Imperial Beach's Realtor Who Cares About More Than Profits

A Broker Who Showed Up When It Mattered

On March 31, 2026, U.S. Small Business Administration Deputy Administrator William Briggs flew to San Diego and drove to the southernmost tip of the county. He was there to hear, firsthand, what the Tijuana River sewage crisis had done to Imperial Beach's economy. Around the table sat the mayor, brewery owners, café operators, and community leaders. Sandi Crosby was among them — not as a passive observer, but as the newly elected President of the Imperial Beach Chamber of Commerce, speaking on behalf of every business and homeowner in the 91932 zip code.

That moment — a real estate broker sitting across from a federal official, delivering hard data about 12–15% property value declines and buyers who refuse to consider the city — captures something essential about who Sandi Crosby is. She is not the kind of agent who waits for the market to improve before engaging. She is the kind who shows up at the table and demands it does.

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

The Tijuana River pollution crisis is not a local news story — it is a generational environmental and economic disaster that has reshaped the Imperial Beach real estate market. Understanding the scale of the problem is the first step toward understanding why Sandi's advocacy matters so much.

Mike Hess of Mike Hess Brewing — one of Imperial Beach's most beloved community anchors — reported a 28% revenue decline at his IB location compared to 2022 peaks. P.J. McCandless, owner of Katy's Cafe, put it plainly: "Loans are not going to be an option for some of these smaller businesses because they're already choking as it is. We'll just see more casualties." These are the businesses Sandi fights for every single day.

Why a Realtor Became a Community President

In August 2025, Sandi Crosby was sworn in as the new President of the Imperial Beach Chamber of Commerce. It was not a ceremonial title. Imperial Beach was in the middle of an economic crisis, and the Chamber needed a leader who understood both the human cost and the financial mechanics of what was happening to property values, business revenues, and community confidence.

Sandi brought something rare to that role: she could walk into a room with federal officials and speak the language of data — property value declines, buyer hesitation rates, financing obstacles — while also speaking the language of community, because she genuinely loves Imperial Beach. She is not an outside investor who stumbled into the market. She is a local who has walked the pier, knows the business owners by name, and has watched the crisis unfold with both professional concern and personal heartbreak.

That combination — data fluency plus genuine community investment — is exactly what makes her different from every other broker who has a listing in the 91932 zip code.

The Case for Imperial Beach in 2026

Here is the honest truth that Sandi will tell you, as both a broker and a Chamber president: Imperial Beach is undervalued right now, and the window to buy in before the recovery is real. The federal government has now visited three times in 2026 alone — EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, and Deputy Administrator William Briggs have all made the trip south. San Diego County approved $8.75 million in January 2026 specifically to address the Tijuana River crisis. A binational roadmap with a five-pillar framework was released in March 2026 by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce.

The trajectory is clear. The question is whether you want to buy in at the discounted price that the crisis created, or wait until the recovery is complete and pay a premium. Sandi's position — as someone who has watched property values decline 12–15% and is actively working to reverse that — is that the buyers who believe in Imperial Beach's future will be the ones who benefit most from it.

That is not a sales pitch. It is the considered opinion of a broker who has more skin in this game than anyone else in the market.

The Businesses Worth Supporting

One of the things Sandi does as Chamber president that no other broker does is actively promote Imperial Beach's local businesses — not because it helps her sell homes (though it does), but because she believes a thriving local economy is the foundation of a healthy real estate market. Here are some of the community anchors that have stayed the course through the crisis:

What "Caring About More Than Profits" Actually Looks Like

It is easy to say you care about a community. It is harder to demonstrate it when the market is down, when buyers are saying no, and when the honest answer to "should I buy in Imperial Beach right now?" requires nuance rather than a simple yes. Sandi has never shied away from that nuance.

She has told prospective buyers the truth: the pollution stigma is real, the beach closures are real, and the property value impact is real. She has also told them the other truth: the federal response is real, the community's resilience is real, and the long-term case for Imperial Beach — a walkable beach city with some of the most affordable coastal real estate in San Diego County — is as strong as it has ever been.

That kind of honesty does not always close deals in the short term. But it builds the kind of trust that makes clients come back, refer their friends, and know that when Sandi says "this is the right move," she means it. It is also, not coincidentally, the kind of trust that a community needs from its Chamber president.

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