Look for the ‘gold’ in North Park’s housing market

By Bill Vivian

You’d think it was the California Gold Rush of the 1800s right here in North Park these days. The local hills appear to be just full of gold. But what hills you ask?
We all know the local hills in the area — Golden Hill, Mission Hills, Hillcrest, but in North Park? I’m referring to the hills just north of Morley Field bordered by Mississippi street on the western side, and 28th Street on the east ( just drive from west to east along Myrtle Avenue or Dwight Street and you’ll know what I’m talking about).
What gold? The Real Estate gold mine that flippers have discovered right here in that hilly North Park sector. If you’ve been a couch potato for the past 12 months, then it’s probably about time for you to take a hike, bike, or drive through this beautiful part of North Park. Some of these goldmines are even open on weekends to venture into.
For some time now, cash-toting buyers have been snapping up anything that doesn’t move and is almost completely uninhabitable with today’s standard of living. Some have been buying up — at bargain prices — one- or two-bedroom homes (generally less than 1,000 square feet of living space on 4,000-square-foot lots or larger) and expanding them into three bedrooms, two baths, with comfortably larger living areas.
And most, if not all, of these buyers have kept or improved the curb appeal of the classic Craftsman look in the remodels, which is extremely important in keeping the charm and property value of the neighborhood intact. The most recent flips have occurred on Myrtle, Utah, 29th, Texas and several on Arizona Street, with more to come on Arnold, Villa Terrace and other various locations in the hills. If I had a cool $500,000 in cash, I’d be out there with a pick and shovel digging for gold too.
Now the question becomes is it good for the area? I think it is because it allows larger families to move into North Park, which translates into a better economic base. It most certainly is driving up property values. Are they good deals? I believe they are, since you finally get a nice sized master suite (instead of a 10×10 “Master Bedroom”) in most of these remodels with a washer and dryer inside the home instead of in the garage or on the back patio — along with all the modern conveniences we expect in a home today.

And most if not all of these flips have been remodeled from their foundations to the roofs. What about the disappearances of the one- or two-bedroom bungalows to these flippers? Not to worry, the majority of these bungalows won’t disappear anytime soon because the lots are small, and you can’t build larger homes on those tiny lots. They are perfect sized homes for one or two people, right?

So if and when you’re out with your pick and shovel exploring for gold on one of San Diego’s spectacular sunny weekends and you venture into one of these gold mines, thank your lucky stars (not up there, but down here — your local North Park Realtors— for representing these clients, increasing property values and working hard to make North Park a better place to live. Without their dedicated help, North Park wouldn’t be what it is today.