From the 10 Great Places to Retire in the US:
Carlsbad, Calif.
Price: $639,900 for 3br/2.5ba 2,352sf townhouse
Area median price: $672,500
For $639,900, you could get this three-bedroom, 2.5 baths 2,352-square-foot townhome, with granite counters, a security system, Bose speakers and attached garage. On a lagoon, the home affords a water view from most rooms, and it’s in a community with walking trails near a beach.
Homes at the median price in Carlsbad are typically larger and more expensive than retirees are looking for, says broker Tony Cannon of Keller Williams Realty. For substantially less — $374,000 — you could get a home more suitable for empty nesters: a two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,100-square-foot home with a patio, garage and a low-maintenance yard in a community with a pool and spa, on about one-eighth of an acre, Cannon says.
The weather and the beach are the main draws for retirees in Carlsbad, which ranks among the “top 10 beach towns.”
“East Coast people come out here because the weather is nicer,” Cannon says. “It’s mild all year long. We get people from Canada, other parts of California, even Arizona and New Mexico. If you live within 5 miles of the beach, you don’t need air conditioning.”
$639,900? Honey stop the car!
When salespeople say… “It’s xxxx BUT it comes with bla, bla, bla, etc”
The salesperson views the price as too high.
When salespeople say… “bla, bla, bla, etc but it’s only xxxx”
The salesperson views the price as too low and is using it as a selling point.
Where is the salesperson in his article coming from?
sure it’s great, if you can stomach the zonies and the like in the summer and kids kids kids kids kids everywhere!
and don’t forget about the HOAs, an additional hundreds per month that will only increase over time.
I remember well trying to buy one of these from JTR 2+ years ago for $650k. No question we wanted it & would’ve loved it, BUT we weren’t about to overpay (in our minds’ eye) & JTR represented his seller well, held out & eventually got more. In reflection, it worked out VERY well for both of us. :>))
Compare this with the other options:
Naples, Fla.
Price: $175,000
Area median price: $175,000
Features
• 4 bedrooms, 2 baths
• 2,272 square feet
• Double garage
• 2.3 acre lot
• Cathedral ceiling
Hmmm, what shall I do with left over 500K..purchase an RV and park it in the Carlsbad park 🙂 .
#6 good point but I’m from the south and Naples ain’t (sic) like coastal socal…
If you are local you know but for others yes there are some impressive rv spots here, Campgrounds in Carlsbad & Calafia in San Clemente are nice clifftop panorama spots…
Anyone who thinks that Florida coastal living is comparable to living in San Diego coastal areas has never lived there. But please go get that deal on a $175,000 home in the “paradise” of Florida. It will make SoCal just a little more enjoyable for me.
Of course, another option is the desert either in California (like Hemet), or outside Vegas or Phoenix. Some retirees think the heat and dry air is good for their health, and prices would be even lower than the Florida example above.
Sounds like a great deal if you like over-spending on RE and enduring HIGH taxes and cost of living expenses…
Not a good combo if you’re on a long-term fixed budget.
http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-090069499-677_Camino_De_Orchidia_Encinitas_CA_92024
Wow … sold for 1.061M. Paid 1.1M in 2002 and then put 150k into the house for landscaping, etc. This is 2000 level pricing. I am starting to wonder just how many sellers in this price range around this area have any equity left at all. A lost decade in one of the nice parts of north county coastal.
I think they paid too much when they bought it in 2002.
It is the second house in from Requeza, so cars for the other 26 homes are traveling between you and the ocean view.
Plus there are/were a number of greenhouses right across the street. In 2002 that may not have mattered, but it does now.
Pammy, I think what Jim is trying to say (hope I’m not putting words in his mouth) is that it may not be wise to so quickly assume “2000 level pricing” based on one, poorly-located, over-paid-for home.
MB, in this market a comp is a comp. In the better locations (Crestview, Pacific Crest, etc), houses of that sq. ft. and lot size with a 4 car garage were selling for around 1M +/- 100k without landscaping from the builder back in 1999-2000. I know because I bought one back in 2000. The landscaping bill on a lot of that size was around 100k-200k depending on what you did with it. In looking at the upgrades in the bathroom and kitchen I would say the build quality of that house is similar to a Centex or Barratt home built back in 1999-2000. Given the pool I would say the landscaping bill was around 100k-150k. Add it all up and I believe that is a 1M +/- house in 2000 dollars when you figure in the upgrades and landscaping. Sure that house is in a B location but are the A locations worth 500k more? JTR would be a better judge of that than me. I am not sure.
I did not say that the entire market in the area was close to 2000 level pricing, I was referring specifically to that price range (around 1M). This is just one example there are others.
I wonder how old the listing they found for the article was. We’ve been looking around Carlsbad and lately you can find a lot nicer for a lot less. Spending over 600k for a 3 bedroom townhouse in this market is just throwing away money.
Oh, and @ comment #8, I have lived on the Florida coast, and it is very comparable to here. California locals just like to exaggerate the problems of other area climates to rationalize how much it costs to live here. Florida may get humid, but May gray and June gloom aren’t so spectacular either.