Coronado Home Search Blog

If you are aiming to purchase a Coronado home, there are some simple steps to help you proceed down the buying path.

1. Determine whether you prefer Coronado Village, Coronado Shores or Coronado Cays.  To make this determination, consider the following: Cays are best if you have a boat and want easy water access; Shores are best if you want a luxury condo with ocean views and are willing to be in a tall tower; village is best if you want that community feeling that comes with an easy walk to restaurants, parks and schools.  Most people choose the Village.
2. Determine what you can afford.  If this is a primary residence, then your down requirement might be as little as 20%.  If this is a vacation home, then you will likely need to put down 35% or more.
3. Determine whether you would be comfortable in a condo or whether you need a house.  If you are like most vacation buyers of Coronado homes, you can spend roughly $1M which means either a luxury condo or a tear-down home…which would you prefer?
4. Is this primarily an investment vehicle or just a place to enjoy fresh ocean breezes and walks in the sand?  If it’s the former, consider purchasing a tear down.  If you can buy it now, later you can build and generate value.  If this is primarily a place to enjoy, then consider buying something turn-key that comes without headaches…some of the condos on Coronado are really nice.
5. Do you prefer a quick walk to the beach or a quick boat ride to downtown San Diego.  These options are at opposite sides of the island, so a choice needs to be made.  Prices are lower closer to the Bay than closer to the Beach (in general).  Homes on 1st Street (on the Bay) are the most expensive in Coronado, which is an exception to the general pricing rule just noted.
6. Contact a good local agent.  There are so many agents; find one who knows the market and is an excellent negotiator.  My recommendation is to choose someone who does their own development as that agent probably studies the market carefully and will know how to mathematically push to get you the best deal.
7. Enjoy…Coronado homes are beautiful and offer a wonderful quality of life.

Prices of spec projects are being disproportionately punished by the market. Last week we submitted a $900k offer on a 10K+ square foot lot and the bank countered today at $1m. I think that is a sad but relatively accurate depiction of the trend on Coronado land prices. It just seems to me that if finished prices of Coronado homes are signficantly down, and construction prices are only slightly down, then something has to give and that something is the price of land.

There is an abundance of turn-key Coronado homes for sale, as the market is oversupplied. Moreover, most buyers are vacation buyers who want a finished product. It is thus a particularly difficult scene for those who want to sell unfinished projects, tear-down homes, and other similar Coronado home opportunities that need development.

The Anderson Forecast at UCLA reports that the median San Diego home price is expected to rise 50% by 2013! The forecast has projected that we have hit the bottom, and prices will begin to rise later this year. It is interesting to think about what this means for Coronado home buyers.

For example, will Coronado homes rise along with the average, or will the impact be greater than or less than a 50% rise? The Coronado real estate market is different than the average San Diego market. Prices have not fallen as dramatically in Coronado as they have fallen in other parts of Coronado, which might lead home buyers to reasonably assume that prices will not rise as dramatically either. In other words, Coronado is a less volatile real estate market. It seems likely that Coronado homes will only rise 25% by 2013 and other such areas that have been hurt the most recently will rise 75%, making for an average of 50%. Of course, Coronado homes are expensive, so a 25% rise on a $1,500,000 home (which is roughly the average in Coronado) will mean the buyer will earn $375,000 in appreciation! That number is not adjusted for inflation, but still– huge opportunity.

It will also be interesting to see if this report makes some sellers less flexible. Many Coronado sellers have cash and therefore holding power. With signs pointing toward high prices returning in a few years, many Coronado home owners may elect to hold rather than give buyers the discounts they insist they receive to get a deal done.

And of course naysayers will argue, “hey, the Anderson forecast are just a bunch of researchers who could just as easily be wrong.” True. But then, they predicted the fall before it happened, which gives credibility. And it does seem logical. Liquidity has returned to the market, fear has more or less departed, and the oversupply of listings is starting to drop rather than increase. If I were a buyer in San Diego, I’d start looking quite seriously right now.

Today Coronado Island will be crowded like the 4th of July.  But no, it’s not a holiday.  It’s the Red Bull air races over the San Diego bay!  They’re crazy, and fun to watch, and draw huge crowds.  Owners of many Coronado homes can watch from their roof decks, which makes for a great, relaxing, exciting afternoon.  The roof deck has become a staple in Coronado homes that are newly constructed.  Last week I stood atop a roof deck that had enchanting views of downtown San Diego, the Hotel Del Coronado and the clear blue ocean.  Amazing.  How can one spot have great views of all three and be listed for only $1.7M?

There is a lot owned by Pinnacle Peak construction on the 300 block of E Avenue.  They are tearing down the house and building two new Coronado homes.  What is interesting about this particular Coronado real estate parcel is that it is at the highest elevation on the island.  It’s about 100 feet higher than the surrounding neighborhood homes.  Take a walk down E Avenue for yourself and you will see that the 300 block rises in the middle quite substantially.  I have spoken with Pinnacle Peak construction and learned that they intend to build a roof deck with a gas grill and fireplace on both homes, and that the views to downtown across the Bay are indeed amazing from that extra elevation.  I wonder what they will list for?