54.3 F
San Diego
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

Despite Headlines, New Year Launches With Several Success Stories

With the stock market acting like an out of control spaceship, it is amazing there are success stories to report in this column. However, in North County, it seems like that misguided ship is not in our glide path. Allow me to illustrate my point.

Mayor Morris Vance of Vista recently announced at a civic luncheon that although the economy is unsettling, his city is upbeat and optimistic that it will weather the fiscal problems that occur during the next few months.

During their recent finance and goal- setting workshop, the Carlsbad City Council heard several reports from its senior staff that several major projects will proceed this year. The $100 million Carlsbad mall renovation will progress this year after Westfield Group officials stated that the project is being pushed ahead of their plans to remodel the Westfield mall in Escondido. An expansion of Car Country Carlsbad will begin with public hearings for Hoehn Motors, which wants to build a luxury auto sales area for Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Land Rover on the west side of Interstate 5 next to the wastewater treatment facility.

The county of San Diego is planning to begin the process of extending the runway at McClellan-Palomar Airport by 1,000 feet to better accommodate jet service.

In Carlsbad, the “McMansions” war is on. In northern Carlsbad, around Carlsbad High School, the Buena Vista Lagoon mansions of more than 5,000 square feet are popping up like weeds, much to the chagrin of existing home & #173;owners near the new construction sites.

More than 30 homes that are 5,000 square feet or larger are located in the northern section of Carlsbad.

The city is about to embark on a multiyear update of the master plan and the mansionization issue is sure to crop up. How do you start a war like this in a depressed real estate market?

The Carlsbad Unified School District board of trustees has approved the preliminary construction plans for the building of a second Carlsbad High School on College Boulevard.

The new school is part of a $198 million bond package approved by voters in November 2006.

The Olympic Resort and Spa in Carlsbad has been sold for $12 million to Pacific Athletic Club. Its original joint venture partner was intending to remodel the hotel and build a 100,000-square-foot family fitness center; now Pacific will redo the site itself.

San Diego was ranked seventh in venture capital investments in 2007, garnering just more than $2 billion.

Zogenix Inc. in North County received $33 million. In San Diego, the big winner was Ambit Biosciences Corp., which garnered $49.3 million.

CB Richard Ellis announced that its Carlsbad-based Golf and Resort Group sold $90 million in golf property in 2007. Three of the properties , Woods Valley Golf Club, Arrowood Golf Club and the Hodges Golf Learning Center , are in North County.

I think you can see not everyone is being held back by the fear of a recession.

The housing swoon that is so highly talked about is not nearly the main issue that is plaguing the recovery of the economy.

The main problem is the average consumer or investor.

No one can argue that this is not the ideal time to buy a home, building or piece of property.

The prices are depressed, and the interest rates are at an all-time low.

The problem seems to be that if home buyers purchase a home, they won’t be able to sell their current home due to the depressed market.

That is a true statement, but first-time buyers don’t have that problem. Something should be created to encourage first-time buyers to take advantage of the current market.

A little encouragement could go a long way toward moving them into the purchase.

For those folks who are facing foreclosure of their homes, the generally accepted solution to avoid the foreclosure and a red mark on their credit sheet is the short sale. The property that is about to be foreclosed on is put up for sale at 2 percent or 3 percent less than comparably priced units.

If the bank holding the mortgage agrees to accept the lower sale price, the current owner can avoid the red mark on their credit record.

This type of sale offers first-time buyers a great price on a nice dwelling and at a good discount.

If we take advantage of the lower interest rates, short sales and reasonably priced real estate, those three ingredients will stimulate the economy at the right time and help it straighten out.

If you couple this with the congressional stimulus program, the market may just step over the recession.

Spending breeds spending and spending breeds good feelings and a sense of well-being.


Ted Owen is president and CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-