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San Diegans moving to Mexico to save money on housing

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SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) - With the high cost of living in the San Diego area, more people are moving over the border to Mexico to save money.

Max Katz, a broker for Baja Real Estate Group, said he’s seen the numbers grow through the last couple of years.

“In the short term trend in the last two years, I’ve had a lot of younger people come that might not be a normal part of our market which are now looking to buy and live because they can work remotely and there’s a lot more flexibility in their lives,” said Katz.

He said the difference in home prices can be massive.

“You can get a waterfront home or condo in our area anywhere from 200 to 6 or 700 would be a normal price range for our market and that same property in San Diego would be untouchable, it would be in the millions for sure,” he said.

Toni Smith, an athlete and head jumps coach at Southwestern Community College, chose to move over the border to save money. She said the past few years of living in San Diego, she had to have roommates to afford the high cost of living.

“I had to find a means for survival so I was like, 'OK, I don’t mind roommates, I’ve had them all my life,'” said Smith.

Until now. The renter said she just moved over the border and now can afford to not only live on her own but have extra space.

“The amount that I pay for my two-bedroom, one bath was the amount that I paid for one room in Eastlake Chula Vista,” she said, adding that the one room was in a house shared by six people.

Katz said he expects this trend of people moving to Mexico to continue as long as prices stay high in San Diego. He said if Americans want to buy in Mexico, they need to be ready with cash.