While housing prices continue to rise in most of San Diego, many home-buyers are turning to South County to purchase an affordably priced home in an area of booming economic development. The Corky McMillin Cos., which was founded in South County 42 years ago by Corky McMillin, has recognized this area as a superior growth opportunity, with eight master-planned communities developed in South County since the 1970s. Current South County master plans include McMillin Lomas Verdes, Vista Pacifica and Rolling Hills Ranch.

"No other company has been as intimately involved in the development of South County as we have," said Mark McMillin, vice chairman of The Corky McMillin Cos., representing the second generation of McMillins now running the organization. "We have been experiencing tremendous sales success this year as South County has become the newest hot spot for home seekers."

To meet the demand, the San Diego-based home building and real estate firm recently added a third McMillin Realty office to serve its South County clientele, as well as a new escrow office in Chula Vista to serve the entire county. In addition, McMillin Mortgage has launched new banking services to streamline the lending process.

Late last year McMillin Realty opened its newest branch office in the Otay Ranch area, the third in the region where The Corky McMillin Cos. was founded more than 40 years ago.

"The South County has always been a very strong market for McMillin Realty," said Scott McMillin, also a vice chairman of the overall organization, alongside his brother Mark. "Our Bonita and Chula Vista offices here are full to capacity.

"This part of the county is growing by leaps and bounds and we needed more space to accommodate the needs of buyers and sellers here."

McMillin Realty posted record sales during 2001 and is on track to surpass previous sales figures this year. The number of closings for the company is up 26 percent and sales volume has increased 39 percent this year.

This summer McMillin expanded its real estate services to include a new escrow division. The McMillin Escrow office provides assistance to McMillin Realty clients throughout the county by coordinating resale, refinance and relocation transactions.

"The growth of the company has been significant during the past year, which has created an opportunity to meet more of the real estate needs of our agents and their clients," Scott McMillin said. "It has always been our goal to offer top-notch support to our agents and the best customer service to our clients, so it was a natural extension to add an escrow division."

Most recently, McMillin Mortgage announced the formation of a banking division. The company is now serving as a direct lender to originate, underwrite and fund loans for customers. The firm closed $10 million in mortgage banking loans in August and has funded $32 million so far this year, in addition to the $224 million funded through its broker business.

"What this means to our customers is better service," Scott McMillin said. "Closing a loan can be a tedious and lengthy process. We have now eliminated the middleman, which will make our job so much easier. Customer service, in every way, will be under our control.