San Diego Real Estate Enters 2013 on Strong Note

Jan. 9, 2013 - PRLog -- FALLBROOK, Calif., Jan. 9, 2013---Real estate in North San Diego County closed 2012 on a strong note as traditional transactions lead the way over short sales and lender owned properties, Jerry Kalman, a realtor®at The Jacques Company, reported today.

"The average December 2012 selling price in Bonsall and Fallbrook of $453,000 represented a six percent increase from a strong November and a sharp 36 percent increase over December 2011.Almost two thirds of the December 2012 transactions were traditional sales, and they carried an average selling price of $458,000, one percent higher than the market average," he said.

Looking back at 2012, volume increased over 2011 by 20 percent. Prices in 2012 were two percent higher, while the average price per square foot increased four percent to $171.

Discounting occurred in all price segments as buyers cut December selling prices by an average of 13 percent from those at the original listing. Fifteen properties either sold for the asking price or for more than the listed price, indicating those sellers priced their homes to sell.

The single-family residential inventory continued to decline putting upward pressure on prices as the combination of homes moving into escrow coincided with many sellers and their agents removing listings over the holiday period.Based on December results there was less than a three-month supply of homes on the market.  The average asking price of the 159 homes in the available inventory slid down to $851,000.

The number of homes in escrow decreased to 61 properties as 32 came off the market in December.The average asking price of those in escrow entering January declined to $425,000, or $180 per square foot.

Indicating variations in marketability for the three categories of sellers, Kalman said that in December the time for properties to move into escrow remained shorter for lender-owned properties than for traditional sellers or short sales.An average of 28 days elapsed from the original listing to sell lender-owned properties and 61 days to move a traditional transaction into escrow.The average market time for short sales soared to 198 days, a half-month increase over November.

In an area where first time buyers and investor activity occurs most heavily, one condominium in Bonsall sold, while five were in escrow, three in Bonsall and two in Fallbrook.

Comparing Bonsall and Fallbrook with other North San Diego County markets, Kalman said homes that sold here in December at $181 per average square foot trailed $266 in Carlsbad, $211 in Oceanside, $209 in San Marcos, $196 in Vista and $185 in Escondido.

Kalman´s data for the reporting periods ending Dec. 31, 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.