PCSing to San Diego: Should You Buy or Rent?

If you have orders to San Diego, you have probably already been told two contradictory things: buy immediately because BAH is basically free rent, and never buy on a three-year tour. Both are too simple. Here is how I would actually think it through.

Start with how long you will be here

The biggest factor is not the market. It is your timeline.

Buying and then selling costs real money. Commissions, escrow, title, and closing costs on both ends add up fast, easily into the tens of thousands on a San Diego purchase. If you buy and sell inside two years, appreciation usually has not covered that, and you would have been better off renting.

Around three years is the rough break-even in a normal market. Four or more and buying starts to look clearly better. Under two and it rarely pencils, unless you plan to keep the house.

Which brings up the thing most people miss

You do not have to sell when you leave.

San Diego is a strong rental market with steady demand from the next wave of service members, students, and people priced out of buying. Plenty of military families buy here, PCS out, and keep the house. You build equity, someone else covers the note, and you keep a foothold in a market that is expensive to re-enter later.

I own rental property myself, so I will be straight with you: being a long-distance landlord is not passive. You need a property manager you trust, a maintenance reserve, and a realistic view of vacancy. But if you are going to own real estate somewhere, doing it where you already have a zero-down loan and boots on the ground is a reasonable place to start.

Where you are stationed changes everything

San Diego is not one market. The drive from Alpine to Naval Base San Diego is a completely different life than Alpine to Camp Pendleton.

• Naval Base San Diego / 32nd Street: Chula Vista, Bonita, Lemon Grove, La Mesa, Spring Valley
• Naval Base Coronado / North Island: Coronado, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista
• MCAS Miramar: Mira Mesa, Scripps Ranch, Santee, Poway
• Naval Base Point Loma: Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Clairemont
• Camp Pendleton: Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Fallbrook, Temecula, Murrieta

East County, meaning Alpine, Lakeside, and El Cajon, buys you more house and more land for the money. The trade is drive time. For some families that trade is obviously worth it and for others it is not. Run the actual commute at the actual hour you would be driving it, before you fall in love with a listing.

Your BAH is a floor, not a budget

BAH is set by duty station, rank, and dependent status, and it changes every year. Your lender will count it as income, which helps you qualify.

What I would caution against is treating BAH as the exact number you should spend. It is a housing allowance, not a mortgage payment allowance, and your payment also carries taxes, insurance, and sometimes HOA or Mello-Roos. Buy right at your ceiling and a tax reassessment or an insurance increase comes straight out of your pocket.

Start the loan before you start the house hunt

The most common mistake I see with PCS buyers is house hunting for a month, finding the one, and only then calling a lender.

Get your Certificate of Eligibility and a fully underwritten pre-approval before your house hunting trip. If you end up competing for a property, an underwritten pre-approval is the difference between an offer that gets taken seriously and one that gets passed over.

The timeline does work

A typical purchase here runs about 30 to 45 days from accepted offer to keys. If you are arriving on orders, starting the search around 60 days out is comfortable and 45 is doable.

I can show you homes by video, handle inspections while you are still packing, and be at the property when you cannot be. That is a normal part of how I work with military clients.

Talk it through

No pressure and no pitch. Call or text 619-321-8393 and tell me your report date and where you are reporting. I will tell you honestly whether buying makes sense for your situation, including if the answer is rent this time.

Sarah Newcomb is a residential real estate agent with the Dean Aguilar Group serving San Diego County, Temecula, and Murrieta. Her husband is a Navy veteran and they used their own VA loan to buy here.