San Diego Mortgage Facts

San Diego Introduction

The City of San Diego, California, is the eighth largest city in the United States and the second largest city in the State of California. It is located in Southern California, on San Diego Bay, which is on the Pacific Ocean. San Diego abuts the border with Mexico and is the county seat of San Diego County.

According to 2005 U.S. Census estimates, San Diego's population is approximately 1.25 million people. This is essentially unchanged from the 2000 census.

San Diego Neighborhoods

The City of San Diego divides itself up into eight regions, which include Northern, Northeastern, Eastern, Western, Central, Mid-City, Southeastern, and Southern. The communities that exist within these regions include:

• Northern - Bay Ho, Bay Park, Carmel Valley, Clairemont Mesa East, Clairemont Mesa West, Del Mar Heights, La Jolla, La Jolla Village, Mission Beach, North City, North Clairemont, Pacific Beach, Torrey Pines, and University City
• Northeastern - Carmel Mountain, Miramar, Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Peñasquitos, Sabre Springs, Scripps Ranch, and Sorrento Valley
• Eastern - Allied Gardens, Birdland, Del Cerro, Grantville, Kearny Mesa, Lake Murray, Mission Valley East, San Carlos, Serra Mesa, and Tierrasanta
• Western - Hillcrest, La Playa, Linda Vista, Loma Portal, Midtown, Midway District, Mission Hills, Mission Valley West, Morena, North Park, Ocean Beach, Old Town, Point Loma Heights, Roseville-Fleetridge, Sunset Cliffs, University Heights, and Wooded Area
• Central - Balboa Park, Barrio Logan, Core-Columbia, Cortez, Gaslamp, Golden Hill, Grant Hill, Harborview, Horton Plaza, Little Italy, Logan Heights, Marina, Memorial, Park West, Sherman Heights, South Park, and Stockton
• Mid-City - City Heights East, City Heights West, College Area, Darnall, El Cerrito, Gateway, Kensington, Normal Heights, Oak Park, Rolando, Talmadge, and Webster
• Southeastern - Alta Vista, Bay Terrace, Chollas View, Emerald City, Encanto, Jamacha-Lomita, Lincoln Park, Mountain View, Mt. Hope, Paradise Hills, Shelltown, Skyline, Southcrest, and Valencia
• Southern - Egger Highlands, Nestor, Ocean Crest, Otay Mesa, Otay Mesa West, Palm City, San Ysidro, and Tijuana River Valley

Some of the "top" neighborhoods in San Diego include:

• City Heights, which is a very ethnically diverse neighborhood
• Golden Hill, which has a nice mix of old mansions, quaint bungalows and apartments
• Hillcrest, which is San Diego's answer to Greenwich Village. This is a colorful neighborhood with a mix of apartments and bungalows
• Kensington, which is a small upscale enclave with attractive and expensive Spanish-styled homes
• Little Italy, which as its name would imply is an ethnic Italian enclave within downtown
• Mission Hills, which is an upscale community with manicured lawns and winding hilltop streets
• Normal Heights, which is a mix of apartments on the south side and single-family homes on the north side
• North Park, which is a sprawling neighborhood with Craftsman homes and apartments
• Ocean Beach, which is a small enclave within the city with a strong neighborhood "feel"
• University Heights, which is nice mix of apartments and Craftsman bungalows

San Diego Real Estate

As of 2005, there were over 501,000 housing units in San Diego (source: U.S. Census Bureau 2005 Community Survey). Of those, slightly over 466,000 were occupied, and 239,409 were owner occupied. The owner occupancy rate of 51.9% was below the national average of 66.9%.

Slightly under two thirds (64.1%) of San Diego's housing units were built prior to 1980, but under a tenth (7.5%) were built before 1939. Of the remainder, 18.4% were built in the 1980s, 11.0% were built in the 1990s, and 6.4% have been built since 2000. The "average" San Diego home is four to five rooms with two to three bedrooms. Only 10.4% have more rooms and 19.7% have more bedrooms.

Most (65.6%) of San Diego homes were heated by utility gas in 2005. Most of the remainder were heated by electricity (29.1%). A small number (3.6%) were unheated.

As of 2005, the median value of a San Diego owner occupied home was $566,700. This was well over three times the national average as of 2005 of $167,500. The price of San Diego homes in 2005 were over two times what they were in 2000 when the median value of a San Diego home was $233,100. By the 3rd quarter of 2006, the median price of a San Diego home was $601,900 (according to the National Association of Realtors or NAR). For that same time period, the median price of a condominium in San Diego was $361,100. Both prices are substantially above the national average.

In 2005, the median monthly housing costs for a home in San Diego were $2,054. At that same time, 77.2% of San Diego's owner occupied homes had a mortgage. 31.7% of owner occupied homes in San Diego had one or more second mortgages.

San Diego Property Taxes

The median property tax bill for an owner occupied house in San Diego in 2005 was $2,820 (source: U.S. Census Bureau 2005 Community Survey). San Diego property tax assessments are handled by the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk's Office. Property Taxes are collected by the County of San Diego Treasurer - Tax Collector.

San Diego Schools

The majority of the City of San Diego is served by the San Diego Unified School District (also known as San Diego City Schools). The San Diego Unified School District has over 200 schools that serve nearly 133,000 students making it the second largest school system in California. Since 2000, 14 of the San Diego Unified School District schools have received "Distinguished School Awards" from the California School Recognition Program.

There are also numerous private and public colleges and Universities in San Diego, including: California State University San Marcos (CSUSM), California Western School of Law, Cuyamaca College, Grossmont College, Pacific Oaks College, San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, San Diego Miramar College, San Diego State University (SDSU), the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), the University of San Diego (USD), and the University of San Diego School of Law.

San Diego Economy

The lynch-pins of the San Diego economy include many major research centers, biotechnology, national defense, tourism, and the Port of San Diego. San Diego's largest commercial employers include: Kaiser Permanente, National Steel & Shipbuilding Co., Qualcomm Inc., SBC Communications Inc., Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), Scripps Health, Sempra Energy and Sharp HealthCare. There are also five Fortune 500 company headquarters located in San Diego.

As of 2005, the median family income for San Diego was $67,925, which was significantly above the national average of $55,832.

San Diego/California Mortgage and Real Estate Organizations

• California Association of Mortgage Brokers
• California Association of REALTORS
• California Mortgage Bankers Association
• San Diego Association of REALTORS
• Southern California Mortgage Bankers Association

Of Note:

San Diego Mortgage Lenders * (Click names for details)

San Diego Credit Unions

San Diego Credit Counselors* (Free advice and counseling)

San Diego Banks

San Diego Mortgage Statistics

San Diego Housing Expenses

San Diego Household Size

San Diego Housing Stock

San Diego Home Heating

San Diego Housing Size

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