Real Estate Prices and Volume Decline from August Levels in North San Diego County Market

FALLBROOK, Calif. - Oct. 5, 2018 - PRLog -- As the market for mid-range and high-end homes cooled, prices and volume in a key North San Diego County market declined at a rate that exceeded seasonal activity, Jerry Kalman, a realtor® with HomeSmart Legends here, reported today.

He said that average prices at $627,000 in Fallbrook and Bonsall rose four percent over year-ago levels but were six percent lower than August.  Meanwhile time to sell improved slightly to 51 days from 56 in August but that measure was still a full week slower than in September of 2017.

According to Kalman, 23 percent of the homes sold at prices equal to or greater than the original listing prices and more than half of these transactions were sold under VA/FHA/USDA contracts.  Overall, VA/FHA/USDA transactions represented 29 percent of those that sold while cash deals remained at 16 percent, a level sustained for most of 2018.

He said that 86 homes are in escrow here, with 49 coming off the market in September, a continuation of declines from peak summer levels.  The average price of all those heading into escrow last month was $584,000, a serious decrease of more than 12 percent from the prior month.  These drops in escrow prices and volume foretell of softer prices and volume in October that could extend into November, he said.

Entering October, approximately 340 homes were in the active inventory.  The average asking price of that active inventory remained above $1 million per home.  Bonsall accounted for 35 properties while the larger community of Fallbrook had more than 300 homes on the market.

"Average price per square foot is a metric that helps realtors value homes in highly diverse communities like Fallbrook and Bonsall.  Logging an average of $282 per square foot in September, the local market was down six percent versus August.  Fallbrook increased slightly to $273 per square foot, meanwhile Bonsall, with only six transactions in the period, declined 14 percent to $290 per square foot," he reported.

Kalman said that the San Diego County average increased to $402 per square foot.

At the high end, three homes priced over one million dollars closed escrow in September; two of them were in Fallbrook.  The average market time for these homes that sold approached three months.  Another eight of these properties are in escrow, five in Fallbrook.  More than 70 are in the active inventory, averaging nearly four months on the market.

Five condos sold in September, three in Bonsall, and they were on the market an average of 52 days; however, only four attached properties are in escrow, three of them in Bonsall.  The inventory of active condo listings is up to 16 units with ten in Bonsall.

Kalman´s data for the reporting periods ending September 30, 2018, and reported by September 4, 2018, came from Sandicor, Inc. and CRMLS, San Diego and Riverside counties' multiple listing services for realtors.  This report represents properties listed or sold by various brokers in the region.  He uses this information as a community service to analyze market trends and provide professional insight into real estate activity.  Kalman is a licensed realtor (Calif. BRE # 01328697) in the North County office of HomeSmart Legends, 701 S. Main, Fallbrook, at (760) 468-4689 (voice or text) or jerry@jerrykalman.com.

HomeSmart, founded in 2000, has more than 14,000 agents and broker associates in offices throughout 17 states.  HomeSmart Legends is the first franchise in the HomeSmart system.  The Temecula office is located at 27645 Jefferson Ave., Suite 116, Temecula, CA  92590.