CHULA VISTA, Calif. — San Diego County's most southern city Chula Vista is the most searched large city of its size on Zillow for 2023.
Three other southern California cities made the cut as well. Here's a look at the rankings.
What are the most popular large cities on Zillow in 2023?
- Chula Vista, CA
- Fort Wayne, IN
- San Diego, CA
- Cincinnati, OH
- Durham, NC
- Greensboro, NC
- Riverside, CA
- Irvine, CA
- Albuquerque, NM
- Wichita, KS
Zillow analysts reviewed pageviews, home value appreciation and days on the market for nearly 2,300 cities to determine which large city buyers and renters were the most interested in.
While affordability ruled the day for many home shoppers on Zillow, the San Diego area also had a strong pull. Chula Vista is the most popular large city — those with a population of 250,000 or greater — among Zillow surfers. The typical home in Chula Vista is worth about $808,000. San Diego itself, with a typical home value of about $962,000, took third.
Home value growth in 2023 was 6% year over year for both Chula Vista and San Diego cities – a strong showing driven by relatively strong demand and extremely low supply of houses. Inventory levels across San Diego County are still less than half that of pre-pandemic.
Chula Vista City Councilmember Jose Preciado says when people search for real estate, Chula Vista has some great statistics that make it stand out.
“Our city, for a city this size, is one of the safest in the country," he said. "The data has proven that year after year. We're a coastal city. You can kayak. You can bike ride. You can enjoy one of our 66 parks.”
He also points out how much housing is under construction and in the works whether someone is looking to start a family or relocate their family.
“For families that are interested at different price levels, we have about 12,000 homes in the pipeline," he said. "If you're starting a family right now, in about 10 years we'll have a public University. We'll have amenities that are resort quality right on our bayfront.”
Kyle Whissel is one of the top real estate agents for Chula Vista.
“I feel like its this area of San Diego that’s been forgotten about for a long time. Now there’s a lot of new development that’s coming.”
He points out that the Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center being built at the Chula Vista waterfront is the largest hotel under construction in the nation right now.
“You’re going to have all kinds of retail and apartments and office buildings right along the water on San Diego Bay.”
Chula Vista spans from the bay all the way East to Otay Mountain where the huge Millenia residential and commercial development is under construction. As is a 4-year university called UniverCity.
“That’s like 80 blocks worth of development," Whissel said. "You’re having apartments going in there. You're having retail, office space, a library, a university.”
Zillow says affordability is what people are looking for. We found Chula Vista listing for $500-$600,000.
“Because there’s new construction down there and most of San Diego is kind of built out so you don’t have a lot of new construction," Whissel added. "The fact that you can get a home newer construction in Chula Vista in the 6’s, that doesn’t exist in most of San Diego. And in Chula Vista, you’re 10 minutes near the water. That’s huge.”
If Chula Vista is the best kept secret, the word is getting out. Chula Vista leaders say they’re ready.
“In the next 10 years we're planning to grow by 70,00 people that's why we're building new housing," Preciado said.
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