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North Park (92104), Kensington, Talmage, and University Heights (92116) By Terry Moore, CCIM
The investors who bought in these zip codes a decade ago with 40% down and a loan for the balance, quadrupled their equity! San Diego County has about 100 ZIP Codes. For more than a generation 92104 & 92116 have been among the most desirable and most active apartment ZIP Codes. Values have more than doubled. Why these areas are popular These areas are walkable, convenient to downtown, Balboa Park, five freeways and within 15-minutes of colleges that educate more than 60,000 students. Many beaches and the airport are within a 20-minute drive. Sixty percent of San Diego County’s apartment buildings above four units are 5-to-10-unit buildings. These two ZIP Codes have a
disproportionate share of lowdensity communities. Roughly 11,000 households own fourplexes or bigger in San Diego County. More of them are in these two ZIP Codes than any other three ZIP Codes in the county combined. These ZIP Codes are comfortable for both owners and renters. This article is the third time in the last generation that I’ve analyzed these submarkets with approximately a decade’s perspective. In the last 30 years San Diego County apartments have increased in value almost 10% annually on average. These two ZIP Codes have traditionally had lower risk, and more upgrades than most of the county’s other areas. During the condo conversion craze, nearly a third of the newer buildings with the majority of two bedrooms were converted to condos. Those $30k- $40k per unit
upgrades improved the housing stock. Thousands of condo owners, many who were formerly tenants, stabilized the broader community. 92104 North Park North Park goes from Balboa Park on the south, to Cherokee Avenue, between 36th and 37th, to the east, to a block north of El Cajon Boulevard and then on the west of Georgia Street. About 24,000 households with just over 50,000 people, live in North Park. Median income is $76,718 almost same as the county average of $79,079. 92104 has 750 apartment parcels containing roughly 11,400 apartments in triplexes and larger buildings. The median age of apartment buildings is 1970, slightly older than the rest of the County. Most apartments have their original kitchens and bathrooms. About a decade ago, Forbes July 2021 socalrha.org | 15
