share tips with new agents to the industry. We also spent a day golfing for charity and raised over $3,000 that was later donated to Operation Smile, Braam Malherbe our day 2 keynote Speaker's foundation for children with cleft palates. 

It was our privilege to be able to meet in a small breakout session with Leslie Appleton Young, our California Association of Realtors VP and Chief Economist. Throughout the discussion, the statement she made that resonated with us is that this market “could not possibly be a ‘bubble’ because there are so many buyers purchasing with cash”. 

With the government tapering and Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac purchasing over 80% of the mortgages in 2013, by December 2013 85% of all sales in California were equity sales. For a market that was 60% REO’s back in January 2009, we have seen a huge improvement to distressed sales with only 5% being REO currently in California. In 2009 over 35% of homeowners were underwater which has now decreased to 13%. Overall absorption in Ca is at 3 months, which is still not a balanced market but is heading there. Delinquency rates are back to long term trending. In 2013 82% of investment purchases were turned into rentals versus “flipped”. In San Diego our median price is up overall by 15%. 

In California there is strong foreigner purchasing presence, with 30% of buyers from China, 13% from Mexico, 9% from Canada, and 6% from India. 38% of these foreign transactions were done in cash. Dollar volume decreased 60% from 2006 to 2011 and has been sturdily improving the past 3 years. 

The overall message? 

Don’t miss out on the current opportunity to purchase with rates historically low! The increase in rate will decrease individual purchasing power because payments will be higher and loans will be harder to qualify for.

Downtown Neighborhood Comparison | San Diego Market Statistics | January 2014

Here is a comprehensive information on the sales statistics comparing each Downtown Neighborhood in San Diego 92101 for the month of January 2014:

In this month's sales activity, overall active inventory was up to 216 active listings in 92101, a 10% increase to that at the end of December at 196. The majority of listings by month's end were split between the Marina District, Little Italy, and East Village.

Overall sales in January were up 10% from January's numbers, but down by 40% from the previous month.

For the Percentage of Sold Properties, absorption was lowest in the Columbia District with over 41% of active inventory sold by month's end. And with inventory high in the Marina District, only 15% of inventory sold leaning towards 6.2 months of inventory remaining. 

The List and Sales prices increased in every district except Columbia, with a 20% decrease to the average sales price from January 2013. The most dramatic increase to sales prices was experienced in the Marina District with an 18% increase over January 2013. 

However, there was a little more wiggle room in the list price this January that that 2013, with the properties selling within 6% of their list price in the Marina District. While Columbia District sellers held strong and sold within 1% of their list prices on average.

The amount of market time is till on the decline from last year, however our January comparison shows that properties in the Marina District were on the market longer this January compared to last. Also, market time has really reduced in East Village, Gaslamp, and Cortez Hill since this time last year. 

   

Check out our video presentation of this month's Sales Statistics:

Hazelton & Associates
Harcourts Pacific Realty
REALTORS®
620 1st Ave.
San Diego, CA  92101
http://www.yourSDhome.com
619-300-5093
CA DRE#01819363

Information herein is based on personal sales experience for residential property purchases in San Diego County, California. Licensees do not offer legal or financial advice. This video is for informational purposes only.

San Diego Real Estate
By Nicole Hazelton"

Housing Market is Improving

       Happy New Year!  2013 was an exciting year of transformation for the housing market which will continue on throughout 2014.  We have all seen and heard about the new wave of lending regulations that have been implemented by Dodd Frank in 2014.  But don’t panic!  It’s not as bad as the media has made it out to be.  You can still purchase with as little as 0% down and you can still qualify with past credit issues! 

    VA is one of the best loans out there for qualified borrowers who are currently serving or have served in the past.  The down payment requirement is 0% up to a $527,500 loan amount in San Diego County (yes the limit on this INCREASED!) and the rates on this product are lower than conventional rates with NO monthly mortgage insurance.  VA also allows fico scores down to a 620 and you can purchase again 2 years out of a foreclosure or short sale.  For some short sales situations, there is no waiting period.

     FHA is also another good option with a minimum down payment requirement of 3.5% which can be gifted.  The maximum loan amount in San Diego County with the minimal down payment is $546,250 for a single family dwelling and increases from there on 2-4 units.  FHA is also forgiving of past credit issues and you don’t need to be a first time homebuyer to qualify.

   Conventional financing is still a good viable option as most people thought the new QM rules would majorly affect this.  It hasn’t!  You can still put as little as 5% down.  You are also able to add a non-occupying co-borrower to the loan to help qualify.  So if you are a student or if your income falls short of qualifying, you can add your parents, aunt, brother and etc to help you get qualified and into the home.

     We are now finally seeing a nice trend of statics and news showing the housing market and economy improving.  This hasn’t impacted home loan rates too much as the 30 year fixed is still in the 4.0’s and the 15 year is still in the 3.0’s.  Take advantage of these rates and lower home prices as it will continue to gradually increase throughout the year. 

     As San Diego Magazine’s “5 Star Award” Winner for service, I’d be happy to help you with any of your mortgage needs.   Every client I work with gets the same great service and knowledge.  Please feel free to contact me anytime!

        

______________________________________________________

           
Ashley Ortega is a Sr. Mortgage Consultant with CMG Financial.  She is a wealth of knowledge and can guide you with financing to meet your specific needs. She has been serving the mortgage industry for over 10 years and enjoys working extensively with home buyers and refinances.  It is her goal to retain you as a client for life.


Contact Ashley to find out more information about financing in today's market:

Ashley Ortega | Mortgage Consultant-Consumer Services

NMLS# 238561 |  CMG Financial, NMLS #1820

1033 B Avenue, Suite 105, Coronado, CA 92118
Mobile: 619.955.9483  |  Office: 619.554.1905  |  
Private Fax: 619.819.4223
aortega@cmgfi.com  |  www.cmgfi.com  |  aortega.cmgfi.com