Volume surges, prices down, inventory stablizes in North San Diego County Real Estate

May 9, 2012 - PRLog -- FALLBROOK, Calif., May. 9, 2012--- Real estate activity in North San Diego County continued to show volume improvement, fueled by diminishing prices, despite a sharp reduction in inventory, Jerry Kalman, realtor® at The Jacques Company, reported today.

He noted that the average selling price in Bonsall and Fallbrook of $345,000 represented a six percent decrease in April from March, while the volume of transactions increased over both the prior month and April 2011.  “Of homes neither lender-owned nor a short sale, the average selling price was $404,000, a four percent decrease over the prior month.  Almost two thirds of the transactions were traditional sales," he said.

Discounting continued across the board as average selling prices declined nine percent from April 2011.  Overall, prices dropped again by an average of 13 percent from those at the original listing.  Eleven properties sold for more than the original asking price, six of them traditional transactions.

Kalman said the single-family residential inventory stabilized at 228 properties, a three and a half month supply based on April results.  The average asking price of the inventory jumped up dramatically to $781,000, an 11 percent increase over March.

The number of homes in escrow was also stable at 90 properties as 61 came off the market in April.  The average asking price of those off the market entering May was $393,000, or $164 per square foot.

As a reflection of the variations in marketability for the three categories of sellers, Kalman said that in April the time for properties to move from the active inventory into escrow shortened.  An average of 41 days elapsed from the original listing to sell lender-owned properties and 58 days to move a traditional transaction into escrow.  The average time for short sales on the market dropped to 144 days.

In the segment where first time buyers and investor activity occurs, five condominiums in Bonsall sold at an average price of $132,000, or $107 per square foot.  Five condos, four in Bonsall, were in escrow.  Entering May, the active inventory of condos was 12 units, with seven in Fallbrook.  The average asking price of that inventory was $253,000 consisting of many high-end duplex units in Bonsall.

Comparing Fallbrook-Bonsall with nearby North San Diego County markets, Kalman said homes that sold here in April at $173 per average square foot trailed $249 in Carlsbad, $206 in San Marcos, $187 in Oceanside, $178 in Vista and $174 in Escondido.

Kalman´s data for the reporting periods ending April 30, 2012, came from Sandicor, Inc., the area's multiple listing service for realtors.  It represents properties listed or sold by various brokers in San Diego County.  He uses this information to analyze the market and provide professional insight into real estate dynamics and trends as a community service.

Jerry Kalman is a licensed realtor (Calif. DRE # 01328697) based in the Fallbrook office of The Jacques Company.  Reach him at (760) 468-4689 or jerry@jerrykalman.com.