We stopped at the Pardee tract in Carmel Valley called Manzanita Trail a few months back, and a reader asked for an update – here is a link to our first visit: Link to original post
Here is the follow-up:
Pattie is a great salesperson, and has a lot to do with their success. The enthusiasm for pitching the product over and over usually wanes quickly for most tract salespeople, but not with Pattie – you get the feeling she still enjoys coming to work every day.
I dunno. I like the mix. You ask how would you like mixing 600’s with 800’s? I guess you can ask homeowners in older neighborhoods in San Diego like Mission Hills, Golden Hill, South Park, etc.
Sounds like they should raise their prices doesn’t it?
Who the heck is employing the folks that are buying these places and how do I get a job with them? Hate to be the permabear but does anyone know of any legitimate companies/industries that are growing?
JE,
Healthcare for one pays enough – see Cardinal Health, Sharp and MedImpact in San Diego, United Health Group in Carlsbad.
I read through the previous post by JTR for some background and the last line had me laughing…
“The Plans 1 and 2 are the smaller models (2,362sf and 2,596sf) that have no back yard (garages off the alley) and zero lot lines, where your only outdoor experience is a side yard looking at your neighbor’s stucco wall.”
I like the idea of mixing up sizes/prices in a development. Diversity is good. But then again, I lived in a community back east, Glenside PA, that was subdivided around 1890 – and specifically included a mix of large house, small houses, twins (what the brits call semi-detached), and apartments above a commercial/shopping area. More than a century ago they’d figured out this made for a great community.
I think the mix of smaller, less expensive homes with larger more expensive homes is a good thing.
Dang, waiting lists again? Crazy Asians….
Didn’t Cardinal freeze hiring more than a year ago?
Defense Contractor SAIC Might Move To DC
San Diego may soon lose one of its three Fortune 500 companies, with high-tech defense contractor SAIC appearing poised to move to Washington, D.C.
A headquarters move is inevitable …
http://www.10news.com/news/21059312/detail.html
250 people on the waiting list. That is why this price declines will last for years. There are still idiot paying 5-7 times their income for a house.
These people will learn just like the Japanese during the past 18 years with their bursting of the bubble.
Ten feet between house zero lot line. That like Mission Beach. 5 feet between each house if you go straight up or three feet if you observe a 45 degree angle after 20 feet. Most go 5 feet.
I like the mix; those big homogeneous developments look so depressing. Every time I see places like CV I can’t help but be reminded of the intro to Weeds. “Little boxes, on the hillside…” Not that all of CV is bad, just the parts that I can afford.
I wonder how many of those people on the waiting list are there assuming they can sell their current house at an inflatable price? There must be plenty of bubble equity still floating around. Either that or everyone but me just got a raise.
The 250 persons in waiting list is an exageration. Many people registered but were not serious buyers at least not yet. The real fight is on plan 3 & 4: they were sold out in the hour of release. It takes a while to sell plan 1 & 2 though.
I’m on the list. When Highland Village opens the pricing for Manzanita Trail will almost seem reasonable.
http://www.pardeehomes.com/carmel_country_highlands/highlands_village/
Strickly speaking, it’s Torrey Highlands, not Carmel Valley neighborhood. It has same zip code 92130 as CV and draws lot of interests. But don’t get fooled by the number of 250 people on the waiting list. It’s the same game Pardee has been playing around for quite a while. They used to urge each and every one of you to join their waiting list as long as you talk to their salespersons. I was on the list. By the way, the other salesperson were much friendly than Pattie was.
If you show up in the hour of release, which I did several times, you’d know how many serious buyers are, usually no more than 20~30 at the most.
What is it about CV that makes people absolutely ga-ga? Those postage stamp lots just kill me.
I meant it’s Pacific Highlands neighborhood
It’s amazing to me so many people are fixated on s. california.I like the california north of the grapevine so much better.I’m going to let you guys fight over 400k fixers.I was born in san diego and glad I got the hell out of there 20 years ago.Part of my family is still stuck there and never get out and see the rest of the country.Was in the area last week and went to a home depot in lemon grove.What a great place.The tool rental guy was telling me about all the people living in a ditch on the side of the building.Everything is under lock and key.
What is it about CV that makes people absolutely ga-ga? Those postage stamp lots just kill me.
For some people a postage stamp lot is a feature not a bug. It’s like having the low maintenance of a condo, but it’s difficult to find a condo as large as these houses. Most of these places have enough space to BBQ and eat outside and that’s all many people are looking for.
“What is it about CV that makes people absolutely ga-ga? Those postage stamp lots just kill me.”
As a CV Renter, I often wonder the same thing. I guess the answer is schools and location. While I suspect the schools aspect may be overrated, the location is great. What’s also interesting about the schools aspect is that if you’re selecting a home based on the children, wouldn’t you want some sort of yard?
Oh yeah, you also get to say you live in Carmel Valley. That alone is worth a $200k premium!;)
Yap, monkey see, monkey do. Don’t forget once can’t enjoy much privacy in those home in CV. CV is not b-day suit friendly.
I think think the mixes is not good at all.We not see that is Ottawa that often.
Thank you
There’s a few developments like this in the DC area. Zero lot line houses, essentially row houses, in one section of the development, and a different section with McMansions. The combined neighborhood shares things like a community pool and/or park, etc. My understanding is that the monthly HOA is the same for both, so the more expensive houoses pay less as a percentage of the value of the house.
I think it works because the houses are at different sides of the neighborhood. It isn’t one side of the street is one and one side is the other.
Its not like this is entirely new, either. Westwood (old Westwood) has both traditional SFH and a townhouse section (down by the school). No one has ever said it was a confused neighborhood.
Here’s the problem with small lots with large houses whose living area is vertical and zero lot line places. Unless you have strict CC&R’s, the streets become clogged with all types of parked vehicles, some of them commercial and this definitely devalues the neighborhood.
Most do have strict HOA’s/CCR’s–We used to live in a community that hasseled us for parking one car in the driveway!!! Seriously, my wife parked her car in the 2-car garage and I parked mine on the driveway–both nice vehicles (at least not eye-sores), but the CCR’s required that the first two vehicles be parked in the garage–we got letters and had to reply with photos showing both cars parked side-by-side in the garage!!!
Not everyone wants the big lawn, we are from and still live in the Midwest, where most houses’ yard are twice as big as the house, frankly we find it a real pain in the neck to maintain, some people like us don’t enjoy spending hours doing yard work. Mowing, watering, trimming, spraying… When we saw these houses with no yard, we were so delighted, we still like the larger indoor space and in this case some privacy of a SFR, but finally we can sit out in the so called ” courtyard ” and sip our tea instead of spending hours trying to tame those weeds. Needless to say, we are the “idiots” who got on the waiting list. I don’t mind other people’s grass is greener than ours. Save on natural resources and time is priceless enough for me.
But yes, I wish the garage doors aren’t line up like that facing each other in the alley, that part is not very appealing to me, and I do worry that It may decrease the value of the house in the future.