San Diego Regional Planners Predict Population Surge Will Lead to Housing Shortfall in San Diego
Feb 28th, 2010 by Kathleen Behrens
San Diego regional planners are predicting a population of 4.4 million residents living in San Diego by 2050. If this forecast is accurate, it means 1.2 million more people will move to San Diego over the next 40 years. It is estimated San Diego will need to provide an additional 390,000 houses to accommodate these new residents. The question is how and where can the capacity of San Diego be increased and maximized to create enough new homes for the inevitable population growth the city and county of San Diego will experience in the coming decades?
San Diego regional planners have warned elected officials not enough land has been zoned as residential, which will lead to a housing deficit in the near future. The planners initially estimated a shortfall of 70,000 homes in San Diego. However, due to the impact of the economic recession and widespread layoffs, the county’s 2008 population and housing shortfall estimates were reduced by 15,000 and 30,000 respectively. The revised estimate for the housing shortfall was then adjusted to a deficit of 40,000 homes.
According to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the remaining vacant parcels of land which have been zoned for residential use total just over 21,000 acres in the 18 incorporated cities which comprise San Diego County. There is not much room left in San Diego County for the development of single family houses and urban sprawl.
The recommended strategies and solutions include building 80 percent of new homes as multi-family units such as apartments, condominiums, and townhouses rather than the past emphasis of creating single family houses. Building units with higher housing densities can be an especially effectively strategy for the San Diego cities which do not impose height restrictions. By expanding upward, they can effectively maximize the use of airspace. Another recommended strategy for communities is to redevelop urban areas which are not being successfully utilized.
It is important for San Diego regional planners and our city and county officials to plan ahead for population growth and the anticipated housing needs of the citizens who will reside in San Diego County. Although it is likely to begin slowly, as our economy recovers people will continue to move to San Diego, and they will need houses in which to live.
In looking ahead, now is an excellent time to buy San Diego property as prices and interest rates have likely reached their lowest points and will begin to start increasing again. If you can afford to qualify for a loan, you may want to look at houses for sale in San Diego and consider investing in rental properties. With a forecast of a severe housing shortage, the demand for rental properties is likely to increase. The combination of a short supply of houses coupled with an increased demand for housing could lead to attractive rents for investors.
To find out about different loan programs and ones for which you may qualify, contact Loan Consultant Robert McMahon of Guild Mortgage at 619-857-1657 or rmcmahon@guildmortgage.net. To begin your search of houses for sale in San Diego, contact San Diego Realtor and Broker Russ Petrone of Petrone Properties Real Estate Associates at 858-259-1000 or russ@petroneproperties.com.
You can also independently search the complete San Diego Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for San Diego properties online. You can search for all houses for sale in San Diego or specifically for San Diego short sales and foreclosures. Fannie Mae also has a special HomePath® program with San Diego foreclosure properties which they own. To learn more about the Fannie Mae HomePath® program, read the Houses for Sale in San Diego articles entitled Free Incentive Money for Buyers of Fannie Mae Houses for Sale in San Diego and Houses for Sale in San Diego Shares How You Can Buy a Fannie Mae HomePath® Property in San Diego.