San Diego Real Estate Blog

Helpful Interest Rate Projections for La Jolla Buyers

In recent weeks, a number of La Jolla homeowners welcomed new residents to their neighborhoods. La Jolla Light recently published a list of home sales in La Jolla since September 1, 2015. The article listed 47 homes purchased in La Jolla over last month with an average sales price of $2,080,947.

If the buyers who purchased La Jolla real estate last month opted to use financing, they were able to take advantage of low interest rates courtesy of the Federal Reserve’s decision to not raise the federal funds rates in September. Whether the federal funds rate will remain at or near zero throughout the end of the year remains to be seen, but there are some indications that it may be increased.

Will these homes be some of the last purchased with the…

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4 Little-Known Facts About La Jolla

If asked to describe La Jolla, many would cite its beautiful climate, endless sunshine, seven miles of incredible coastline and vibrant village. They would not be wrong, but there are some little-known facts about La Jolla that are equally intriguing:

1. Believe it or not, it has snowed in La Jolla.

Unbelievably good weather nearly 365 days a year would lead one to believe that homes in La Jolla have never experienced so much as a trace of snow on their rooftops. That isn’t the truth though.  Mother Nature can make anything happen at her whim. Almost 50 years ago, La Jolla got some unexpected snowflakes on an otherwise normal December day.

The first and last recorded snowfall in La Jolla was on December 13, 1967. A sharp drop in temperature…

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Market Stats in and Beyond La Jolla

The national, San Diego, and La Jolla real estate numbers for July and August are out. Two separate sets of stats were released recently, the first being the highly trusted Case-Shiller home price index and the other being CoreLogic’s August Real Estate Data Report for Southern California. Between the two reports, news media were able to identify upward trends in national and local home sales prices over last year’s figures. 

National market stats

The New York Times attributed the nationwide rise in home prices in July to buyers vying for homes amidst a reduced supply. The Case-Shiller home price index revealed a five percent increase in home prices across the country in the past year and an eight-year sales high.

In addition to this, new…

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2 Flooring Options Trending in La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe

Kitchen and bath designer Jamie Gold recently wrote an article in The San Diego Union-Tribune about the latest home flooring trends in San Diego. In it, she noted that Rancho Santa Fe, La Jolla and downtown San Diego homeowners are gravitating toward natural products, such as hardwood and stone flooring.

Gold wrote that high-polished looks were trending upward and that wood look tile “has caught on like wildfire.” She attributes this to local interest in acquiring the hardwood look with the durability and low-maintenance of tile. 

Owners of homes in La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe can take advantage of the latest home flooring offerings to get the high-end look for less money and less upkeep by installing wood look tile floors. Given that…

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Murals of La Jolla Unveils Latest Addition to Collection

Image courtesy of Murals of La Jolla

Since the late 1800’s, La Jolla has been a sanctuary for artists. Present day La Jolla is no different than the beautiful place where the Green Dragon Colony first took root and decades later became a home for traveling artists and performers.

Fast-forward to 2015 and the streets of La Jolla have become a treasured place where artists share expressions of their craft in grand murals. More than a dozen artists have displayed their handiwork to the world via the Murals of La Jolla project.

Murals of La Jolla is an Athenaeum project launched by the La Jolla Community Foundation and paid for by private donations. For the past five years, Murals of La Jolla has been commissioning public art projects and…

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From Parking Lot to Condominium: The Story of a Vacant Lot on Girard Avenue in La Jolla

After years of rejections and a number of project redesigns, a vacant lot on Girard Avenue is one step closer to becoming the home of a 5,000 square foot commercial property and six condos.

PQ Design Studio’s quest to develop the property next to Vons stretches back years. According to the developer, the San Diego Development Services Department approved a three-story version of the project in 2011. However, the following year, the La Jolla Community Planning Association found that the design violated the La Jolla Planned Development Ordinance.

Last year, the La Jolla Town Council disapproved the redesigned project because it violated parts of the La Jolla Planned District Ordinance, including the two-story limit. La Jolla Light reported that…

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La Jolla May Trade Pearl Street Gas Station for New Townhomes

Earlier this month, the La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee unanimously approved the Conger Project, which aims to replace a gas station on Pearl Street with commercial property and townhomes. 

La Jolla Light reported that the committee’s approval allows the Conger Project to move forward to the La Jolla Community Planning Association. From there, it will be elevated to the city Development Services Department, should it pass muster. 

In years prior, the Conger Project experienced several rejections that ultimately forced the developers back to the drawing board. The plan that won approval this month is courtesy of a new architect, Alcorn & Benton, and incorporates requested changes made by previous committees. Prior designs were…

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$10.5 Million Dollar Estate Up for Auction in Fairbanks Ranch

Photo courtesy of Platinum Luxury Auctions

A 5-acre estate in Rancho Santa Fe is going to be on Platinum Luxury Auction’s block on October 3rd. The estate lies within Fairbanks Ranch and boasts European architectural influences throughout its 15,321 square feet of living space. The striking home will go to the highest bidder out of a pool of interested parties that will place reserve bids of $5 million.

With 11 bedrooms, 11 full and 2 half bathrooms and seven en-suite bedrooms, the luxury residence up for auction is nothing short of grand. The list of high-end features in the master suite is rather impressive, including:

• Private elevator
• Italian glass tiles in the master bath
• Infrared sauna
• Steam shower
• Heated floors
• Custom…

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How Accurate Are Zillow’s Real Estate Listings?

Image courtesy of jannoon028 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Washington Post reported that all but ten percent of today’s real estate searches are conducted online. Given that online real estate searches are the main way buyers are finding homes in La Jolla and across the nation, it’s vital that online listings are accurate, but that’s not the case with all real estate information sites. 

With millions of users every month, Zillow is the largest and most widely known real estate information site, but name recognition doesn’t denote regularly updated and accurate information. Buyers have devoted time and resources to researching properties on Zillow only to find out that the homes they were interested in were no longer on the market.

Estimated home…

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Torrey Pines High School Ranked One of 500 Best in Nation

Classes resumed for Rancho Santa Fe high school students last Tuesday. Less than a week prior, their school was named one of the 500 best in the nation based on their stellar performance.

Newsweek ranked Torrey Pines High School as one of America’s Top High Schools for 2015. Out of 24,000 school across the country, Torrey Pines was ranked #336 based its students’ performance and college readiness scores, which are listed below:

Torrey Pines Test Scores: 
Average SAT Score: 1858
Average ACT Score: 27
Average AP Score: 3.72

Three other schools in San Diego made Newsweek’s list of America’s Top High Schools for 2015. Their rankings and scores are listed below:

West View High School
Newsweek Ranking: 97th
Average SAT Score: 1858
Average ACT Score:…

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