As a Downtown San Diego Real Estate specialist as well as a resident of the East Village of Downtown San Diego I have been used to a real estate market ruled by the developer. Being able to walk our clients in to complexes such as The Mark, Park Terrace, The Legend, Bayside, Sapphire and Smart Corner for developer sales are pretty much gone. So, times are about to change as Resale’s are hitting the market strong. The graph above shows us that the green line, Resale’s, has been on top of the Downtown market for almost the full year of 2011. With a total of 1029 Downtown San Diego Condos and Downtown San Diego Lofts sold during the year…almost 40% were Resale’s. We have seen a lot of investors flipping homes, buying REO’s as well as attending the court house steps on early mornings.

To read and compare 92101 Urban Living’s former Downtown San Diego Real Estate graph click on Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold During 2011.

The street lamp signage is up promoting Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp and if you’ve never seen what Mardi Gras is like in the Gaslamp, be sure to take a minute out of your evening (on Tuesday, February 21st) to do so. It’s quite the celebration and exactly what you are picturing in your mind because I know you have a visual. Personally, that is not my thing but to each their own. If you share my sentiment, you might be happy to hear that the more family friendly Carnevale in Little Italy will be back.

By visiting Little Italy ’s Carnevale on February 21st, you will be brought back to the Reinassance in Venice rather than the bead throwing floats of New Orleans. It’s a matter of preference. At Carnevale you will experience live music, folks in costume, and waltz lessons. If you have children, bring them along too because they will enjoy the atmosphere as well as the “Carnevale Mask Making” (which will take place at Washington Elementary from 5-8pm). If you want to watch all of the celebratory fanfare you can do so from the streets or by sitting in one of the delicious restaraunts lining India Street. Now that’s more my speed.

Mardi Gras/Carnevale celebrations will be alive and kicking in Downtown San Diego. The beauty of it is that you have a choice as to which one fits your taste and for that, how can you not love living in this city?! 

photo via ethnicevents.com

Downtown San Diego Real Estate has during 2011 been showing that Developer sales drastically lowered their number of sales and that Resale’s are coming up strong. With a total of 1,029 Downtown San Diego Condos and Downtown San Diego Lofts sold in 2011, Resale’s shows 403 sales and Developer a number of 217 sales. This is totally the opposite if you compare to the year 2010 when Developer sales were dominating the Downtown San Diego market.  As the graph is showing above, Resale’s stands for 39% of what was sold during 2011 and Developer sales stands for 21%.

I love living in Downtown San Diego. It’s convenient, you can walk just about everywhere, you have access to the bay and lots of outdoor activities, great restaraunts, shops, farmer’s markets…it’s hard to leave our downtown bubble. Plus, more often than not, getting in the car is the LAST thing I want to do. This lifestyle makes driving (for me) a burden at times. But, I am not going to lie. There are times when escaping the East Village is the most appealing thing out there. Sometimes I just want a change of scenery and San Diego sure does offer a lot of options in that department.

So when I read an article (again) about the beauty of the wildflowers to bloom in Anza-Berrego Desert I thought this just might be the perfect day trip. You know, the kind where you dust off your steering wheel (some of us downtown folk just don’t drive a lot), take a nice drive, see nature at it’s finest, enjoy the outdoors, eat some lunch then hop back in the car to head home. That kind of day trip. Sometimes it’s just what you need to get out of the Downtown San Diego funk. This is not a dig on the city in which I live because I would feel the same if I was living in Coronado or Point Loma. Sometimes it’s just nice to leave home for the day only to return feeling refreshed and appreciative.

Anza-Borrego is about a 2 hour drive from downtown and if you time it right, hiking the trails and seeing the gorgeous wildflowers in bloom will certainly be a breath of fresh air. Regardless of whether or not you feel the need to escape from home like I do, it’s always good to know what adventure lies just outside of this beautiful city we live in. A visit to Anza-Borrego won’t disappoint and either will returning home to Downtown San Diego.

Smart Corner, a Downtown San Diego Loft complex located in the northern part of the East Village has really triggered Downtown San Diego Real Estate investors to act fast. As Smart Corner announced that they are selling studios starting to a low price of $98,000…their phone has been ringing off the hook.

There are currently a couple of studios for sale in the range of $98,000 to $129,000 as well as one bedrooms from the price of $179,000 to $285,000 and two bedrooms homes to the price from $259,000 to $490,000. All Smart Corner units have that urban loft style feel with exposed elements and cement ceilings and walls. The price for the unit will depend on what floor the unit is located as well as orientation in the building.

Many investors has already been previewing units and signed up to get pre qualified as Smart Corner will be holding an open house event on February 11th and 12th from 9am to 6pm. They are offering tours of model homes and refreshments on the 20th floor roof deck. You will be able to see homes on two different floors as some of the units are tenant occupied.

Smart Corner has applied for VA approval and they are expecting to be able to close VA loans in the spring of 2012 and they are also in the process of getting FHA approved. If you are interested in previewing units before the open house event feel free to contact us for an appointment at info@92101urbanliving.com or fill out your contact information here.

Have you heard the news?! The 32.5 million dollars that the library still needed has been funded. Isn’t that amazing?! I could not be more excited since I live in the East Village just blocks away from this beauty. Downtown’s Central Library has been boasted, criticized and questioned for awhile now so when I heard this interview on NPR with Mel Katz, Chair of the San Diego Library Foundation, a renewed sense of hope and anticipation came over me (and other Downtown San Diego residents, I’m sure).

Downtown San Diego’s Central Library is scheduled to open in the summer of 2013-that’s next year, folks! With this funding secured, by a private entity who has not yet been revealed (though it’s safe to say their name will be all over that library), construction will be completed. With that being declared, Mel Katz focused on where the library is at now. Fascinating stuff, I tell ya. Here are some hightlights:

• Hard hat tours of the library are available (at Park and J in the East Village)
• Fundraising for capital, endowment and special programming will be put into place
• Naming opportunities are still available
• Technology such as an app that serves as a GPS of the library, tablets, and interactive panels are in the making
• 40,000 people a week are expected to visit this library
• A school will occupy the 6th and 7th floors with 500 students
• 50 different reading nooks
• 6 conference rooms
• 22 study rooms
• Consoles with Wii’s and Playstations will be found in the library
• 1/3 of the first floor will be a children’s library
• 2nd floor will be a Teen Center
• 57 schools are within 2 1/2 miles of the library, hence the focus on youth areas
• Construction is now working on the 9th floor, the top floor
• The dome will be next which is a 3 story glass reading room and will take 4 months to complete

What an amazing center this will be and the enthusiasm of Mel Katz is contagious. I highly recommend listening to his interview because if you have doubts about this library, he will change your mind.

The annual shamROCK that takes place in Downtown San Diego in the Gaslamp District is about to take place once again. This will be the 17th annual block party that will be celebrated on March 17th from 2pm all the way to midnight.

They say that this will be the greenest party so far as the celebration falls on the 17th and is the lucky number 17…the same as the birth of shamROCK. If you are in the mood for an Irish party…with food, drinks and music…this is the place to be.

For more information about the event visit shamROCK 2012 and to read 92101 Urban Living’s former blogs about past parties click on Coming up - St. Patrick’s Day Festival “ShamROCK”! In the Gaslamp District in Downtown San Diego! and Stay Green - St. Patricks Day in the Gaslamp District. Check out the video below for some action from last year’s event!

Walking through the East Village, I have noticed these tiny white and blue electric cars lining our streets. They are intriguing because they are everywhere-I’ve even seen people driving them all around Downtown San Diego too and couldn’t help but be curious by their presence. I decided it was finally time to stop wondering and actually learn more about these little vehicles.

Car2Go is an effort, in collaboration with the City of San Diego, to be an integral part of the city’s green mobility strategy. Car sharing equates to less emissions and traffic congestions on our busy, and ever growing, urban roads. Plus, Downtown San Diego residents know just how challenging it can be to own a car, or cars, when your unit comes with only one, if any, parking spots. Dealing with parking on the streets is a game with the meter maid of avoiding expired meters and parking tickets. As our city becomes more densely populated, the mobility concept of Car2Go becomes much more appealing. You avoid the hassels of finding parking or “storing” a car you hardly use or let alone want to use. The ease of using a Car2Go makes urban living sans a car very appealing and the environmental impact should not be ignored.

Car2Go sounds so darn easy. You begin by becoming a member for $35. With that, a membership card is sent to you and wah-la, you have access to Car2Go. What I find so fascinating is the simplicity of picking up a car (any one you see parked or use their car locator service) and then return it (anywhere within their large operating area). At $.35 a mile, you cannot beat this deal for a quick trip out of downtown to Trader Joes and even better, you DO NOT have to pay the meter when you park. That is right, no dropping coins in meters to park! What a feeling to not be on the clock avoiding a ticket on the windshield.

There is so much more to Car2Go that you must check out for yourself. It’s an innovative program and could honestly mean living car free in Downtown San Diego. It’s the beginning efforts to protect and preserve our urban environment and I applaud the efforts of Car2Go and our city in doing so!

The Hilton Bayfront Hotel located right by the waterfront in the East Village/Ballpark District in Downtown San Diego is one of the largest hotels in the region if you count by room. A plan to extend the hotel that currently have 1,190 rooms with an additional 500 rooms will for sure make the Hilton climb up to #1.

The extension has only reached its early stages and a few things are to consider such as financing, entitlements and amendments to the hotels lease with the Port of San Diego. Should this project be down for ground breaking…it will at least take about 5 years for completion.

To read 92101 Urban Living’s former blog about the Hilton Hotel click on Hilton San Diego Bayfront: Out with the Old and Polluted and in with the New and Profitable.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, located in La Jolla and Downtown San Diego’s  Little Italy, offers free admission on the 3rd Thursday of every month from 5-7pm. Did you know that? I myself did not. You learn something new everyday living in this city of ours!

I also learned that all folks 25 and under (with proper ID of course) are free-now tell me that is not an amazing deal. For those of us older than 25, ahem, we cost $10 but if you want to get in for free, head over on the third Thursday of the month for free admission during the evening. There is an exhibit right now called Phenomenal:  Califormia Light, Space & Surface that is supposed to be, well, phenomenal. It’s only here until February 5th and is worth a visit from what I have been told and my sources are pretty spot on when it comes to good art.

So, since today happens to be the third Thursday of the month why don’t you head on over to the MOCA for a free visit and then have a late dinner out in Little Italy? Sounds like a good, spontaneous night out if I do say so myself.