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Touring San Diego’s new-home communities this spring, you'll find good news at the top and bottom of the market. Big is back, and you can buy a lot of bang for your buck; but builders also have found new ways to offer detached homes under $200,000, aimed at first-time buyers. And whether your budget is modest or magnanimous, new homes in your price range exhibit attention to detail that was lacking during the notorious "pink taco palace"1980s.
"Ten years ago, all the houses in a subdivision looked alike," says Peter Dennehy, director of consulting at the Meyers Group, a real estate market research company. "They had pink stucco walls and the fronts were all the same. Today, it’s not a cookie-cutter approach. A lot of projects are showing seven or eight exteriors. Homebuyers are really responding."
Dennehy says today’s new neighborhoods have a broader range of materials - brick, wood, stone - and styles, ranging from Craftsman to Mediterranean to "Santa Barbara," developer lingo for stately Spanish design. Old World details, such as crown moldings, built-in bookshelves, and wood paneling are making a comeback, as are extra storage areas and crawl spaces under stairwells and in attics. Exterior colors tend more toward natural and earth tones, not hot pinks.
Neo-traditionalist planning, with its pedestrian and mass transit orientation, has not hit San Diego in full force, but elements of this return-to-basics philosophy are showing up here: front porches, grassy medians buffering sidewalks from streets, granny flats (for grannies, grown kids who return to the nest, or for use as full-time home offices), and garages hidden from the street, or at least more gracefully integrated into the overall design.
"They are building subdivisions that have a less homogenous look," Dennehy says, adding that new neighborhoods to be built in the years ahead as part of the massive development of Otay Mesa will probably embrace more neo-traditionalist ideas.
Part of the reason for the return of cozy, familiar elements is renewed emphasis on the family, as evidenced at McMillin's Scripps Ranch Villages. The project opened in 1994 and sold more than 500 units last year, a huge hunk of a 6,000-home San Diego market. "It’s designed for families, with lots of open space, and infrastructure, including parks and an elementary school, put in up front," Dennehy says. "The emphasis is on practical amenities, not a golf course. Buyers are primarily families. They are adding a shopping center now, and they went to the community and sought input as to what kinds of stores they wanted. They are using old-sounding project names like Heatherstone and Cobblestone, and there is variety. It’s not a sea of red tile. Country is the theme."
Along with coziness, builders are marketing choice - the buyer's ability to customize even a modest new tract home. "We find buyers even in entry-level projects requesting walls opened up to create a great-room effect," says Catherine Nicholas, senior vice president at San Diego-based Developers Marketing Associates, whose client list includes Taylor Woodrow, J.M. Peters, Lusk Homes, Shea Homes and California Traditions. "Most homebuilders offer a number of standard options, but will consider special requests."
Choices of details can number in the dozens, and include everything from flooring to counters to one of the most popular new items: home-theater systems. These start around $2,000 to $2,500 and can be as much as $30,000. As part of a home's price, these systems are financed by the buyer's home loan.
Among other key elements in new homes for the 1990s are high-tech communications - for serious use, not just home hacking.
"We’re talking the ability to network, wiring to get information quickly," says Joyce Mason, director of marketing at Pardee Construction, San Diego’s largest builder of new homes, with 13 active projects here and sales expected to reach 800 units this year. "That usually means Category V wiring - high-speed lines that connect to fiber-optic systems. Pardee includes it standard in some homes. Certainly in San Diego, it’s a high priority, because San Diego is the telecommunications capital of the world. Buyers here are much more sophisticated computer-wise. People really want to have some choice in how their homes end up, everything from room options to counter-top materials."
Hoping to capitalize on strong move-up and first-time markets, Pardee is active across the price spectrum, from projects such as Sunset Glen and Las Casitas, both in the Westview community at the edge of moderately priced Mira Mesa, to upscale new neighborhoods such as Promontory in Del Mar Highlands, where prices range as high as $560,000. Other builders, including Continental Homes, Centex and Richmond American, are building new homes over 4,000 square feet, at prices approaching $700,000.
San Diego’s revived economy and brighter job prospects help explain the surge in sales of high-end new homes.
"We’ve had tremendous success with homes in the 3,000-square-foot-and-up range," Nicholas reports. With the resale market rebounding, move-up buyers are better able to sell their previous homes.
A 1990's phenomenon is the death of condo/townhome development - due to litigation fears - and the rise of detached courtyard-style housing such as California Traditions' new homes at Encinitas Ranch, or California Pacific's Trilogy I and II, in the hills above Sorrento Valley, where lots are as small as 2,500 square feet, houses range from 1,307 square feet to 1,939, and prices start under $200,000.
Quality-wise, Dennehy believes new-home buyers in 1997 are getting good value. "The large builders have a larger share of the market than they did at the peak a few years ago," he explains. "A lot of those companies - Centex, Pardee/Weyerhauser, Shea, McMillin - are public, and they put the focus on quality. When things were booming, quality got a little slipshod."
Kicking tires
How to shop for a home
By Dirk Sutro
You’re eager. Eager to find your dream house. Eager to take a Sunday drive and kick some tires - cruise some neighborhoods, visit open houses, compare prices. But before you jump in the car and speed off in search of your life's largest purchase, take some time to look at what’s ahead through a wide-angle lens.
"First, take a look at your lifestyle," advises Andy Nelson, president and owner of the Willis M. Allen Co. in La Jolla. "Are you runners or cyclists who want to be near the beach, or horse people who want to be inland? Step two, look at your work environment and transportation patterns. That has become part and parcel to people’s decisions: You need to consider how much time it takes to get to work.
"Step three relates to family needs. Do you have children? That helps narrow neighborhoods down. And most importantly, what can you afford? You may have a list of five or six neighborhoods that are attractive. Let's assume you have a $400,000 budget. You might consider Rancho Bernardo, La Mesa, Chula Vista/ EastLake, Pacific Beach, Del Mar. Then the other three ingredients will narrow your choice."
Buyers generally prefer either established or brand new neighborhoods. Each has plusses. Older neighborhoods such as Mission Hills and La Jolla have stately trees, attractive walkable sidewalks, distinctive and varied architecture, mature landscapes, and established commercial districts with a variety of shops and restaurants. Some older neighborhoods also have excellent schools and parks, but others were poorly planned.
New neighborhoods, particularly those in master-planned communities, are likely to have the most and newest amenities but not the seasoned character of older 'hoods.' New homes also offer larger rooms, higher ceilings and more storage. "We believe in master-planned communities because of the integrity they provide," says Larry Clemens, vice president and general manager of Hillman Properties, master developer of Aviara, an award-winning master-planned development in Carlsbad. "You are assured of certain things happening: architectural design re-view, so someone doesn’t build Cape Cod right next to Spanish and so additions are appropriate. You don’t want a patio cover that clutters up the street scene."
Planned developments also generally have strong homeowners associations that govern everything from colors to fence styles to maintenance of common areas. While some buyers cringe at this extra layer of bureaucracy and expense ($160 to $260 per month at Aviara), others find such quality controls reassuring.
These days, you can shop for a home on the Internet, and you may get a general idea about neighborhoods, styles, features and prices. But most of your comparison shopping will be done in person - you need to experience sights, sounds and scents firsthand.
Comparing new homes, "pay close attention to specific details, from faucets and brand names of appliances and floor coverings to windows (aluminum vs. wood), optional sound systems, whether there's enough room to add a pool, whether front yards are landscaped as part of the purchase price," Clemens advises. "Also consider street appeal: If everything looks like garage doors, it’s not as good as if the builder took architectural license to make it more appealing."
In existing neighborhoods, Nelson adds, "look at maintenance. You should be asking about neighborhood soils conditions. In many older neighborhoods, they just had a Caterpillar tractor drag the chaparral off, then they laid a slab and built. Some of these homes have cracked slabs.
"The roof is a big question. In a place like Carlsbad that has had brush fires, is the roof shake? Or does it need to be replaced, if it’s more than 20 years old? That's going to cost, perhaps, $6,000 or $7,000 minimum for a 2,500-square-foot house - a lot more if you want authentic Spanish tiles or copper gutters.
"As you’re walking through, forget the cosmetics. In a resale house, ask yourself if it’s up to date. Is the flow up to 1997 standards? Are the baths and kitchens acceptable? Those are expensive upgrades (bathroom remodels can easily run $20,000 or $30,000, kitchen remodels much more). Then add up, with your broker, what the repairs and upgrades will cost. Does the total price of the house match neighborhood values?"
Some real estate agents will try to convince you they can show you properties throughout the county. Don't buy it, Nelson advises. Once you've narrowed your shopping to two or three communities, get a referral to a reliable agent in each area from personal and/or business associates. At a preliminary interview, call the agent and ask a couple of basic questions about his community. If you like the answers - and the chemistry - set up a meeting.
This spring, San Diego’s real estate market is hotter than it’s been in years, which changes how you shop. During the recession, any low-ball offer stood a chance. Now, demand for homes is climbing with a healthier economy and growing population, and the inventory of resale homes is down to about two-thirds of what it was a couple of years ago, reports Nelson. A reasonably priced home will probably attract multiple offers, and you might pay close to the asking price.
For those shopping for a resale home, Nelson offers a final word about where to find the best values.
"I think the sleeper neighborhoods are ones developed between 15 and 30 years ago," he says. "These are homes that probably have nice lots but may need some renovation, and the parents of families that grew up in them are probably ready to move into something different. These neighborhoods might be La Mesa, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Poway, parts of North County. Remember, 15 to 30 years ago, we still had some premiere locations for development that just don’t exist anymore."
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Some Homebuying Considerations
Financing
Which kinds of loans are hot, which are not? How do you choose? Many homebuyers use mortgage brokers with access to dozens of lenders, which helps minimize paperwork on your end. Among the most popular loans this spring are 3- 5- or 7-year loans that change to adjustable, or require balloon payments, at the end of that term. Why? Because few San Diego buyers stay in a home for more than seven years, reports Jeff Nelson of American Pacific Mortgage.
The Builder's Reputation
Get a list of earlier projects by a builder, visit them, and ask residents whether they are pleased with their homes and service. Ask salespeople whether homeowners associations have ever brought suit against the builder. Call the Building Industry Association's San Diego office (450-1221) and find out whether the builder is a member. Membership provides a degree of credibility. Also, if a homebuilding company is public, it is accountable to shareholders in annual reports, and therefore is likely to be conscientious about details. Public homebuilding companies in San Diego include Centex, Continental, Presley and Kaufman & Broad.
A Sense of Community
Sense of place is difficult to define but tangible to experience. Elements include appropriate scale and compatible architectural styles, attractive street scenes, good-looking public spaces, pride of ownership and a lifestyle that suits yours. A strong sense of community is important, and its creators encompass planners, architects, designers, builders and other real estate types.
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