FALLBROOK–November real estate prices declined along with transaction volume as the usual year-end slowdown coincided with continued economic softness in two prime North San Diego County communities, Jerry Kalman, a realtor® with The Jacques Company, reported today.
During November, average selling prices in Fallbrook and Bonsall dropped two percent to $367,000, which also represented a one percent decrease from November 2009 when prices averaged $371,000. Short sales and lender-owned properties accounted for half the transactions in the current period.
“Serious price erosion occurred across the board extending from entry-level homes into the upper segment as sellers rushed to unload their properties before the December-January holidays,” he said. “Traditional sale of high-end homes in Bonsall helped keep current averages close to levels achieved in the prior month and year-earlier periods.”
“Of homes neither lender-owned nor a short sale, the average selling price was $436,000, an increase over the prior month. Seven properties sold for a price higher than the original listing price. All were either bank-owned or short sales. In November, the average discount from original listing prices rose to 17 percent.”
Kalman said the single family residential inventory entering December decreased to 328 listings, a level he expected to decline again over the next two months as many traditional sellers take their homes off the market during the holidays. The number of homes in escrow rose to 70 properties, however, the average asking price declined to $377,000, or $167 per square foot.
It took an average of 44 days from the original listing to sell lender-owned properties, 115 days for a short sale and 104 days to move a traditional transaction into escrow.
In the segment of the market where first-time-buyer and investor activity concentrates, five condos, all in Fallbrook, sold at an average price of $210,000, or $131 per average square foot. Three were in escrow by month-end. Entering December, the active inventory of condos decreased to 11 units, four of which are in Bonsall and the remainder in Fallbrook.
Comparing Fallbrook and Bonsall with other North San Diego County communities, Kalman said homes that closed escrow here in November at $163 per average square foot trailed the $263 in Carlsbad, $203 in Oceanside, $200 in San Marcos, $186 in Vista and $176 in Escondido.
Kalman´s data for Nov. 1 through Nov. 30, 2010, came from Sandicor, Inc., the 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) in the Fallbrook office of The Jacques Company, 110 S. Main, Fallbrook, CA 92028. He can be reached at (760) 468-4689 or by email at jerry@jerrykalman.com.
