Some comments on affordability
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1/17/2006
I've lived in SD since 1990. I was lucky to buy a house in 1998, but made the mistake of buying a house that my family and I out grew. We didn't have to move, but we thought it best. We moved to El Cajon in 2004 and while we can handle the mortgage payment with the equity we made in the first house, the property taxes make it difficult to have any fun money. I have to put away $600 a month to cover property taxes.
With a housing cost index of 201.3 plus a median HH income of <$50K, this city has the worst wage to cost of living ratio in the country. And it will not be changing anytime soon, as long as people keep moving here and as long as corporations give incentives to relocate here (they have no choice) the wages will stay flat with adjustments for CPI. I heard recently that the SDPD is short over 100 officers becuase they keep leaving to go to Irvine and LA to get paid 30-50% more, and with the financial mess the city is in, they will not be getting raises anytime soon.
El Cjon recently increases it's local sales tax to 8.25%, 50 basis points higher than San Diego. It will not be long before SD raises taxes too.
Jason | El Cajon, CA