There’s the DIY of assembling that Ikea bookcase, and then there’s the DIY of building an entire house. In both cases, it helps if you are an architect with an enthusiastic partner, both possessed of resourcefulness and skill, like Joe and Marie Michell, who built this of-the-moment Post and Beam in

Things aren’t looking great for downtown’s 1.7 million-square-foot Research and Development District from San Diego-based life science real estate developer IQHQ.A Citi analyst, writing in a research note to the project’s publicly traded lender Bank OZK, believes the district is 0 percent leased and

San Diego rents are down but a renter’s fortune depends heavily on where they are living in the county.The median monthly rent was $2,370 for a one-bedroom in the city of San Diego in May, said real estate website Zumper, down 1.3 percent in a year. That put America’s Finest City as the eighth most

Buzz: Home price appreciation is projected to slow in California and 35 other states in the next 12 months.Source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed the April edition of CoreLogic’s state-by-state price indexes, which look 12 months ahead and 12 months back.Look aheadLet’s start with the forecast. If i

One in a series of columns on boards, homeowners, managers, vendors and HOA lawyers.Being an HOA attorney is not simply a job. Being trusted to guide communities is an honor and a sacred obligation.Clients need answers, not just options. It is helpful to explain the benefits and drawbacks of the var

A recently-completed collaboration between architect/developer David Maman and interior designer Leslie Close of Close Design, this home on Brentwood’s Arbutus Drive represents the best in “quiet luxury”—a term that’s overused but still evocative. Absolutely up to the moment in amenities, the proper

 The cost of homebuying is so insane that San Diego County’s sales are running at the slowest pace in records dating back 37 years.My trusty spreadsheet looked at two-year periods of sales from CoreLogic stats stretching back to 1988 to measure how much the local housing market has chilled. Remember

One in a series of columns on boards, homeowners, managers, vendors and HOA lawyers.The client is the HOA corporation, not the president or any individual director. Make sure you know whether the person instructing you or your staff is authorized to speak on behalf of the HOA.Your contract should st

With a career spanning decades from the 1930s to the 1970s, Robert Byrd built some of L.A.’s most influential homes, working in a very characteristic style that combined a farmhouse aesthetic, heavily timbered and woodsy, with carpenter interior details and extravagant brickwork. Unlike the classic

A Los Angeles-based real estate firm that has spent the past 15 years focused on residential projects is re-entering the retail sector with the purchase of what is said to be an extremely healthy shopping center in Mira Mesa.Thursday, Decron Properties announced that it purchased the 238,747-square-

The long-awaited overhaul of Mira Mesa Community Park will begin this summer, promising to deliver in two years time an aquatic center, a skate park, a renovated recreation building and substantial infrastructure upgrades. Monday, San Diego City Council members unanimously OK’d a $43.3 million contr

Southern California home prices may seem insanely high, but two yardsticks of their underlying values suggest they’re not as crazy as elsewhere in the nation.Let’s be clear. These measurements don’t say local homes are affordable. Nor does this math conclude what buyers are paying is normal. Rather,

One in a series of columns on boards, homeowners, managers, vendors and HOA lawyers.Managers are the HOA’s most important service providers. HOAs don’t work well without competent and trustworthy managers.Managers are increasingly vital for the HOA housing model as it continues to grow. About 30 per

There’s a long tradition of Modernist extravagance in Palm Springs, dating back to the 1950s, of architectural minimalism overlaid with the inescapable influence of Hollywood Regency. In 2012, Sean Lockyer, AIA of Studio AR&D Architects created this extraordinary residence, one of his first desert p

The San Diego City Council voted last week to replace its existing neighborhood group in the Uptown area with a new group that describes itself as younger, more renter-focused and less resistant to development.It’s expected the move could ultimately pave the way for more high-rises and dense develop

San Diego County’s median home price growth showed no signs of abating in April as another record was hit. The median price was $880,000, up from a revised record high of $860,000 the previous month, CoreLogic data revealed Thursday. The county’s median, which includes newly built homes, resale home

San Diego had the fastest rising home prices in the nation for a fourth month — an increase of nearly double the U.S. average. The San Diego metropolitan area’s annual home price increased 11.1 percent annually in March, according to the S&P Case-Shiller Indices report released Tuesday. It was follo

Chula Vista’s latest residential development, which has some of the lowest prices for new homes in the region, was only possible after a zoning change.There are 718 homes at Sunbow, a new project from Miami-based Lennar in Chula Vista’s Otay Ranch. It is a mix of townhouses and condos, ranging from

The stock market’s venerable yardstick, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, recently made history — crossing 40,000 for the first time.Yes, this milestone set on May 16, is only a brief emotional victory for shareholders. Yet it can be seen as a historical milepost for the broader business climate, es

One in a series of columns on boards, homeowners, managers, vendors and HOA lawyers.HOA living involves a trade-off of independence in exchange for the benefits the HOA provides. Someone unwilling to trust others to make decisions and who must personally make all decisions is probably not cut out fo