Prices and Volume Dip as Year-End Malaise Affects Local North San Diego County Markets

FALLBROOK, Calif. - Jan. 6, 2019 - PRLog -- Home prices and volume declined and properties going into escrow also dropped as 2018 ended on several down notes for the year, Jerry Kalman, a realtor® with HomeSmart Legends, reported today.

Average prices at $613,000 in Fallbrook and Bonsall were three percent less than November 2018, and another three percent below December of 2017, he said.  Time to sell continued to stretch out as that important benchmark rose well above two months to 79 days.

According to Kalman, a couple of the homes that sold in this part of North San Diego County were new properties on the east side of Fallbrook, in sharp contrast to November when home sales there made a major contribution to local results.

As is often typical at the end of the year, extreme discounting can occur, and December of 2018 was no exception as several older homes saw discounts of 20 percent or more when sold.

Another 18 percent of the homes sold at prices equal to or greater than the original listing prices, he reported, and that none of them were new construction.  Overall, VA/FHA/USDA transactions represented 35 percent of those that sold while cash deals were at 20 percent.

According to Kalman, it appears that the surge among VA/FHA properties might have been affected by the specter of a government shutdown that loomed over much of December and now into 2019.

He reported that 58 homes are in escrow here, 11 fewer than the prior month; and 32 went into escrow in December.  Eleven of those escrows were in the new projects along Interstate 15 and that indicates a positive affect among January and February results.

The average price of all those in escrow entering the new year was $575,000, a nine percent drop from November.

Kalman expects the inventory in January to rebound as many residents and their agents restore properties removed during the slow holiday period.  He noted that many realtors "window-dress" their existing listings with new MLS numbers to make them appear fresh in the new year.

Entering January, approximately 238 homes were in the active inventory, with 15 units among new construction along the I-15 corridor.  Overall, Bonsall accounted for 30 properties listed at year-end while the larger community of Fallbrook had the remainder of homes on the market.

"Average price per square foot helps realtors value homes in highly diverse communities like Fallbrook and Bonsall," he reported.  "Logging an average of $275 per square foot in December, sold properties in the local market dropped three percent from $283 in November.  Fallbrook lost a point to $269 per square foot, while Bonsall, with six transactions in the period, dropped five percent to $280 per square foot."

Kalman said that the San Diego County average decreased from $399 to $388 per square foot among sold homes.

At the high end, four homes priced over one million dollars closed escrow in December, two in each community.  The average market time for those homes that sold was almost two months, the improvement in market-time in this category he attributed to one home that was immediately sold outside the local MLS.

Another four million-dollar-plus homes are in escrow, all in Fallbrook.  More than 60 are in the active inventory, averaging almost four months on the market.

At the other end of the spectrum, four condos sold in December, two in each community.  The condos that sold were on the market 41 days and carried an average price per square foot of $293.  He said that five attached properties are in escrow, four of them in Fallbrook.  The inventory of active condo listings rose to 18 units, six in the new complexes east of the freeway.

Kalman´s data for the reporting periods ending December 31, 2018, and reported by January 7, 2019, came from CRMLS, a regional multiple listing service for area 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. DRE # 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.