 http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050821/news_mz1h21hot.html |
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"Is it always this hot here?" perspiring, red-faced visitors ask Hal Sealund, a broker and co-owner of Road Runner Realty. "Heavens, no, it's a lot hotter sometimes," is his rejoinder. So why is Sealund open for business? Why is broker Catherine Gay Oswalt in her Coldwell Banker office across the street? Both veterans of Borrego Springs summers for decades, they know there will be customers coming in despite the triple digits. It's not like buyers don't understand what they're getting into, they agree.
Oswalt has noted an increase in summer sales the last two years. So steady, in fact, the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association has developed Welcome Packets for Realtors to distribute to new homeowners. The packets – designed for this summer's buyers – include a sturdy cardboard fan. For Sealund, Oswalt and other local Realtors, the impetus for staying open despite sweltering heat has never been greater. "In the 33 years I've been here, this is the biggest upsurge in prices and transactions I can remember – both land and new and existing houses," Sealund said. "I don't think it's peaked. We have a backlog of people waiting. Contractors have a backlog. Everybody is busy."
"This is the best year in spec(ulative) home building I've seen," said Oswalt. Sealund pointed to another hot market indicator. "Two years ago, the Borrego Springs Real Estate Association had 250-260 lots listed for sale. We're now down to two or three dozen." "A lot of acreage has been sold recently, too," he said. "A 40-acre parcel of very raw land in a remote, unpopulated desert area just closed at $50,000." There are limitations, however. "Water is an issue that is being looked at closely here, and rightfully so," he said. "In the case of new homes, water meter hookups are not a problem at the present time, however, it's always advisable when you plan to build to investigate what is allowable in terms of all utilities.
The buyers are two groups – year-round dwellers and seasonal folks. Currently, DataQuick lists 1,177 homes in Borrego Springs, of which 629 are second homes. Nearly 50 percent of the area's second-home owners, 305, reside in the county and 502 are Californians. A handful are Canadians and the remaining live throughout the U.S. Permanent residents tend to be retirees or people who live and work in the Borrego Valley, said Oswalt. The second-home owners typically arrive in late October and head out in April. Many with permanent residences in San Diego and locations nearby also adhere to this "snowbird" schedule, while others spend weekends or longer during the season and still others spend short periods year-round.
"In the early morning, I can see their headlights going up Montezuma Grade," Sealund said. Ron Andersen, a copier repairman, has commuted from Borrego Springs to East County every workday for the past eight years, averaging between 1,200 and 1,500 miles a week. Out the door by 5:30 a.m., he arrives in El Cajon by 7 a.m. "I have a satellite radio that gives me good reception almost all the way," he said. "I don't even think about the drive." Two couples who closed escrow recently are representative of the full-time and seasonal populace. Both took occupancy in mid-June – when the average temperature hovers at 102 degrees. Weary of traffic, Bob and Barbara Virtue downsized from their La Mesa home to an Encinitas rental two years ago. From there, they scoured California for a home to buy, settling on a new 1,300-square-foot, three bedroom house in Borrego Springs. The stucco house on a third of an acre was priced at $285,000, half the selling price of their family home.
He loved it. He and Barbara began bringing their two boys to Borrego Springs as youngsters. "We'd stay at Stanlund's motel or splurge at La Casa del Zorro Resort," he said. "Eighty percent of our trips to the desert were in the summer." "Everybody said, 'How can you move from the beach to that awful, hot desert?' " said Barbara, a semi-retired bookkeeper. "We discussed it. We knew desert summers. We also thought we weren't too old to have an adventure." It was l06 degrees the day they moved in. "That was a bit of a shock," Bob admitted. "But you adapt.
Like longtime desert denizens, the Virtues will learn to adjust to a lifestyle dictated by the thermometer. "In the summer, outdoor chores are done early in the morning or in the evening," said Sealund. Sleeping outdoors under a glittering canopy of stars is a summer night attraction. Rising with the chickens isn't a hardship, either, since the town rolls up the rug at 9 p.m. year-round. New second-home buyers Stephen and Karen Gray are already looking forward to the cooler months. The Grays, Solana Beach residents, are golfers for whom 110 degrees in the shade is a bit much. "We've spent a good deal of time in Palm Desert for several years, but now it's so hustle-bustle," Stephen Gray said of their decision to buy in Borrego Springs.
"We have been playing golf here year-round," he said. "We're very familiar with the temperature, and are probably more tolerant of the heat than some." However, the Grays acknowledged they will probably come out less in the summer, more in the fall – and not just for weekends. "Neither of us is locked into an eight-hour day in town. We're flexible as to how we work and when," he said. The Grays purchased their 1,800-square-foot home on the 14th fairway of the De Anza course for $375,000. "We don't have a pool, but it is important," Stephen said. "We'll probably add a water feature or pool in the next year or so." The Grays are representative of many Southern California families looking at Borrego Springs as a desirable oasis for a second home or a permanent residence. "A lot of buyers are coming from the Palm Desert area," said Kellie Hamilton, Coldwell Banker office manager. "They've lived in the desert and they love it, but the congestion has become horrendous." By contrast, Borrego Springs is still a small town. For more than 10 years, signs have listed the population as 2,989 and the rule of thumb among townsfolk is about 7,000 to 8,000 in season, less than 3,000 in summer. In January 2004, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) estimated there were 2,993 permanent inhabitants with a median household income of $41,608. Of these Borregans, 48 percent were 50 or older. This aging population is a contributor to the availability of homes for sale. Older residents may go back to their hometowns – perhaps downsizing or to be closer to family, Hamilton said. Health concerns can be an issue, too. The closest major hospital, Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, is about 80 miles away. "More younger families are trying to move here with kids and sometimes with no job," said Hamilton, whose family fits this demographic. Her husband, Tim, has started a vacation rental and management service, overseeing property for part-time residents and absentee landlords. Prior to their move a year ago, the Hamiltons lived for a time in Orange County, and were ready to leave. "It was so congested and expensive and there was so much peer pressure," she said. "We're originally from a small town in Wisconsin. "Families like us appreciate the affordability, peace and quiet. They also want their kids to grow up in a small town like they did." Sealund tells the story of a Borregan who, when a visiting friend asked her why she chose Borrego Springs, beckoned him outside. "Listen," she said. "I don't hear anything," he said. "That's right," she responded.  Valerie Lemke is
a freelance writer.
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