Real Estate in San Diego

San Diego Real Estate Market Overview

Sure, its neighbor to the north, Los Angeles, gets far more attention. But that's what makes this sleeper hit of a town such a revelation: it's cool without trying too hard. The blissfully Mediterranean climate allows for year-round outdoor living, whether you want to sip espresso at a sidewalk cafe in historic South Park or take in breathtaking views while hiking the rocky cliffs of Torrey Pines before cooling off in the Pacific.

ABOUT SAN DIEGO

The first inhabitants arrived at least 10,000 years ago. They lived off the land and fished off the coast. Explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo encountered the bay and called it "closed and a very good port." Alonzo Horton likened the setting to a "Heaven on Earth" - "It seemed to me the best spot for building a city I ever saw" - and he proceeded to move the center from Old Town to today’s downtown in 1867.

"This mountainous region is full of charming valleys, and hidden among the hills are fruitful nooks capable of sustaining thriving communities," essayist Charles Dudley Warner wrote of San Diego in 1890.

Its 4,526 square miles encompass one of the richest habitats in the nation with multiple climate zones and an abundance of plants and animals, including about 200 endangered and threatened species, the most of any county in the nation.

The region’s 18 cities and countless neighborhoods are nestled among the many mesas and valleys, divided by freeways, forests and (often dry) river and creek beds. Sometimes it’s just a community sign that divides one place from another. But every place has its park, landmark or favorite hangout that sets it apart.

Coronado

History: The city grew up around the Hotel del Coronado, which opened in February 1888, less than three years after developers bought the land. Well-heeled visitors flocked to the hotel, and those with less means took up residence in Tent City, a makeshift summer community that operated from 1900 to 1939. Coronado is also known as a Navy town with the adjacent North Island Naval Air Station. It was here that aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss experimented with seaplanes and opened a flight school for the U.S. military, earning North Island the title of “Birthplace of Naval Aviation.”

How it got its name: The “island” was originally called Peninsula de San Diego by the Spanish. Elisha Babcock and company held a naming contest after they bought the land. The winner, Miramar, was deemed too foreign, so the developers looked to the nearby Coronado Islands for a name. Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino’s priest named those islands for Christian martyrs. Its nickname is Crown City.

Landmarks: While the Del is the crown jewel of the Crown City, Coronado’s beaches consistently rate among the top 10 in the nation. The Coronado Ferry makes for a nice ride to downtown San Diego.

Hotel Del: Coronado is home to the famous Hotel del Coronado, built in 1888 and long considered one of the world's top resorts. It is listed as a National Historic Landmark and has hosted many notable guests, including: the American presidents George H. W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft, as well as Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, Thomas Edison, Magic Johnson, Charles Lindbergh, Willie Mays, and Babe Ruth.

Famous actresses, Mary Pickford and Marilyn Monroe also stayed there.

"The Del" has appeared in numerous works of popular culture and was supposedly the inspiration for the Emerald City in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Notable locals: “The Wizard of Oz” author L. Frank Baum wrote several sequels to his famous book while wintering here. And popcorn king Orville Redenbacher spent his final years in Coronado.