I’m working today and tomorrow to understand who the buyers are in downtown San Diego. I went on a Repo Express tour Saturday of some downtown condos with about 20 other repossessed-property “tourists.” On the tour, I think the commonest question I heard people asking the agents was, “What’ll this rent for?”
OK, so on the downtown buyer list, who do we have?
Investors, check. (I haven’t heard of any flippers lately, just people looking for rental properties.)
Out-of-towners, check. (Like in this Arizona Republic story from Saturday, which essentially labels our downtown market as a market in shambles, just waiting for Zonies to drive west and pick up a condo steal.)
On the tour, I did meet someone who was looking for a condo to purchase and live in himself, but he’s not looking desperately. He’s on a leisurely researching mission. If he sees something that fits his budget, great. But I heard none of the urgency from boom days when people camped out on the sidewalk to get in line to buy condos before they were even built.
So, first-time buyers, check.
Who else is out there — are you? And what ratio are you hearing about between these groups of people? I’d love to hear from you — click my name below.