The Begining Of A Crown Jewel: La Jolla’s History & Current Real Estate Statistics -Rina Podolsky Carmel Valley Real Estate_

La Jolla’s zip code 92037 has remained for many years in the list of Most expensive Real Estate areas in the Country and the World. Today, the Real Estate Market in La Jolla has slowed down quite a bit just like many of the other most exclusive markets in the world, however it has not lost so much of its value. Here are the current statistics for the Real Estate market in La Jolla according to the Multiple Listing Service:

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Active Listings: 400

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Attached-183

Contingent Listings: 27

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Pending (In escrow): 63

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Sold in last 30 Days: 42

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Of those sold in the last 30 days:

Average Days on Market-96

Average of Sale Price vs. asking price 96%

Average price per S.F.-$540.81

Average Price- $1,216,964

The most expensive Home Sold so far in 2010 was sold for $10,000,000

The most expensive Home Currently listed for Sale has an asking price of $29,500,000

This is what La Jolla Real Estate Market happens to look like today, but if you ever wonder, how did it all begin? Here is a brief look at the History of this Jewel so many people call home.

La Jolla is believed to have been inhabited by Native American cultures and there have been some artifacts that were found and conform this idea, however, there is no clear knowledge of who they were, and what happened to them. The earliest written records that have been found, are scattered records back from 1870, in which the spelling of the area was “La Joya” Which is consistent with the Spanish spelling of the word “Jewel, so it was called “The Jewel”. Some people have argued that the real name comes from the Native American term “Woholle” which means hole in the mountain.

Although there is no certainty of where the name came from, the idea of the area being called La Jolla after the word Jewell does make a lot of sense, it is certainly considered to be one pf the crowning Jewell’s to San Diego, with it’s breathtaking views of the ocean and its mansion lined streets, this area really shines.

This city was incorporated in the year 1850. 1869 is the year where they had the first recorded sale of land in this area, the purchase of these lots, called the “Sizer” lots, was made by two brothers. The cost of the land was $1.25 per ACRE, each brother bought a 80 Acre parcel of land on what is now Downtown La Jolla.

However, the first man to start auctioning pieces of land was Frank Terril Bostford, that earned him the nickname of “Father of La Jolla”.

La Jolla Country Club

This area went from having 350 residents in the year 1900 to having 4000 by the end of the World War I. The economic basis for this area was tourism.

Regarding it’s Architecture, it shifted from being mainly cottages to a Spanish Mission Style. However by 1929 with the Market crash and the economy collapsing, the area saw almost no new construction for the following 10 years. It was until the beginning of World War II that the area saw a new boom, this time the hills adjacent to this area were also includes in the new development of the area. At the end of the War, many people made thi area their home and a new growing spur was visible. The surrounding areas were made into subdivisions.

By 1960 La Jolla had 17,000 people calling it home and today there are about 40,000 residents.

Another historical fact that put La Jolla in the History books, was the fact that Charles Lindbergh learned to fly his gliders, flying out of the top of Mt. Soledad. Today, there are no Gliders flying out that same spot however there is very well known Glide Port in the Torrey Pines area right above the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

And speaking about area attractions, there is the 7 caves at La Jolla Cove, today only 1 of the caves remains accessible but it is a favorite exploration spot for scuba divers and kayakers, there are many people who come to the area for both water activities.

AS far as Hotel’s go, Downtown La Jolla is home to “La Valencia Hotel” which was a destination hotel for many of the movie stars of the  Golden Era, and it still remains today as one of the most exclusive hotels with a magnificent view of the ocean and a lavish Sunday Brunch that has become a tradition for localites.

Hotel La Valencia

It is no surprise that La Jolla, with its natural beauty has been the home and inspiration of many  artist and writers. Perhaps one of the best known in the area would be Theodore Geisel A.K.A Dr. Seuss, his paintings can still be seen in some of the Gallery’s on Prospect St.

During the 1960’s La Jolla became the home of the prestiged school UCSD and the Salk institute, recognized also for its infamous architecture, designed by Louis I Kahn, one of the great Architects of that century.

Salk Institute

Today, La Jolla remains a breathtaking upscale area where you can go see some of the most magnificent homes in the country.

Homes around La Jolla

Another Beautiful La Jolla Home

Here is a Timeline of other interesting facts:

1893 – Opening of La Jolla Park Hotel

1894 – Railroad extended to La Jolla from San Diego; La Jolla Post Office established; Reading Room opened; Anna Held arrived in La Jolla and created Green Dragon Colony

1895 – First La Jolla Village Improvement Society organized

1896 – Ellen Browning Scripps buys two lots on the ocean side of Prospect Street and builds her first home

1897 – Library Association of La Jolla formed

1899 – Barber Tract development begins (first known as Neptunia); first telephone lines installed

1904 – Wisteria Cottage built

1905 – Marine Biological Association organized, later Scripps Institution of Oceanography

1906 – Ground broken for new bathhouse at the Cove; first La Jolla newspaper is published

1910 – The Bishop’s School is built

1911 – Electricity introduced into La Jolla

1913 – Opening of Colonial Inn (Grande Colonial La Jolla)

1915 – Arsonist sets fire to several La Jolla buildings, including Ellen Browning Scripps’ house; work begins on new home designed by architect Irving Gill

1918 – Scripps Memorial Hospital opens (first known as the Sanitarium); paving of La Jolla streets begins

1924 – Electric railroad starts running; Casa de Manana opens as resort hotel; street lights introduced; summer “Jollification” celebration held

1926 – La Valencia opens; Balmer School started (today La Jolla Country Day); La Jolla Country Club takes shape; The Muirlands begin development

1927 – La Jolla Beach and Yacht Club formed (now La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club)

1960 – Location of University of California San Diego campus determined in La Jolla

1964 – Salk Institute built along with high-rise at 939 Coast Blvd. and Seville apartments at 1001 Genter Street

1974 – La Jolla commercial areas impacted by opening of University Towne Center shopping mall

1983 – BLOB (“Ban Large Office Buildings”) organized to oppose large structures being built through the 1980s by banks and other developers

La Jolla Today

La Jolla Coast

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How is the Market? Understanding The Case Schilling Report – Rina Podolsky Carmel Valley Homes For Sale-

As a real estate agent I often come in contact with people who ask me, How is the market? followed by a statement, I just saw the latest report saying…. Although some people do get the idea behind what the numbers show, often times they have either taken that information to be a prediction or have trouble understanding what the numbers really mean. What they really want to know most of the time is;  is it the right time to buy? should I sell my home now or wait a bit? Is it the right market to invest?  So I thought I share with all of you a glimpse as to how and why you should interpret this indicators with care, specially because what happens to Real Estate in New York City is very different than what happens to Real Estate in Carmel Valley Real Estate or La Jolla Real Estate or Rancho Santa Fe Real Estate.

Case Schilling reported their numbers for the September behavior of the Market and it is calling it a “weak report” in fact they believe it is even weaker than last months report. However it is important to understand that they believe that this results are believed to be highly influenced by the end of the government’s incentive programs.  I believe this numbers were to be expected, many of the people who were ready to buy, did so in time to take advantage of all the government credits and incentives, pushing the number higher for several months. Another fact that might have influenced the numbers is the fact that the interest rates have been going down and people keep hearing of a new wave of foreclosures, and a possible second dip in home prices and because they have no time concerns after the credits expired, many people have gone back to sitting on the fences and waiting to have a clearer picture of how the market will be trending.

Another important fact to take into consideration is that Case Schilling is reporting what has happened in the past few months, since this report came out, there has been some better than expected numbers from different indicators, Wall Street broke to pre crash levels, unemployment has started to shift, the government has said it will be pumping 600 million to re-invest , consumer confidence is higher than expected and so are the results of gains of many of the large corporations.

I would like to point out that if you look at the graph, you can see that the 20 city index shows that the market is up above 2003 price levels. ” From their peak in June/July of 2006 through the trough in April 2009, the 10-City Composite is down 33.5% and the 20-City Composite is down 32.6%. Through September, they have recovered by +7.2%and +5.9%, respectively. The peak-to-date figures through September 2010 are -28.7% and -28.6%,respectively.” 

Lastly, Case Schilling is a snapshot of the country, taken from 10 or 20 cities, it is important to understand that each market behaves differently. For example, if you look at the local San Diego market, you see that it actually is showing a 5.0% GAIN from the 2009 levels, not a loss by any means and if you take it a step further you can see that even within San Diego, you have to look at each area separately, some have had bigger gains, some have shown a steadier path through the whole crisis and some have shown some losses in the last months. This is why it is very important to know what you are looking at and be careful when you interpret any charts or information to make decisions based on them. Be sure to always ask an expert.

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