It’s a Renter’s Market in San Diego

The San Diego real estate market is flat right now and it’s a buyers market so rental choices are phenomenal in our fair city. With foreclosures and predatory mortgages taking their toll on homeowners there are whole houses for rent for the same price as apartments. This blogger reports, “almost 49% of homes have been foreclosed in San Diego for the month of March 2007.” So, instead of losing their houses or selling them at a loss, a lot of owners have started taking their properties off the market and renting them so the mortgage is paid and the house makes a small profit (in some cases).

If you’re feeling a bit cramped in your San Diego apartment, this is great news! A search on the San Diego section of Craigslist.org for the search term “house” with a maximum rent of $1500.oo I was presented with lots of choices. Here is just a few of them:

$1300/Month Two Bedroom One Bathroom detached House in University Heights (Link)
Indoor porch for washer and dryer.
One car garage with courtyard

$1425 / 2br - Craftsman House North Park (Link)
Charming craftsman house includes fenced yard, fireplace, garage, gardener, and washer dryer hookups. Sorry, no pets. Security deposit $1000. It’s vacant, so feel free to drive by and look in the windows.

$1345 / 2br cottage house with private yard Imperial Beach (Link)
This stand alone house is in a private coul-de-sac for privacy and incluses: fresh paint, on site parking, shed, fenced in yard with lawns and yard maintenance, on site laundry, all new appliances, (stove, refrigerator, built in microwave) new purgo and tile floors, bonus sun room, original double hung windows and a creative floor plan.

We’ve decided to take the plunge ourselves and move out of our extremely cramped 2 bedroom North Park apartment. Because my husband will be working in Temecula and I will remain working in Claremont Mesa, we’ve decided to move to Escondido which offers an even commuting distance for both of us. We’re sharing an almost-new 2500 square foot, 5 bedroom house with full back yard and all the trimmings for $2400 per month. That translates into $1200 a month in rent plus half the utilities.

We’ve scored the master bedroom in the house that is roughly three times the size of the one we have now. The bathroom has a European soaking bathtub, glass shower and separate room for the toilet. Add a HUGE walk-in closet that would fit a small office and I am in house heaven.

Happy house hunting!

Posted by Melissa on September 9th, 2007 filed in Our Economy