This is How You Can Afford a Home in San Diego 

There you go! And congrats on the move!

Thanks for the thoughts! You are absolutely correct that there's plenty to consider when it comes to this. I will say, some of your concerns are not an issue everywhere you look. Yes, HOA fees need to be considered, but they can also save you a lot of time and energy by not having to maintain or repair anything outside the home. That can get quite costly in a single family home. You do need to consider Mello Roos, but let's be honest if you are buying an attached property for more affordability, then you probably won't be buying a newer home with Mello Roos. Although that's not always true because there's fairly affordable attached properties in the outskirts of the county. And lastly, the way home sales work in San Diego currently, the real estate commissions are generally included in the sale price. I've helped over 100 buyers in San Diego, and I've never had to ask my clients to pay me directly, it's always been included in the purchase price. Granted, it's possible that may eventually become a thing of the past, and you will need to consider an additional fee towards a real estate agent. You also have closing costs that need to be considered, which may be what you are thinking of? Oh and as a bonus, you are also right when you mentioned 3 years. Generally speaking, you don't want to purchase a home planning to sell it in 2-3 years, as that is usually the breakeven point. Plan for 5 years, and if home values appreciate faster and you make more money, then 3 years could totally be possible. I just met with clients yesterday that will be selling their 800 sq ft home exactly 2 years after purchasing it, and we expect them to profit over $100k in that sale (after commissions and closing costs are taken out)

Great way to ratchet up to a bigger and better home!

Appreciate you sir

Great points! And I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one

@@DanPBestLifeSD gotta do what we gotta do to make it in SD. i'd probably be renting for a while if i didnt pull the trigger when i did. no way i'd be able to afford the house i have right now. probably wouldve just started out with a small condo or something

That’s what I don’t get. average salary and average home price are so misaligned.

If you want a median priced single family home or better, you generally need dual income and a lot of times you need to bring equity from a previous property. Which is why it's impactful to get your foot in the door with something more modest. And sure the average salary is less than $100k, but there are a LOT of people that make significantly more than that. Because the quantity of homes available is so dang low, those people are having a massive affect on housing prices.

Competitive SD buyers are baby boomers with lots of cash thanks to the 2018 tax cuts. They don’t need a huge mortgage and prices will go up bc inventory is always low.

I appreciate the response and perspective. I'd say the opposite is true, and it's not a property tax problem, but a huge benefit you've received through inheritance. Getting your foot in the door is the hardest part, and the fact that you are able to inherit such a low property tax is so impactful it's hard to give that up.

@@DanPBestLifeSD Oh I absolutely know I got a huge benefit. But it really shouldn't have been. One women I spoke with a few years ago had just bought a smaller house in an older neighborhood, and was paying $500 a month in property taxes. I'm sure it would be much higher now. I just can't understand how anyone can afford that. And I know it's actually a smaller percentage of the property value than most states, but still.

City planning can make changes to zoning and other ordinances that can affect housing in the long-term. But we are talking 20-30 year changes a lot of times. The city of SD and California are putting new policy into effect to try and increase inventory, but nothing so far seems to have a significant impact on the short term.

Easy peasy

now that i think about it i think its from scarface