News and information about the La Jolla and Del Mar real estate markets.

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Builders are set to break ground later this year on three new townhomes with very old and cultured architectural inspirations. La Jolla Light reported that several new townhomes will be built along Coast Boulevard right where the Green Dragon cottages of yesteryear once stood.

The Green Dragon Art Colony is delicately woven into La Jolla’s history. Founded by Anna Held in the late 1800’s, the artist colony consisted of a collection of cottages designed by famed San Diego architect Irving Gill. 

Art historian Jean Stern wrote that the cottages were a hub for traveling musicians and artists, who often stayed on the property in La Jolla while working at Hotel del Coronado. La Jolla’s art community flourished under the patronage of heiress Ellen…

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Graphic of homes that reads "Silver Street Village Homes is one step closer to becoming a reality"

The Silver Street townhome project received some good news this month. La Jolla Light reported that the San Diego Planning Commission voted to deviate from the La Jolla Planned District Ordinance that requires retail space to occupy a percentage of the ground floor.

The area where Silver Street Village Homes would be constructed is in a zone designated for community serving offices and retail establishments with no residential uses within the front 50 percent of the lot. The La Jolla Planned District Ordinance intended for this space to provide a transition zone to the multi-family residential areas in the west.

The requirement to have 50 percent retail storefront space in the zone has been raising issues for businesses in the area as retail…

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New business centers in La Jolla are incorporating streamlined designs and leisure areas that aim to improve the experience of coming to work every day. In the process, developers are creating innovative workplace designs that help La Jolla businesses thrive and meet the needs of clientele before they even step inside.

Thoughtful and practical infrastructure is only going to become more common in future designs. Work center experience may have been on the back burner  before, but it’s getting executive attention in today’s business sector because it’s proving to be a viable method to boost productivity and revenues.

One La Jolla Center opened this month and is following suit. Distinctive marks of the innovative workspace trend infused with…

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Newspapers across the country published stories this week about the median age of first-time buyers rising. The New York Post and numerous other media outlets reported that the millennial generation, which includes adults ages 18-34, are renting for six years on average prior to purchasing their first homes. This is an increase of 2.6 years since the 1970’s. 

Many cite rising housing costs as the reason for this trend in delayed homeownership. San Diego home prices and median rental rates are rising, but according to The San Diego Union-Tribune , this is due in part to an increase in high wage job growth. Housing costs play a role, but they may not be the only factor at work.

Millennials are delaying not only homeownership, but also marriage…

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Graphic of door with keys in it that reads "When the Fed Raises the Interest Rate: DeSouza Select Properties""

To date, the Federal Reserve hasn’t publicly announced plans to increase the interest rate in September.

Nevertheless, there will come a day when the interest rate is increased. The Federal Reserve hasn’t raised the rate in 9 years, which has resulted in historic lows. Mortgage rates on 30-year fixed loans have been under 4 percent for the better part of this year. They won’t remain there indefinitely.

An increase in the federal funds rate will lead to higher dividends on savings and higher interest rates on new mortgages. The former is good news for many, while the latter isn’t quite as well received. 

The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted local economists who believe the interest rate increases will be gradual and that low supply and high…

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There's plenty to be excited about if you're thinking about buying in La Jolla. The market there has slipped, just like the markets throughout the country. Where high-end homes are concerned, this is an especially large problem, as many sellers aren't able to make their payments or keep their lovely homes. While it's tragic for the people who got in over their heads with these homes, it's a great boon for buyers who are looking for high-quality homes at great prices. No matter what your needs, there are homes that will be just right for you. Pools, granite countertops, exotic tile floors, manicured yards, and more all await you in La Jolla. All you have to do is come and pick out the one you like the best, since there are plenty to choose from.

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Buying a home is exciting. There are many great homes available in the San Diego area - specifically in Rancho Santa Fe and La Jolla. Whether it's brand new, or just new to you, buying a home is a time for big dreams, plans and goals for the future. It's also a time for big mortgage payments and the responsibility that comes with them. Many buyers, when they are pre-approved for a loan, automatically go out and start looking for houses that are as expensive as they can possible buy. That doesn't really mean they can afford these houses, it just means their debt-to-income ratio was acceptable to the bank.

Fortunately, the trend of “buy as much as you can afford” is slowly changing. Ultimately, it's better to buy something that's slightly less than what…

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It's no secret that buying or selling a La Jolla home or Rancho Santa Fe hom has gotten more difficult recently. That's largely because of the struggling economy, which led to the foreclosure crisis and the popping of the housing bubble. There have been a lot of changes that have taken place, too, and one of them deals with the appraisals that are done in La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe area. In areas like La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe, the high-end real estate market is not immune to lowered appraisal values that are keeping people from buying (and selling) homes.

In order to have a home financed, it has to appraise for at least the amount the buyer wishes to borrow. In many cases, it must appraise for more, because lenders generally only want to offer 80% of…

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Buying a home in an upscale community  place like Rancho Santa Fe or La Jolla seems like a dream come true, but it's becoming a nightmare for a lot of people. The real estate magazines say it's a buyer’s market, but many of them fail to mention that it's only a good market for a particular kind of buyer. If you want to buy and don't have good credit plus a healthy down payment, it may not be a “buyer's market” for you.

Instead, you may find that you've been shut out of purchasing your dream home in La Jolla or Rancho Santa Fe, right at a time where the prices have come down enough that you could afford to purchase in one of those beautiful areas. Many upscale buyers do not want to wait to see what prices do since they will be living in these homes for the…

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Newly released figures show that the unemployment rate throughout the country is now at 9.8%. That's higher than it was in the previous month, and it spells problems for the real estate market if you're a seller or if you're just trying to stay in your home. San Diego isn't fairing any better than the rest of the country when it comes to people losing their jobs, and even places like La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe are seeing more and more people who simply have to move because they can no longer afford the home they once easily paid for.

It's a difficult time in real estate, but all is not lost. Buyers who have good credit and a down payment are still able to purchase homes, even in high-end real estate markets like La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe. Banks are…

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