The city of San Diego is seeking to move past a blundered real estate deal with a new high-stakes transaction, this time betting on a development team’s ability to turn the empty 101 Ash St. office tower into hundreds of apartments for low-income families at the expense of recouping what it has sunk

Tenants in Southern California are not getting the same level of relief from rent increases as the average American. This insight comes from my trusty spreadsheet’s analysis of rent inflation data from the Consumer Price Index, which tracks 23 U.S. markets, including three in Southern California. Th

To many critics of a generous backyard-apartment incentive San Diego is poised to rein in, most of the problems with the controversial program trace back to one man — a local developer named Christian Spicer. Spicer and his investors, they say, are responsible for scores of large-scale projects that

Investors own more than half of all the houses in seven California counties. That’s one eye-catching nugget from my trusty spreadsheet’s review of data on investor activity across the nation from BatchData, a small data tracker that digs deeper into property records than many traditional real estate

The development team proposing a massive, tennis-anchored sports complex on the Chula Vista Bayfront has secured an important contract with the Port of San Diego, giving the group a relatively short window of time to sign a professional athlete to be the face of the project. The seven-member Board o

The “Big Beautiful Bill” perpetuates a long-standing misconception that subsidies provide a lasting boost to the housing sector. President Donald Trump’s flagship legislation, signed into law on July 4, will, among other things, quadruple the deductibility of state and local taxes — commonly known a

A development group that previously explored building a Major League Soccer stadium on the Chula Vista Bayfront is back, albeit absent one partner, with a remastered proposal that is equally ambitious and may be more plausible. The project, named Pangaea, is anchored by a large tennis complex and co

How much will California home sellers cut their prices as competition grows? My trusty spreadsheet analyzed Realtor.com statistics on the number of existing houses and condos on the market and their asking prices. The average results for the three months ending in May were compared with two years ea

A roommate can bring on the best of times. Or the worst of times. She can be the person you pile onto the couch with and binge every season of “Grey’s Anatomy.” Or the person who steals your Anthropologie gift card and lets her sick cat into your room so it can pee on your beloved vintage grey coat.

Irvine is Southern California’s top spot for renters and San Bernardino the worst, according to a national ranking of places to be a tenant. My trusty spreadsheet reviewed a recent rentability scorecard from WalletHub, which graded 182 large U.S. cities – including 20 in Southern California – on the

A sluggish luxury market has led to a Del Mar mansion price drop its asking price by $15.5 million. The newly built mansion at 2920 Camino Del Mar went on sale in November for $75 million but recently had its price changed to $59.5 million. A multi-million dollar haircut isn’t unheard of for a final

Will lower mortgage rates convince California house hunters to stop balking at unaffordable homes on the market? What’s next for interest rates is a heated, national debate. The Federal Reserve is taking a cautious approach to further cuts in the rates it controls, fearing ongoing trade wars could r

San Diego is preparing to offer the forlorn and soon-to-be empty municipal building on the outskirts of the Civic Center for sale or lease. On Wednesday, San Diego’s Land Use and Housing Committee voted 3-0 in favor of declaring the City Operations Building at 1222 First Ave. as surplus. The action

Nearly half of all San Diego County residents are renters, and it can be tricky to navigate the latest laws. Questions about pet rent, trash fees and renter’s insurance just scratch the surface of what is a way of life for about 48% of renter households in San Diego County. A Redfin study found San

San Diego leaders are embracing a development team’s $250 million proposal to convert the asbestos-ridden, city-owned office tower at 101 Ash St. into hundreds of residential units reserved for low-income families. On Wednesday, San Diego’s Land Use and Housing Committee voted unanimously in favor o

A modest dip in mortgage rates wasn’t enough to prevent drops in California home prices and sales. To see what’s up – or down – with the market, my trusty spreadsheet looked at statewide homebuying data from the California Association of Realtors and the average 30-year mortgage rate from Freddie Ma

California’s landmark environmental law was overhauled in Sacramento this week, and it could mean more housing for San Diego. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills on Monday that will weaken the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, to make building housing easier. The law was praised by envir

With prices leveling off and more homes on the market, buyers now are more likely to walk away from a deal when they hit a snag before closing. As a result, one out of every six Southern California transactions fell apart in May, killing 2,261 home sales, according to Redfin, the online brokerage. I

California remained the world’s fourth-largest economy by a narrow margin as 2025 started. This bragging-rights scorecard – a talking point among the state’s cheerleaders – has been filled with intrigue as the top of the chart changes along with global economic swings. The rankings involve comparing

The city of San Diego is preparing to lease its office tower at 101 Ash St. on a long-term basis, at no upfront cost, to a development team that plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to convert the property into housing for low-income families. On Wednesday, San Diego’s Land Use and Housing