Real Estate Trends July 2007
Bob Weurding, Broker Associate
Team Weurding Realty
Very few people would take exception to the notion that San Diego County real estate sales have slowed. Area real estate agents took 101 fewer listings in June when compared to May, yet active housing inventory throughout the county increased by 507 listings in June.
In May, the sellers in escrow accounted for a dismal 21.98% of the total sales inventory and today that number is even lower at only 18.92%. Having said that, there are still homes that are selling, so what does it take to get into escrow these days?
Aside from the obvious answer “price,” I believe there are other equally important factors that account for some homes selling and others sitting on the market “forever.” The two factors that everybody can relate to are location and price. However, there is more to it than just a dollar amount and the physical location of a home. For the past 18 years I have been breaking price down into ranges and the percentage of the total inventory that the range represents in a particular marketplace.
For example, this month in Poway , homes priced between 400-500K represent roughly 20% of the total 92064 housing market and are taking on average 52 days to sell. Homes priced between 500600K also represent another 20% of Poway ’s housing inventory but are taking on average 77 days to sell. Many people might think that is because they are more expensive. If that were true then explain why homes priced over 600K representing nearly 60% of the inventory in 92064 are selling on average in 47 days.
In Rancho Bernardo 92127, only 12% of the homes listed for sale are priced between 500600K yet take longer to sell than the homes priced over 1 million dollars. While the less expensive homes may take longer to sell, almost 40% of them are in escrow compared to only 16% of the million dollar homes.
In Rancho Bernardo 92128 approximately 28% of the listings are priced between 500600K and over 28% of them are in escrow or about 13% more than the county average for that price range. Rancho Penasquitos has the highest percentage of property in escrow within our 1-15 marketplace at slightly over 30%. It also has the shortest average time on the market at 39 days.
Armed with the proper market data, an agent can effectively put together a marketing plan that will take advantage of the information for that neighborhood. Price, location, and condition are all certainly important components in the sale of a home in a tough market, but a good marketing plan is the key to getting a home sold for the most money.
Source: Sandicor, MLS, and Dataquick
