Carlsbad Information
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For additional information about Carlsbad, California please feel free to browse through the following pages that cover not only Carlsbad real estate, but Carlsbad homes, condos and Carlsbad MLS listings throughout this lovely city. Additionally, you will find important Carlsbad information about schools, restaurants, shopping, medical care and area activities.
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Carlsbad Unified School District
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Testimonials from Our Real Estate Clients
How to Sell Your San Diego Home Quickly
June 30th, 2009 Categories: Carlsbad Real Estate, Oceanside, San Diego Foreclosures, San Diego Real Estate
Carlsbad, CA –How do you sell your home quickly, when the San Diego real estate market has so many short sales and foreclosures? Those distress sales can make it tough for all home sellers–especially if you are in a neighborhood congested with these so-called real estate bargains,
This morning CNN offer 5 tips for selling your home quickly–starting with aggressive pricing at 10 to 15 percent below recent comparable sales–possibly excluding or discounting foreclosure and short sales, unless they dominate your market. That may or may not apply in all San Diego neighborhoods, and warrants individual discussion.
Still, CNN and we offer some selling tips that will work in all markets–but are particularly important in these more challenging economic times:
- Focus on first impressions. Spruce up the yard, paint your front door, plant flowers, spread mulch, powerwash the exterior of your home. We also suggest a new front door mat, clean windows until they sparkle, add a new porch light if needed and make sure gardens, sidewalks and driveways are crisply edged.
- CNN suggests treating first time home buyers as friends–which they are. We know they have moved into the San Diego real estate market in force, thanks to the federal tax credit, reduced home pricing, low interest rates and inventory levels that are starting to shrink–at least at the lower price points.
- An online presence is critical and it’s necessary for you or your agent to promote your home not only on traditional real estate venues, but also on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. That’s where the Gen-Y and Gen-X crowd congregates.
- The advantage you have as a “normal” seller is that you don’t have to stretch the transaction out for months waiting for bank and investor approval. You can close quickly and at a certain price. More and more, San Diego home buyers (and especially first time home buyers seeking the $8000 tax credit that expires this year) are looking for homes with certain closure.
- Go ahead and plan to sell and close your home quickly. That means thinning out closets right away, boxing up family photos and treasures, and lessening the load and appearance of “things” and “stuff” in your home. This paring down will help your home look more spacious–and will be a Godsend come moving day. When it comes to staging your San Diego home for sale, less is truly more.
- Finally, don’t try to mask odors with candles or sprays. Nothing smells better than a home that is truly clean. Shampoo carpets, wash or paint walls, clear and clean kitchen surfaces and make sure bathrooms are spotless. Open windows and air out your home. And try to avoid, at least while your home in on the market, cooking smelly foods.–by Roberta Murphy
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San Diego a City that “Pays Off”
June 24th, 2009 Categories: Carlsbad Real Estate, San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Relocation
San Diego Harbor
Carlsbad, CA–The San Diego real estate market has taken a beating the last few years, but recent stats show that home sales and prices are picking up and leveling out. What many have forgotten during this downturn is that San Diego remains one of the most desirable places to live on this planet.
Are San Diego homes still expensive? Yes. But a recent US News and World Report story that looks at 10 Pricey Cities That Pay Off includes not only San Diego, but five other California cities as well: San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Salinas, San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles. Other cities on the list include Boston, New York, Naples, FLA and Honolulu.
Author Mathew Bandyk explains that these cities are all high priced for selected reasons: Fine weather and coastal location top the list. Also critical are cultural and recreational opportunities, trade productivity, universities that produce an educated workforce–and proximity to natural resources.
San Diego was ranked seventh on the list, with trade productivity that compares to Philadelphia. San Diego arguably has the finest weather of all, but also boasts three universities: University of California San Diego, San Diego State University and the private University of San Diego. The metro area also has a number of community colleges that also contribute to San Diego’s highly-trained work force. These students and grads, in turn, help support San Diego arts and very walkable urban neighborhoods.
Anecdotally and in our real estate practice, we are seeing more and more potential employers targeting San Diego as a great place to live–and conduct business.
Why?
It’s the climate, of course–and the beaches, and the city, the educated work force, proximity to desert (golf) and mountains (ski and boarding) and more recently, homes in San Diego that are more affordable than most other cities on the list. It’s a combination that’s hard to beat. –Roberta Murphy
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San Diego a Top Destination for U-Haul
April 22nd, 2009 Categories: Carlsbad Real Estate, San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Relocation
Relocation to San Diego
Carlsbad, CA–San Diego may not top the list as a destination for those moving 50 miles or more, but U-Haul reports that San Diego ranks #11 nationally and is the second most popular California destination. Los Angeles ranks #3, while Sacramento ranks #14, followed by San Francisco (18), Fullerton (30), Costa Mesa (31), San Jose (33), Long Beach (45), Fresno (46) and Santa Monica (50).
The study reflects moves made from January through December, 2008.
In studying the list below, it is interesting to note that California cities dominate U-Haul’s list of top destination cities, with a strong 20 percent share and 10 top cities. Texas ranks a distant second with 4 cities, while Florida and New York claim 3 each.
Why move to San Diego? Could be San Diego real estate bargains. Might be our great beaches and climate–or it might be all of these reasons.
U-Haul Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities* January - December 2008 1. ATLANTA, Ga. 26. PITTSBURGH, Pa. 2. HOUSTON, Texas 27. PHOENIX, Ariz. 3. LOS ANGELES, Calif. 28. NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. 4. LAS VEGAS, Nev. 29. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. 5. DENVER, Colo. 30. FULLERTON, Calif. 6. PORTLAND, Ore. 31. COSTA MESA, Calif. 7. CHICAGO, Ill. 32. CHARLOTTE, N.C. 8. SAN ANTONIO, Texas 33. SAN JOSE, Calif. 9. AUSTIN, Texas 34. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. 10. ORLANDO, Fla. 35. ST. LOUIS, Mo. 11. SAN DIEGO, Calif. 36. QUEENS, N.Y. 12. KANSAS CITY, Mo. 37. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. 13. PHILADELPHIA, Pa. 38. OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. 14. MIAMI, Fla. 39. TUCSON, Ariz. 15. SACRAMENTO, Calif. 40. TULSA, Okla. 16. BROOKLYN, N.Y. 41. SALT LAKE CITY, Utah 17. DALLAS, Texas 42. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. 18. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. 43. SPOKANE, Wash. 19. WASHINGTON, D.C. 44. BRONX, N.Y. 20. TAMPA, Fla. 45. LONG BEACH, Calif. 21. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. 46. FRESNO, Calif. 22. VAN NUYS, Calif. 47. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. 23. FORT WORTH, Texas 48. BALTIMORE, Md. 24. COLUMBUS, Ohio 49. SEATTLE, Wash. 25. CHRISMAN, Ill. 50. SANTA MONICA, Calif.
For additional information about moving or relocating to San Diego, please feel free to call San Diego Realtors Roberta or Mike Murphy at 877-818-8197
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Vacation Rentals: Hot Spot in San Diego Real Estate?
April 19th, 2009 Categories: Carlsbad Real Estate, Del Mar Real Estate, La Costa, La Jolla
Del Mar Beach
Carlsbad, CA–With the sour economy and drug-inspired violence and kidnappings in Mexico, more and more Americans are opting for vacations on home soil.
They like the clean beaches of Del Mar, La Jolla, Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside. They love the lush golf courses at Torrey Pines, La Costa and Aviara. Then there’s the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Wild Animal Park, Museums and Legoland–to name just a few of San Diego County’s attractions.
In addition to our ongoing San Diego Real estate practice, we also manage vacation rentals and are seeing strong reservation activity in this segment of our business. Our oceanfront unit at Del Mar Beach Club stays booked almost all the time. San Diego vacationers from all over are stunned by the ocean views and love being so close to the Del Mar Race Track, local restaurants and and activities. The condos at the La Costa Chateaus are also staying booked most of the time–and we’ve just added another 2-bedroom Del Mar condo that will be available for summer bookings.
Friends with an oceanfront unit at Oceanside’s North Coast Village also report strong vacation rental activity.
Mike and I chat with a number of these visitors, and find that many return to San Diego each year and wouldn’t consider going any place else. Another group might have traditionally gone to Mexico or Europe for vacations, but have decided to play it safe and vacation in the United States instead. They are saving money–and their sense of security.
A number of local parents we know urged their college kids to take spring break at home in San Diego–and compromises were reached with trips to Palm Springs, Big Bear, Mammoth–or cruises where partying could be contained.
None went to Mexico this year–nor will they until Mexican drug violence and kidnappings are under control.
In the meantime, the vacation rental niche in the San Diego real estate market seems to be holding its own–if not actually thriving. This will be a segment of the market to watch in the coming months.
–by Roberta Murphy
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San Diego Realtors Asked to Help Bust Real Estate Fraud
April 5th, 2009 Categories: Carlsbad Real Estate, Oceanside, Real Estate News, San Diego Foreclosures, San Diego Real Estate
It’s a sad fact of life, but unscrupulous vultures are always ready to pick at the flesh of the most financially distressed.
It is also refreshing to hear that San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis is asking San Diego Realtors to help her track down and prosecute real estate fraudsters operating in our county.
We have written before about the foreclosure and loan modification scams that prey upon distressed San Diego home owners who are struggling to stay in their homes. The DA’s office is aggressively trying to warn homeowners to stay away from these San Diego real estate crooks and their fraudulent offers of mortgage and loan modification assistance–and is asking us, as San Diego Realtors, to report any suspicious activity.
All too often, unwitting and desperate home owners will pay an upfront fee to a person or company who promises to prevent foreclosure–or to modify existing mortgage loan terms. And all too often, people are paying for services they never receive–and might be better off with a do-it-yourself loan modification.
San Diego real estate agents are also advised to be wary of “sanctuary” scams, where these real estate vultures claim ownership of vacant or foreclosed homes via the filing of phony (but official-looking) grant deeds with the County Recorder’s Office. And even though these documents don’t actually transfer title, they do cloud ownership and create havoc with the law enforcement agencies.
In California, it is illegal for foreclosure consultants to acquire distressed real estate from their clients, and it is also illegal for California real estate licensees to charge upfront fees for loan modification services without first meeting strict requirements laid out by the California Derpartment of Real Estate.
Michael Groch, chief of the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Division, is asking San Diego Realtors and citizens to report all potential real estate scams to his office. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office can be reached online or at (619) 531-4475.
If you are interested in a short sale for your San Diego home, or other loan modification resources, feel free to call Mike or Roberta Murphy (877)818-8197 or 760-402-9101/9102.
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