South Bay units OK'd for switch to condos

Tenants to appeal planners' decision
By Janine Zúñiga
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 4, 2005

The San Diego Planning Commission reluctantly approved a plan yesterday to convert 188 South Bay apartments to condominiums and sent a strong message to the City Council expressing its apprehension about this and other conversion projects.

That message made the issue less about the Otay Mesa tenants who showed up to fight the conversion of the Southgate Village Apartments and more about the growing phenomenon of condo conversions in the city.

Saying they felt for the tenants but had no choice, commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the tentative subdivision map of property owner Ralph Bwy at a public hearing yesterday. Commissioner Carolyn Chase voted against the plan; Commissioner Gil Ontai was absent.

"We are concerned of the effects of condo conversions on tenants," Chairman Barry Schultz said. "We understand and feel just as you do about the issue, but we have an obligation to work within the rules we have."

In a second motion, however, commissioners voted 5-0 to advise the City Council through Schultz of their serious concerns regarding the growing conversion trend, some even calling for a moratorium.

Commissioner Mark Steele said in the rush to approve conversion projects, no one has studied the effects they are having on the rental stock, on the affordable-housing market and on the potential ability to redevelop those areas where the soon-to-be-converted units sit.

Commissioner Kathleen Garcia said she wants to know what the city is doing to create more affordable housing, how that effort is being balanced with all the new conversions and how much more and what types of housing are becoming available.

"We're looking at one part of the issue," Garcia said. "We need to look at the whole issue of affordable housing."

Bwy, the property owner, said yesterday that barring an appeal, he will continue with the project. He said he was relieved by the decision.

"It's been a long process," Bwy said. "We want to continue to work with the tenants, helping them acquire their units. We've been very fair."

Bwy first began notifying residents of his plan to convert in May 2003. The following January, the matter went before the City Council, where tenants complained that they weren't properly notified, a requirement when turning rental apartments into for-sale condominiums.

The council voted against the project, and Bwy was required to start again. The next step is to get the final map approved, said Bwy's attorney, Matthew Peterson. He said he expects the tenants to appeal the commission's decision.

About a dozen current and former Southgate Village tenants spoke at the three-hour hearing. Many, including Antonio Lopez, said they can't afford to buy. Lopez, who has rented an apartment for four years, urged the commission to vote against the project.

Tenants, who have vowed to appeal, have 10 working days to appeal the decision to the City Council. The city clerk would then place the item on the council agenda for consideration.

Members of ACORN, an advocacy group for low-and moderate-income families, some of whom live at the complex, and a representative of Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, also attended the hearing. Many spoke on behalf of the complex's low-income, senior, minority and single-parent tenants. One, Rosalie Leon, said many of the Southgate Village tenants are spending up to 60 percent of their income on rent.

One man spoke in support of the tenants even though he doesn't live at the complex. He said that as a formerly homeless man, he is concerned by a recent notice that his apartment complex is to be converted.

ACORN officials and Mario Lopez, with Filner's office, said they intended to pursue a citywide moratorium on conversions until the city is no longer in a housing crisis.

"Homeownership is good, but the reality is that tenants at Southgate cannot afford condos there or anywhere else," said Lopez, who called on the commission to make a symbolic gesture by denying the project.

Commissioner Steele said it was "absurd" for the City Council to declare a housing crisis but do nothing to address it.

A number of condo-conversion advocates, including Chris Christensen of CondoConversions.com, said converted units have a positive effect on a community and that buyers appreciate the opportunity to buy into the American dream, made more affordable by the conversion process.

Some commissioners questioned how affordable the units are to most low-income families.

Million-dollar homes are all the rage in California

Over 33,000 homes in state sold above $1 million in '04
Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Inman News

More million-dollar homes were sold in California last year than in the two previous years combined, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a real estate information service.

A total of 33,107 homes in California sold for $1 million or more last year. That was up 73.5 percent from 19,080 in 2003. The total in 2002 was 13,871.

Last year's surge was strongest during the second quarter when year-over-year sales were up 109.3 percent. During the year's final quarter, sales were up 61 percent, the company reported.

"A million dollars just isn't what it used to be when it comes to California real estate. Because of appreciation across the board, more homes are in the million-dollar category than was the case earlier. We don't expect home prices to go up as much this year as in 2004, so we anticipate that sales counts will level off," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

Million-dollar sales accounted for 5 percent of all California home purchases in 2004. In 2003 it was 3 percent, and in 2002 it was 2.3 percent.

Statewide, there were 221 sales for more than $5 million last year, 237 sales were in the $4-$5 million range, 690 in the $3 million range, 2,894 sales in the $2 million range, and the rest between $1 million and $2 million.

DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

The DataQuick numbers include home sales where it could be determined from public records that there was a buyer, a seller, that money changed hands, and that there was a legal transfer of property ownership. Not included were property swaps, sales of multiple lots, teardowns, and large farm or ranch properties. Home sales to companies were included, as were sales to trusts.

The most expensive confirmed purchase was a 10,900 square-foot five-bedroom, four-bathroom San Francisco house which went for $22.5 million in December. The largest was an eight-bedroom, 10-bathroom 35,735 square-foot house on 2.3 acres in Beverly Hills that sold for $13 million in October.

Ross in Marin County and Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County were communities where virtually all home sales were in the million-dollar category, the company reported.

Newly-built homes accounted for 5,210 of last year's sales, up 141.8 percent from 2,155 for 2003. San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties were the most active markets for newly-built homes, DataQuick also reported.

There were 1,677 condo sales in the million-dollar category, up 90.8 percent from 879 a year ago. Most were sold in West Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

The median-sized million-dollar home was 2,644 square feet, with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The median price per square-foot for all million-dollar homes was $489, up 5.4 percent from $464 a year ago, DataQuick reported.

Around 15 percent of the buyers paid cash, up from 12 percent in 2003. Of those who financed their purchase, the median down payment was 25 percent of the purchase price. Lending institutions most willing to provide mortgage financing were Washington Mutual, Countrywide Home Loans and Wells Fargo.