Welcome to San Diego Blog | January 24, 2011

Electra | 700 West E Street

Electra Condos in San Diego…

…is that stunning glass and steel architectural icon that you notice on the San Diego skyline. Whether arriving downtown by car, train, plane or boat it is eye-catching.  Located at the corner of Broadway and Kettner, the 43 story Electra is San Diego’s tallest residential building.  Its foundation is literally within the historic SDG&E Building–and has become the most beautiful Community Area in all of Downtown San Diego Condominiums.

Called “The Conservatory,”  the historically renovated section of Electra Condos San Diego compliments the architect’s contemporary design in arrival and lobby.  Materials and finishes throughout are top-notch. 

From the stone and marble mosaic floors in the lobby, to solid core doors, hardwood floors and efficient Bosch appliances in their homes, residents at Electra San Diego (and their guests) are surrounded by quality.  This continues seamlessly to the beautiful amenities located on the 5th floor. 

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Electra San Diego Condos – Best Features

  • Views, views and views–Electra is San Diego’s tallest building.  With floor to ceiling windows in most rooms and balconies in every home connection to ocean and city views is quite spectacular.  The creation of the boulevard at Broadway and Harbor (as part of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan) will create an expanded view corridor.
  • Interior Design and Finishes–Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, Bosa Development has added higher levels of design and quality to each of their 8 buildings.  Electra is simply stunning!  It is hard to believe that this can continue (and it does–see Bayside by Bosa).
  • Amenities and Lifestyle–There’s a buzz at Electra.  This is a distinctly young, fresh feeling building although its residents are of all ages.  Lots of dog owners and happy dogs live at Electra.  The swimming pool is crowded on sunny days and you see people at the gym.
  • Convenient location–Living in San Diego’s Columbia District, it’s easy to access freeways, Amtrak and public transportion.  You’re also less than a 10 minute cab ride from checking into your flight at Lindbergh Field or best of all, relaxing in your living room with a wineglass moments after getting off your flight.
  • Expansion of the Waterfront–The future is really bright for San Diego’s Columbia District.  New hotels, shopping and restaurants are a part of the plans for Lane Field and The North Embarcadero Visionary Plan.  With art, culture and parks already in the neighborhood, The Waterfront is going to get better and better.
  • Electra condos for sale & recent condos sold

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Dave’s take on Electra–Check out sold homes in the table above.  There have been 21 sales at Electra in the past 12 months!  In these blogs, we usually go back 18 months in order to provide enough data to clients for historical perspective.  At Electra there has been 39 sales in 18 months.  In a building that is only 2 and a half  years old, this is a lot of buying and selling activity.

The main driver in creating sales activity is price–or maybe more accurately value.  Prices for sold homes in this table are surprisingly low for those of us who had clients buying new in Electra.  It was the premier building in Downtown only 2 years ago.  Here’s what we can say for sure about Electra’s sales over the past 18 months:

  • The developer had a dozen or so homes to sell after closing the sales office in ’08.  The pricing on these kept dropping and dropping.  It has dragged down the value of resales in the past 18 months.
  • Many buyers made commitments on these homes in ’06 and ’07, as second or third homes.  Many of these have sold.  There is a surprising and disproportionate number of foreclosures and short sales in the building.
  • Bosa’s next building, Bayside, was built to a much higher standard.  Many Electra owners have chosen to sell and move up to Bayside.  They’ve done this at prices below their purchase.
  • 19 of the 21 sales have been below $750,000; 8 of the 14 current listings are under $750,000.

It’s a buyer’s market at Electra.  In the last 12 months the average home was 1,334 sf and sold for $440/sf.  Among current listings, check out #3404, a 34th floor 2 BR/2BA for $479,000, or #1703 a 1,370 sf 2 BR/2BA on the market for $599,000.  Just 2 years ago the seller paid $938,500!

It’s a great opportunity to buy in Electra right now.  The building is gorgeous and the lifestyle is perfect downtown San Diego living.  As agents, we can demonstrate how great pricing is and what great value there is in Electra Condos today.  In the end, it really is about the lifestyle.  Call us, ask for a property tour some weekend…

…Check out the pool on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon–isn’t Electra a fabulous place to live in Downtown San Diego?


Written by: Dannecker & Associates

Categories: Buyers, Columbia District, Columbia District Real Estate, Downtown San Diego, Luxury San Diego Condos, Relocation, San Diego Real Estate, Sellers

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