Mark Mills - Downtown San Diego Condo Expert

As I write this in mid December 2008, sales prices for condos in downtown San Diego continue to decline with a strong pull downward from the low priced units and a little push upward from the high end units. On average sold price per square foot has dropped 13% this year in downtown. That compares to a drop of 8% in 2007 and a drop of 2% in 2006 compared to the prior years. These low prices are attracting lots of buyers as sales volume this year is running 10% more than 2007.

Breaking down the 2008 data into condos sold under and over a million dollars shows two different stories. Condos sold under a million dollars dropped 17% in price while those over a million dollars increased 2%. There are several reasons for this but it all boils down to financing. A lot of lower price condos were sold on 100% financing to investors, unlike the high end that is more owner occupied (or second home) and required more of a financial commitment to acquire. Therefore less of the high end properties have resulted in foreclosure or distressed short sales.

So where are we headed? Inventory is high, currently at a 15 month supply including new condos not yet sold and those mid construction. One also needs to consider the governments ability to influence the foreclosure market, mortgage rates (currently just above 5% on a 30yr fixed), the recent drop in the stock market and the future state of the economy.

I think the number of foreclosures will decrease in 2009, mortgage rates will continue to stay very low, inventory growth will stop and all this will have the big impact on stabilizing the downtown market.

Yes, you read the headlines correctly; some developers are actually raising the prices on the purchase price of their brand new condos in downtown San Diego . If you have been reading any of the main stream press lately you know sales volume is way up from last year. Downtown sales volume is up roughly double from last year. Prices in general have been coming down since last year, but there are highly desirable locations within downtown where demand is outpacing supply. How can developers be raising prices in this market. Easy, some developers are selling their units faster than they think they should be selling so they think the prices must be too low. I don’t want to mention the name of the developer(s) in this article as its probably press they don’t want. Supply of new condos has hit a brick wall and no new condos will be built and completed in downtown for another four years.

Yes, there are a few new condo buildings in downtown under construction and all of them are roughly 75% complete. When I say no new condos, I’m talking about no one breaking ground for at least another two years, for many reasons, mainly lack of available development financing. So a developer may get a loan in two years if the banking situation improves, then another two years for construction. You can see the forecast, its not hard, price pressure is on the way up since we have run out of new supply for several more years. .

In discussing this with other Realtors, some have made an excellent point and that is to take your clients to buy in these building, because every buyer wants to buy in that a building that is actually going up in price.

In November of 2008, I decided to combine my strengths with those of Donna Seals in our RE/MAX office. Donna brings a lot of expertiese, experience and magnetism to the team. Donna has helped clients find property in all parts of San Diego over the past 20 years. She has a strong focus on downtown and Liberty Station. She has been helping buyers and sellers are Liberty Station since its inception when she used to work for the developer of the master planned community. The slogan for the new team is "When The Team Works, The Dream Works" . Mark is in charge of the blog on San Diego Condos and Donna is in charge of the blog on . Liberty Station.

Mi Arbolito condos in San Diego are expecting their first residents to begin occupying their penthouse homes in spring 2009. Mi Arbolito is a world class project attracting buyers from all over the globe. There are many reasons this property is sought after by many, but afforded by few.

The top three reasons are; its built on the highest piece of real estate near the downtown area. Literally, the top of the hill in Bankers Hill, owners at Mi Arbolito condos will soon know the true meaning of “Live At The Top”. Along with this top of the hill location, are some of the best views in the San Diego area. From the early floors on up, you can see the Balboa Park, bay, Coronado bridge, most panoramic view of the downtown skyline, Point Loma light house, the list goes on and on.

Second reason to live at Mi Arbolito is the privacy of having the entire floor to yourself. Mi Arbolito condos are only one private residence per floor. Third top reason to buy a Mi Arbolito condo is the quality of the finishes and the large floor plans. Even before you step into your condo from the private elevator foyer you notice the solid wood door is wider than any other in all of downtown. The quality and grandeur start at the front door and extend all the way to the glass railing of the balconies. After all when you have the ability to see the landmarks that surround the building you want a glass balcony wall to preserve the view.

There are 14 floors in the Mi Arbolito condominiums. The floor plans are around 2,300 sf per unit. Prices range from a little over a million dollars to almost three million. The home owners’ association (HOA) fees are very low for the large square footage and are expected to be fewer than eight hundred dollars per month.

Mi Arbolito is located at the NW corner of Balboa Park, in the Bankers Hill area of San Diego. It’s a special world class address with quality and views for the discriminating luxury condo buyer.

To learn more about this project, please visit Mi Arbolito condos in San Diego

In January 2008, downtown San Diego had a new high rise condo building claiming the status of being the tallest residential tower in downtown, named The Electra. The Electra condos will be 43 stories high with 248 condos. One of The Electra condos most distinguishing features aside from its height will be its 60 foot atrium styles "social lounge"/lobby, a first for San Diego. Other amenities include: business center, private meeting room, gym, 24-hour concierge pool, spa, sauna, steam room barbeque, 5th floor roof deck outdoor fireplace lounge & garden.

The Electra condos got their name from the site they are built on which used to be a San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) power plant facility dating back to 1911. All of the units offered by the developer for sale in 2005 were sold out with in a week's time. Demand has been and continues to be very strong for the high quality view condos downtown. Prices ranged from $500,000 to $2,500,000 when sold by the developer, with floor plans ranging from approximately 700 - 1,800 square feet. There are six units per floor up to about the 30th floor, than only five up to the 40th floor and then the top three floors only have three units per floor.

Electra is located in downtown "Columbia" neighborhood at the intersection of Broadway and Kettner Boulevard. Its easy to pick this building out on the skyline because of its height and also from up close you will notice the original façade of the SDG&E building was preserved and its original windows are now the windows of the lower floor condos, often two story town home floor plans.

The is a great building for people seeking the highest quality of finishes, because this building really does raise bar and set a new standard by which all others will be measured. Not to be overlooked are the magnificent city and bay views available from these condos, expect the premium view units to have a market value almost twice that of their similar sized floor plans and the lowest floors with out the special and panoramic views.

Resident reviews for this building will be available about a year after it is completly sold out and occupied for a year, this way owners can experience living there, the HOA, etc to answer the surveys more accurately.

For more information on The Electra condos, including ratings, reviews and to see what's currently available for sale click this link Electra condos downtown San Diego