Golden Hill

Golden Hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods in San Diego. One can tell from the number of surviving Victorian homes that Golden Hill was once where downtown’s workers lived. The neighborhood began revitalizing in the 1970s, spurred by the gas crisis and the close-in location. Golden Hills is bounded on the north by A Street and by freeways on the other borders. It is primarily multifamily in nature, with many of the original large homes long ago converted to apartment buildings. While there are many find homes left, this is really of neighborhood of renters.

As downtown’s newest district, the Maker District, gets developed along with the East Village, Golden Hill remains a very good place to buy real estate. Interstate 5 is a virtual wall between Golden Hill and the far more prosperous East Village, but perhaps that can change over time.

The road to real estate riches has been bumpy featuring lots of oversupply and too much speculation. The recent recession has created a more balanced market and in the medium run downtown condominiums will appreciate faster than in surrounding areas. Land and vertical construction costs will mean a limited and expensive supply of new units. Demographics suggest nothing but increasing demand for downtown living. There will be a real price squeeze ahead.