If you are a lover of constant sunshine, balmy weather and the sunset blush of the pacific, there's news for you. And if you've dreamt of living in an idyllic setting filled with artistic architecture there's reason to be delighted too.
Welcome to Coronado, an internationally acclaimed tourist destination, known for its rich history and uniquely enchanting ocean village atmosphere. Located across the bay from San Diego, the Coronado community is home to one of Southern California's most desirable residential neighborhoods. Sample some of the highlights that epitomize its truly deserving name - Coronado, Spanish for "crowned".
These and more make Coronado a great place to live and work with an unsurpassed quality of life and a stable and secure setting for residents and businesses alike.
Geography
Coronado is flanked by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the San Diego bay on the other. Although called an island, it is technically a peninsula joined to the mainland by "The Silver Strand." It is connected to the city of San Diego by the San Diego-Coronado Bridge and to the city of Imperial Beach by State Highway 75. Approximately 7.4 square miles in size, Coronado is uniformly flat and boasts of the widest, longest and finest beaches in San Diego, with an award-winning beach, recently ranked second best in the country by the Travel Channel.
Coronado's Attractions
Coronado, listed as a National Historic Landmark and also nicknamed ''The Tent City'', referring to tourist-tents that once lined Coronado Beach during the summer vacations, is home to the famous Hotel Del Coronado, a fairy tale American castle built in 1888 and long considered one of the world's top resorts. Coronado has three world-class resorts, training facilities for the Navy's elite SEAL corps, a public 18-hole golf course, a driving range, 17 parks and promenades, bike paths, and a town swimming pool, a delightful collection of shops and services, including a small movie theater, community center, city hall, library and much more. For a detailed listing of Coronado's attractions and things to do, visit the Coronado Visitor Center.
Demographic Composition
With about 26,000 residents, Coronado is a thickly populated town. The most striking feature of its demographic makeup is the prosperity of its populace, with the median family income being more than $82,000 per annum, more than double that of the United States. Coronado population statistics can be referenced at HomeGain, Sperling’s Best Places or Wikipedia.
Coronado Real Estate
The Coronado real estate can be categorized into three areas: Coronado Village (the main land mass of the Coronado peninsula offering a collection of single family homes from beach cottages to stately mansions), Coronado Cays (collection of upscale homes 4 miles south of Coronado Village) and Coronado Shores (32 acres of prime shorefront real estate comprising primarily of condominiums).
Information on Coronado real estate, Coronado home and condo properties for sale and sundry information regarding the communities can be obtained at www.realestatecoronado.net. Visit our Coronado condos page for some comparative real estate statistics that draw attention to at least 2 very important points.
- On an average, real estate in Coronado is more than twice as expensive as San Diego and California, and about four and half times as expensive as that in the United States in general. If we compare the medians (the middle values), the difference is even more stark, as indicated by Figure n in the home pricing section.
- The higher number of vacant units in Coronado gives home buyers more choice than anywhere else.
Coronado Homes
Architectural style
Much of the Coronado real estate was built before World War II and has an elite and arty look. The main residential area of Coronado is an attractive village with palm-lined avenues about 12 blocks East-to-West and 18 blocks North-to-South. Coronado’s square-grid streets intersected by sporadic diagonals, give it a groomed and spruced feeling. In its webpage on Coronado Homes, Willis Allen describes the distinctly captivating architectural make of the Coronado village.
“Coronado is not a typical modern suburb but a collection of custom homes which reflect construction over a 100 year period. Unlike large-scale, identical developments where houses are grouped by style, size, and price, Coronado homes are custom-designed. Coronado's development and evolution had been more random and unrefined than any of its contemporary suburbs. Over time, estate-sized lots were divided, units were added off alleys, large houses were divided into two or more homes, and houses were relocated.”
All in all, Coronado homes offer an array of architectural styles to choose from - Prairie style and bungalow homes in the West of Orange Avenue; Victorian, craftsman, modern, Mediterranean, French provincial, English Tudor, ranch, oriental, post-1950 contemporary, New England colonial, antebellum southern and Spanish colonial architecture in the East of Orange Avenue; more modern houses and condos on the Bayside; high rise residential buildings with penthouses near the oceanfront; and single family homes and condos at the “Cays.”
Coronado Home Listings
As reported by the San Diego House Hunting Team, 7 properties were sold in April and overall Coronado had 31 single family homes newly listed in May 2006. The average days on market were 114. According to San Diego MLS, as of June 2006, there are roughly 122 detached homes and 92 condos currently available in Coronado.
As reported by realtor Jeanne Silver in Realty Times, as of June 21st 2006, there were 82 active listings, 10 pending and 11 sold (listed since 2/1/06). (Note: Information is deemed to be reliable but not guaranteed.)
Prices of Coronado Homes
Purchasing Coronado real estate either as a residence or as an investment may be one of the most important investment decisions you will ever make. Spiraling demand in the last few years has witnessed almost a doubling of home prices in the San Diego County in general. In Coronado, homes range in value from about $650,000 to many millions of dollars. Due to current market conditions, the inventory of Coronado homes continues to be low. While a leveling off in appreciating property values is being reported for some areas of Southern California and even San Diego, many communities directly along the coast are still appreciating.
As researched by SanDiego-MLS.com, as of July 2006, home prices in Coronado start from:
| Figure 2: Home Prices in Coronado, July 2006 |
| Attached Homes |
1 Bed |
$605,000 |
| 2 Bed |
$650,000 |
| Detached Homes |
3 Bed |
$1,100,000 |
| 4 Bed |
$1,295,000 |
| Highest Priced Home |
|
$16,900,000 |
Although prices are anticipated to keep rising, the quality of life in Coronado is obviously worth the cost. Following figures produce some comparative housing statistics of Coronado with San Diego and the United States.
| Figure 3: Comparative Housing Statistics of Coronado vs. United States, 2005-06 |
| Housing |
Coronado, California |
United States |
| Median Home Age |
28.8 |
27.2 |
| Median Home Cost |
$1,275,000 |
$208,500 |
| Home Appreciation |
15.90% |
13.62% |
| Homes Owned |
42.21% |
64.07% |
| Homes Vacant |
18.76% |
14.48% |
| Homes Rented |
39.03% |
21.45% |
| Apartment Rent |
$1,158 |
$653 |
As indicated by sales statistics published by San Diego House Hunting, of all of San Diego's neighborhoods, Coronado is the most premium, thanks to its unique lifestyle and distinctive features. The website also provides detailed reports by zip code and by townhouses, condos, or combined. In spite of the high prices of Coronado real estate, studies indicate that 94.88% of the list price of Coronado homes was realized in the sales price.
Figure 4: Housing Sales Statistics March 2006 |
Detached Homes |
|
Prices |
Unit |
|
|
|
Average |
Median |
Sales |
DOM |
SP/LP |
Summary |
|
|
|
|
|
County |
$720,695 |
$579,500 |
1,802 |
67 |
95.30% |
Central San Diego |
$695,443 |
$537,000 |
462 |
67 |
94.50% |
By Neighborhood |
|
|
|
|
|
Coronado |
$2,080,938 |
$1,600,000 |
16 |
175 |
84.60% |
La Jolla |
$1,867,316 |
$1,695,000 |
19 |
91 |
96.10% |
Point Loma |
$1,051,525 |
$964,000 |
14 |
53 |
94.20% |
Ocean Beach |
$925,441 |
$880,000 |
17 |
78 |
94.30% |
Sorrento Valley |
$828,167 |
$820,000 |
6 |
70 |
93.80% |
Mission Hills |
$809,737 |
$800,000 |
19 |
39 |
95.10% |
Old Town |
$790,136 |
$675,000 |
11 |
49 |
95.30% |
Scripps Miramar |
$766,092 |
$702,000 |
29 |
54 |
96.20% |
Pacific Beach |
$671,000 |
$670,000 |
5 |
60 |
97.20% |
Tierrasanta |
$639,917 |
$595,000 |
12 |
58 |
97.30% |
Del Cerro |
$639,667 |
$557,000 |
21 |
53 |
94.50% |
North Park |
$613,450 |
$589,000 |
18 |
75 |
96.60% |
Clairemont |
$598,161 |
$558,000 |
29 |
66 |
96.90% |
College Grove |
$565,903 |
$513,750 |
40 |
71 |
96.60% |
San Carlos |
$544,028 |
$544,500 |
18 |
53 |
96.50% |
Mission Valley |
$537,525 |
$501,500 |
20 |
70 |
97.20% |
Mira Mesa |
$516,577 |
$510,000 |
43 |
61 |
97.40% |
Linda Vista |
$515,143 |
$512,500 |
14 |
60 |
96.70% |
Normal Heights |
$501,832 |
$502,500 |
30 |
60 |
92.80% |
Paradise Hills |
$467,344 |
$467,500 |
16 |
60 |
98.30% |
Golden Hill |
$451,886 |
$415,250 |
14 |
74 |
97.20% |
Encanto |
$450,407 |
$439,900 |
29 |
50 |
97.00% |
University City |
$426,682 |
$350,000 |
11 |
100 |
96.60% |
City Heights |
$408,800 |
$412,500 |
30 |
59 |
93.20% |
Logan Heights |
$386,875 |
$417,500 |
8 |
59 |
97.10% |
Note: Above statistics are for single family homes only |
As researched by Realty Times, current mortgage Rate estimates are as follows:
30 Year Fixed: 6.71%
15 Year Fixed: 6.36%
1 Year Adj: 5.75%
Coronado is truly the dream residential place of many an American family and a property here is an investment of a lifetime. Offering a cordial welcome to prospective home buyers, the Coronado Visitor Center states, “Families of any configuration will find Coronado a gracious hostess, offering the best in accommodations, panoramic views of San Diego and beyond, delicious food, abundant entertainment choices and spectacular sunsets at no extra charge.”
BLOG SUMMARY
With its idyllic setting filled with artistic architecture and ocean-village atmosphere, Coronado is a dream residential neighborhood of many an American family. This blog on Coronado Homes gives some useful buyer information about Coronado real estate in general and Coronado homes in particular. There are also interesting references regarding Coronado’s geography, its demographic makeup and inviting attractions that the city has to offer.