House Hunting
Where can you live for less than $500,000?
Home prices have risen again in San Diego County, keeping our region ranked as one of the least affordable cities in the U.S.
A recent report says the median price for a home in San Diego County is $468,100. CoreLogic, the firm that conducted the study and released its findings on Wednesday, noted this is 8.9 percent higher than last year.
What homes are available at this price? A quick search of 47 new listings on Redfin showed 14 homes for sale from San Ysidro all the way up to Rancho Bernardo that are in close range of the median.
For $415,000, you could get a two-bedroom, two-bath condo in an older section of Bankers Hill that’s within walking distance of Balboa Park. The trade-off for the urban location is a shared laundry room and HOA dues of $400 a month.
Priced slightly above the county median cost is a 1,554-square-foot home with a backyard in Tierra Del Sol, a planned community in Rancho Bernardo. It has three bedrooms and bathrooms and is listed for $480,000.
The historic bungalow was completely remodeled by Thomas Strafford Investments. It’s 558 square feet and has one bedroom and one bath.
Going for about $100,000 less than the median price is a remodeled Craftsman bungalow in Normal Heights. It’s just 558 square feet with one bedroom and one bathroom, but Adams Avenue is a block away.
Tracking Turnover
D Bar to leave Hillcrest
D Bar’s last meal is going to be brunch this Sunday, December 20. The restaurant has been on Fifth Avenue for just over three years and was known for desserts created by owner Keegan Gerhard, an award-winning pastry chef who has been featured on the Food Network.
Gerhard said in an email that the closure doesn’t have anything to do with the lease—we asked because this section of Fifth Avenue, between University and Washington, has seen several restaurant closures over the past few years. He told Eater that he’s leaving San Diego so he can focus on D Bar’s original location in Denver.
Kitson closes stores with major markdowns
Kitson, the Los Angeles retailer that was adored by early-aughts tabloid regulars Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, announced it is closing all of its stores, including two San Diego locations at Fashion Valley and the Headquarters at Seaport Village.
As part of its liquidation, the company is having a “big ass in-store sale,” where everything is 30 to 60 percent off. Head on over if you need last-minute stocking stuffers like Star Wars jewelry, irreverent greeting cards, or socks covered in photos of James Franco. There’s also steep discounts on jeans, handbags, and skin care products.
The company didn’t say when its San Diego stores will permanently close. An employee at Kitson’s Seaport Village store said a final date was not confirmed, but they expect to remain open until the end of January.
Word on the Street
Madison to open soon on Park Boulevard
The finishing touches are being done on Madison, a new restaurant and bar in University Heights that’s set to open sometime after Christmas.
Jeff Fink, who also owns Fluxx Nightclub and M-Theory Music in Mission Hills, is building out Madison from the former Lei Lounge space into a restaurant he envisions as a welcoming, family-friendly spot.
If you can recall Lei Lounge’s interior—white furniture with walls covered in fake greenery, and dimly lit at night—Madison will be a huge change. The high-vaulted ceiling remains, but it’s now lined with cedarwood, large rope installations, and walls with geometric paneling. Fink says he and his team wanted to create a work of art in the neighborhood. Mario Cassineri of Bice is planning the menu, which is still being finalized.
Stay tuned for our First Look at Madison.
The median price for a home in San Diego County today is $468,100. The type of dwelling available at that price can vary from a small condo in the city to a single-family home in Mira Mesa. We found this 1934 Craftsman bungalow in Normal Heights listed on Redfin for $385,000. | Photos courtesy of Andrew Greer, Big Block Realty