Where to Buy and Where to Avoid? The Cheapest Neighborhoods in San Diego

Different neighborhoods of San Diego. Their prices from the upscaled ones to the ones that are more affordable and we're gonna go to even the ones where you should never buy. Stay tuned and let's go more into the details. My name is Galina Shechtman. I'm a realtor. I've worked in San Diego for over 22 years. I know every single corner of this city upside down and I can guide you through the journey of purchasing your house. If you love the San Diego as I do, plan to relocate or you live here and you're planning to sell your house or the purchase in another house or the investment property, subscribe to my channel where I have a lot of information about San Diego, different areas, restaurants and other cool stuff that we have in this beautiful city. San Diego is a very vibrant and beautiful city with rich culture and wide range of neighborhoods from south to east, from north to west. There are multiple beautiful areas in San Diego and I'm going to explain some of them to you today. Each of the neighborhoods has its own vibe, their amenities and unique lifestyle. San Diego is very different and locations are very different. The prices for the houses are also so different. For example, average home price in San Diego is $877,000. Does it mean that every area has the home that costs about $900,000? No. One of the cheapest and more affordable areas are the East County. Average price for the home there is $877,061. It's El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemongrove and Satie which are suburbs of San Diego. El Cajon and La Mesa, they're little older areas, they have their own charms, they have mature trees, but they're a little cheaper than the other areas of San Diego due to proximity to the center of the city and also they have different variety of homes, different ages of build of the houses, they have mixed houses, condominiums, apartments and all of the above. That brings the prices a little lower. San Diego has areas where they're single family homes but mostly it's condominiums or penthouses. Let's move to the coastal areas. Why are they more expensive? They have ocean breeze and they're located on the beach. Areas like Del Mar, La Jolla and Cenitos, Cardiff, they beachfront properties, you have a breeze, you're on the ocean, they have cliffs, sandy beaches and it attracts a lot of people. If you have the chance and you have the funds to purchase in the coastal areas, I would strongly recommend. You'll have the vibe of the ocean, you're gonna see the sunset and the sunrises, you're gonna have a variety of gourmet restaurants and it's cool to live on the beach. Let's take La Jolla or any other coastal neighborhoods. First of all, the land is a limited commodity and in those areas, homes are built so tight to each other, there is no more buildable land. So the homes that are already built in La Jolla, you cannot redevelop, therefore it makes them not only being higher in the price but also they hold the value from year to year and in the future their price is only going to be appreciating. La Jolla's average price for the home sold is 5.368 million. If you're visiting La Jolla or purchasing in La Jolla, I would recommend you to go to the restaurant Marine Room. It's right on the beach and the waves are literally splashing in your window while you're having the gourmet meal. La Jolla is also known for the Veterans Memorial. It's an overview point that sits atop on the mountain Soledad. Unobstructed 360 view to the beach and to all of the San Diego. La Jolla is split in 16 different neighborhoods. One zip code, 16 neighborhoods. One of them is the village which is kind of like a downtown of La Jolla and La Jolla Shores which literally speaks for itself because it's right there, it's right on the beach and you can enjoy the ocean and walk along the ocean any day, any time, any time of year. La Jolla is a beautiful coastal city and it's great to live there. It has one little downside. The freeway goes only one way up and one way down which creates a lot of traffic. Another coastal area is Del Mar. One of my favorite areas in San Diego and one of my favorite beaches is Del Mar. It attracts surfers of all ages and it's good for everyone. Median home price in Del Mar is 3.5 million dollars. However, last year the address 2940 Sandy Lane broke the county's previous record and was purchased for 44.1 million dollars. Guess who purchased it? Bill Gates. The house literally sits right on the beach. You can walk out through the front door and enjoy the and the ocean. Del Mar is also known for very popular dog beach. You can bring your puppies to play with each other and enjoy the ocean and playful pups. The downtown area provides more urban downtown-ish vibe. A lot of interesting things happening in downtown of San Diego. The convention center is one of the highly desirable destinations for meetings and conventions. Located in downtown so you can walk or you can rent the hotel nearby. It's close to the Little Italy and a lot of other restaurants and little bars, clubs and cafes. The building is 2.6 million square foot and it estimates 30.5 million visitors yearly. Would you want to live in downtown? I personally don't. I think it's more like for the youngsters with the restaurants and bars and clubs. The downtown of San Diego is very entertaining. We do have like a civic theater and other theaters that people of all ages can visit and enjoy. Also we have inland neighborhoods like Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Scripps Range offer more suburban feel. They are more family oriented. They have good schools, a lot of parks and other good activities for the kids of all ages. I would like to talk about Ramona and Valley Center. Those areas located literally deep inland within San Diego county. They have variety of homes. Most of them are single-family homes and ranches. A lot of crops being grown in those areas like oranges, lemons, other citruses. Once known to be the best two cities to grow avocados. Lately in the Valley Center there is a lavender farm and lavender cafe within the farm which attracts a lot of visitors. If you like more quieter life, farther, I would not say civilization, but farther from people, more private life, I would suggest to consider Ramona or Valley Center. And by the way, Valley Center is undergoing huge development, construction of single-family detached homes. Within those communities of course you will have all the amenities like gym, pool, barbecue areas and so on, playgrounds for kids. Those areas are very safe. There is not that much crime there and they have a good school district. The prices for single-family homes there about $900,000. If you are looking to preview those areas, please let me know. I'll send you some details on those neighborhoods. And now attention, I'm gonna provide you with some of the areas that are not as good. Everybody knows that San Diego is one of the best and the safest cities to live. But hey, we do have areas that are not as good as some other ones. For example, never go to these areas San Ysidro, Logan Heights, Berrien Logan, Lemon Grove and East Village. In those areas the unemployment is higher, the home values are lower in price, yes they're more affordable, but the crime is a little higher there and there is not that much to do in those areas. I would strongly suggest to save this video so you would never go to the areas I just mentioned. As I said previously, San Diego is a very diverse city with a variety of neighborhoods and little sub-areas and people living in San Diego. The city is humongous. It's 72 miles from the border to almost Los Angeles or Long Beach. I do understand that a lot of people would love to live in San Diego. Not many of you can afford San Diego. However, there are areas off San Diego that are more affordable. If you're planning to purchase a house within the last six months or a year or just curious about the San Diego market, I would strongly advise you to work with a realtor that is very well known, that knows all the areas, all the corners of San Diego and can explain you pluses and minuses of each neighborhood and will be able to guide you through your purchase process. For example, I am in right now. It's an inland area. It is a very convenient location, 15 minutes from the Del Mar Beach. The 15th freeway is right here around the corner. It's close enough to hop on the freeway and it's far enough to hear it. There is no freeway noise, only birds. It's very serene and nice. This area is older and mature, pretty much established. Most of the areas in Old Rancho Penasquitos are free of the homeowners in Melrose. What does it mean for you? If you're purchasing in this area, you're only paying your mortgage. You do not waste a penny for any other payments. This house costs 1.255 of the billion. What do you have for that amount of money? The house is 1,605 square foot. It sits on almost a third of an acre of land. It has three bedrooms, two baths, two full car garage, oversight garage, with oversight front and backyard and side between the neighbors. No homeowners, no Melrose, walking distance to the elementary school. If you're interested in this house or you need more details about this house, please contact me. So this is how the things rolling in San Diego. Thank you for watching this video. I hope to see you in the next one.