San Diego Retirees Selling Off Their Homes in San Diego for Major Profits

The American Dream still involves owning one’s home, but with the advent of retirement communities and homestyle apartments replete with major amenities such as on ground pools, fitness rooms, and community parks, all for folks that are 55 and over, the allure of keeping that house for the rest of your natural life has dwindled significantly over the past decade. Many seniors are choosing to sell off their homes, and move out to apartment homes that take many of the burdens of living in a house off their shoulders. No longer do they have to worry about fixing the plumbing, or doing minor repairs to the house themselves. All of this is taken care of by property managers.

For those that have chosen to sell their homes, it’s a perfect time to do so. Real estate in the San Diego area hasn’t been valued this high since the housing bubble days of 2008. For those that are concerned that another housing bubble looms on the horizon, there is one key difference today that wasn’t true of that era. It’s much more difficult to get a mortgage nowadays with bad or little credit than it was in 2007 when the bubble burst. Lenders are being extra cautious about extending risky loans because of the impact the housing collapse had on the American economy.

“San Diego and San Francisco are one of those rare areas where it’s always been a seller’s market,” says one real estate analyst from the Bay Area. “There isn’t as much guesswork involved for those looking for the perfect time to sell off their homes. The right time to sell is now, if that’s what you’re looking to do. There’s no waiting for spring because that’s when most people buy homes, or waiting for winter because that’s when the inventory is the lowest. You can be assured that there’s going to be a number of interested bidders if the house is move-in ready.”

“That being said, you want your house to be move-in ready. Buyers are going to shy away from properties that turn them off, and one thing that’s going to turn them off, even in a seller’s market, and even when inventory is low, is needing to make major repairs to the roof, the kitchen, or the bathrooms. Things like curb appeal may be less important if the market is really good, because folks don’t mind landscaping properties themselves, but when they see major maintenance needs to be done to the kitchen or the house needs a new roof, then that affects the home’s livability. They’re not going to want any part of it.”