• Editor’s Note, October 2025: A Show of Hands

    Editor’s Note, October 2025: A Show of Hands,Cole Novak

    Cool things are afoot—and sometimes they’re happening in what can appear to be otherwise boring places. Pulling into the office park in Rancho Bernardo where bionics company. Psyonic recently upgraded to a larger space, I was admittedly underwhelmed. Office parks, after all, scream dull utilitariani

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  • Mortgage payments eat up 79% of California’s median wage – with rates at 0%

    Mortgage payments eat up 79% of California’s median wage – with rates at 0%,Jonathan Lansner

    It’s hard to fathom just how unaffordable the homeownership dream has become. Industry buzz suggesting that a subtle dip in mortgage rates could make a noteworthy difference for homebuyers is somewhat misleading. Let me offer what I’ll admit is an absurd example. Think of 30-year mortgages with no i

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  • Is it better to rent or own in California? That depends.

    Is it better to rent or own in California? That depends.,Jeff Goertzen1, Jonathan Lansner

    The debate over renting vs. owning has long posed a challenge for households in California. Arguments have morphed in recent years as home prices and mortgage rates soared beyond the increasing rents. To illustrate the complexities, we’ve created a hypothetical rent vs. buy scenario to track housing

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  • Who will save Horton?

    Who will save Horton?,Jennifer Van Grove

    A beacon of opportunity when it opened in 1985, the former Horton Plaza mall now finds itself the symbol of a serious downtown slump. A 7-year-old promise — that the mall’s conversion into a mixed-use office campus would bring new life to the city’s center — is within view but firmly locked away beh

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  • Sharia’s Closet Provides Clothing For San Diegans in Need

    Sharia’s Closet Provides Clothing For San Diegans in Need,Cole Novak

    Founded by Shamine Linton in 2006, Sharia’s Closet provides free, emergency clothing to those experiencing financial hardship or crisis. The idea first began after Linton first immigrated to the US. Along with her family, she began taking clothes, food, and household items back to Jamaica twice a ye

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  • What to Expect When Volunteering for San Diego’s Emilio Nares Foundation

    What to Expect When Volunteering for San Diego’s Emilio Nares Foundation,Cole Novak

    After losing their son Emilio to acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2000, Richard and Diane Nares chose to honor his memory by creating an organization to help families in similar situations find support. In 2003, the Emilio Nares Foundation (ENF) was founded as a way to help low-income underserved fam

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  • Profit margin on flipping a home is at a 17-year low due to high prices

    Profit margin on flipping a home is at a 17-year low due to high prices,Associated Press

    By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — It pays less and less to buy and flip a home these days. From April through June, the typical home flipped by an investor resulted in a 25.1% return on investment, before expenses. That’s the lowest profit margin for such transactions since 2008,

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  • Californians pay ninth-highest HOA fees in US

    Californians pay ninth-highest HOA fees in US,Jonathan Lansner

    To Californians who think their homeowner association fees are too high: take a dash of solace in knowing it could be worse. My trusty spreadsheet examined one housing cost the Census Bureau hadn’t previously broken out: dues paid to homeowners’ association or other condominium fees. The recent rele

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  • Does Senate Bill 79 go too far by overriding local zoning to build housing near transit hubs?

    Does Senate Bill 79 go too far by overriding local zoning to build housing near transit hubs?,Phillip Molnar

    California lawmakers approved a bill in mid-September that would override local zoning to build housing near transit hubs. Senate Bill 79 allows for taller, denser housing near transit corridors such as bus stops and train stations: up to nine stories for buildings adjacent to certain transit stops,

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  • Photos: Margaritaville Hotel Celebrates Jimmy Buffet Day With Fundraiser

    Photos: Margaritaville Hotel Celebrates Jimmy Buffet Day With Fundraiser,Cole Novak

    To celebrate Jimmy Buffett Day, Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter hosted a long weekend of fundraising events to benefit the San Diego Music Foundation. Parrotheads and parakeets enjoyed tropical cocktails, performances from local artists, and bid on exciting prizes in a travel-themed s

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  • 10 San Diego Nonprofit Events to Attend This October

    10 San Diego Nonprofit Events to Attend This October,Cole Novak

    Dragonfly Music Festival Benefitting TERI October 4 Local musicians will take the stage at the Dragonfly Music Festival on the TERI Campus of Life in San Marcos. The benefit concert will raise money for TERI, a nonprofit that serves San Diegans with autism and other developmental disabilities.  Feed

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  • Midway Rising’s $3.9B plan for San Diego’s sports arena site advances

    Midway Rising’s $3.9B plan for San Diego’s sports arena site advances,Jennifer Van Grove

    Three years in the making, the Midway Rising project seeking to redevelop San Diego’s 49.2-acre sports arena site with thousands of apartments, a replacement arena and new shops is nearing a climactic decision point, even as proposed lease terms with the city remain undisclosed. Thursday, the city o

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  • Average rate on a 30-year mortgage edges higher after declining four weeks in a row

    Average rate on a 30-year mortgage edges higher after declining four weeks in a row,Associated Press

    By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked up this week, ending a four-week slide that brought down borrowing costs for homebuyers to the lowest level in nearly a year. The rate rose to 6.3% from 6.26% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A y

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  • US home sales remained sluggish in August despite late-summer mortgage rate slide

    US home sales remained sluggish in August despite late-summer mortgage rate slide,Associated Press

    By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes remained sluggish in August, even as a late-summer slide in mortgage rates brought home loan borrowing costs to a 10-month low. Existing home sales slipped 0.2% last month from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 mi

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  • 8 of the Best Pumpkin Patches in San Diego for Families 

    8 of the Best Pumpkin Patches in San Diego for Families ,Cole Novak

    Fall in San Diego means crisp evenings, festive décor, and of course, pumpkin patches. Whether you’re looking for a full farm experience with hayrides and corn mazes or just a quick spot to pick the perfect pumpkin and snap a few photos, San Diego County has plenty of options for families. Here are

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  • 7 San Diego Oktoberfest Events to Attend

    7 San Diego Oktoberfest Events to Attend,Nicolle Monico

    Fall is here and the smell of beer is in the air. While flights to Munich are a bit pricey and will set you back 12 hours, San Diego’s Oktoberfest celebrations offer a much cheaper alternative—minus the jetlag. If you needed an excuse to drink beer, listen to live music, and dig your lederhosen and

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  • 16 Things to Do in San Diego This Weekend: September 23-29

    16 Things to Do in San Diego This Weekend: September 23-29,Cole Novak

    Fall has officially arrived and while some may be mourning the end of summer, the city is ensuring you have plenty of ways to get out and about and enjoy the new season. The menu for this weekend includes a pair of eco-friendly festivals at the second annual Wasted event and the inaugural San Diego

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  • Huge housing costs are stressing out California

    Huge housing costs are stressing out California,Jonathan Lansner

    Roughly 1-in-5 California households have housing expenses gobbling up more than half of their incomes. My trusty spreadsheet identified numerous affordability challenges by analyzing 2024 Census Bureau housing data for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. These latest figures detail swings i

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  • Coronado Cays mansion goes for $24M at Hong Kong auction

    Coronado Cays mansion goes for $24M at Hong Kong auction,Phillip Molnar

    A mansion in the Coronado Cays went for $24.1 million at a Hong Kong auction last week after years of struggling to find a buyer. The newly built mansion at 3 The Point went on sale in November 2023 for $43 million, but had its priced reduced to $37.5 million a year later. The sellers then turned to

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  • Compass to buy rival brokerage operator Anywhere Real Estate for about $1.5 billion

    Compass to buy rival brokerage operator Anywhere Real Estate for about $1.5 billion,Associated Press

    By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press Two of the nation’s biggest real estate services companies are combining in a deal that will bring Century 21, Compass and several other major brokerage brands under the same umbrella. New York-based Compass has agreed to acquire rival Anywhere Real Estate in an all-s

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