Buying a Home in San Diego: February 2010

Here are the newly listed Del Mar real estate listings for February 15th, 2010:

There is a 1-bedroom/1-bathroom condo listed for sale for $169,000.

There is a 3-bedroom/3-bathroom detached home listed for sale for $1,395,000.

There is a 5-bedroom/6-bathroom detached home listed for sale for $2,649,000.

Some friends are coming over. The food is on the table. The TV pre-game show is on. I figure that most of the country is doing the same thing as I am today, and I was just wondering... who's going to win today? Colts? Saints?

Since my San Diego Chargers were eliminated, I am simply rooting for a close game today. This could be a fun one!

Eleven Rancho Santa Fe real estate listings closed in January 2010 per the Sandicor MLS. All of the eleven were detached homes, ranging in price from $1,225,000 to $7,800,000. The highest sale price per square foot was $604.67/sf, and the lowest was $302.48/sf.

• One of the homes sold for $1,395,000 less than the list price.
• All eleven sellers/listing agents offered a commission to the buyer's agent.
• Nine of the eleven transactions had both parties represented by a different agent (a seller's agent and a buyer's agent).
• Two of the transactions were transactions in which dual agency possibly occurred (which means the seller's agent possibly also represented the buyer). Actually, all we know from Sandicor is that the listing agent is also listed as the buyer's agent. Whether or not the real estate agent acted as a dual agent or only as an agent for the seller isn't disclosed.
• Eight of the eleven closed Rancho Santa Fe real estate listings were located in a neighborhood called Covenant (or The Covenant).
• Two were in Fairbanks Ranch. One was in Del Ray Estates.
• The largest lot was larger than than 4 acres.
• The smallest lot was possibly as small as 0.25 acre.

What's currently for sale in Rancho Santa Fe?

• There are currently 217 Rancho Santa Fe real estate listings for sale in the 92067 zip code.
• These 217 listings range in price from $795,000 to $29,900,000.
• 214 of the 217 Rancho Santa Fe real estate listings are detached homes.
• Eight of the 217 listings are listed as short sales.
• Currently, there are 17 properties listed as "pending" in Sandicor, ranging in price from $845,000 to $7,995,000.
• There are also 12 listings marked as "contingent." Look for a future post from me that explains what "contingent" means in Sandicor terms.

Search for Rancho Santa Fe real estate listings on our website at globella.com.

All date reported in this post was taken from Sandicor on 2/4/2010.

I received this email from JD Clayton of Progressive Loan Solutions in San Diego, California. JD was hired by the listing agent on a short sale listing (that I represented the buyer on). JD's job was to be the intermediary who communicated with the banks in the short sale transaction. This particular transaction took longer than seven months to complete, and JD was there working on it the entire time. I had quite a few conversations with her throughout those seven months. Here's the email I received from her just before Christmas:

Justin.

I wanted to take a moment to say "thank you" for all you did to facilitate the closing of (seller's) Oceanside property. 

I need to add that you are in the top 1% of realtors that I have dealt with during my tenure in this business, which spans over 3 decades.  You are extremely professional, never ruffled and willing to go 150% to get the job done, such as insuring that the termite inspection was completed, well after normal hours and great driving distance on your part.

It was such a pleasure to work with you, I can only hope that I have the opportunity to work with you again sometime in the future.

Happy Holidays!

JD Clayton

Nine Coronado Island real estate listings closed in January 2010 per the Sandicor MLS. The sale prices ranged from $540,000 to $2,100,000. Sale price/square foot ranged from $462.50/sf to $1,627.02/sf.

• Six of the nine closed Coronado Island real estate listings were detached homes (the other three were condos.
• Six of the nine were transactions in which each side had it's own agent (a seller's agent and a buyer's agent).
• Three of the nine were possible dual agent scenarios. These three transactions had one brokerage representing both the buyer and the seller (interestingly enough, it was the same brokerage for all three transactions). Sandicor lists the selling brokerage and the buyer's brokerage as the same brokerage, but it is unclear whether the brokerage was working only for the seller or acting as a dual agent for both parties in the transaction.
• All nine of the listings advertised a commission to be paid by the seller (guaranteed by the listing agent) to the buyer's agent.
• The average time on market was 174 days, the longest was 290 days, and the shortest was 20 days.
• Two of the nine closed listings were listed as short sales.
• One listing sold for $195,000 less than the list price. Another sold for $18,000 more than the list price (one of the short sales).

What's currently for sale in regards to Coronado Island real estate?

• There are currently 178 Coronado Island real estate listings for sale.
• These 178 listings range in price from $399,000 to $24,000,000.
• Six are listed as townhomes, 63 as condos, and the rest as detached homes.
• The detached homes start at $544,800 for a 1/1 with 720 square feet.
• 18 listings are marked as "pending" in the MLS, and seven are marked as "contingent."

Search on our website for the current Coronado Island real estate for sale.

All data was supplied by Sandicor on 2/4/2010.

Last month (January 2010), seven Del Mar real estate listings sold through the Sandicor multiple listing service (MLS), ranging in price from $685,000 to $1,700,000 (all in the 92014 zip code). Two of the seven real estate listings that closed were listed as short sales. Another two were listed as bank-owned foreclosures. The remaining three were listed as normal (traditional) listings.

• Six of them were detached homes in Del Mar. One was a townhome.
• The two short sales sold for $685,000 and $802,000. Both were detached homes (built in 1971 and 1975).
• Six of the transactions had two agents involved (an agent representing the seller and an agent representing the buyer).
• One listing sold with the listing agent also representing the buyer (This is called dual agency). That one sold for higher than the list price and was over $1,000,000. It was on the market for only 11 days.
• The average time on market was 93 days. The longest was 187 days, and the shortest was 11 days.
• None of these Del Mar homes for sale were located right on the beach.

What's currently on the market in Del Mar?

• Currently (as of February 4th), there are 132 residential Del Mar real estate listings for sale in 92014, ranging in price from $195,000 to $61,000,000.
• There are 97 detached homes for sale in Del Mar, ranging in price from $775,000 to $61,000,000.
• There are 16 Del Mar townhomes for sale, ranging in price from $469,000 to $3,350,000.
• The rest are listed as "all other attached" (mostly Del Mar condos), ranging in price from $195,000 to $5,995,000.
• Only two of the 132 Del Mar properties for sale are listed as short sales.

What's in escrow?

• There are 20 properties currently listed as "pending" in the MLS, ranging in price from $349,000 to $5,395,000.
• There are also nine properties listed as "contingent." Contingent doesn't necessarily mean "in escrow." Stay tuned for a future post about the definition of "contingent" as a status field in the Sandicor MLS.

Del Mar is one of my favorite areas of San Diego, and the Del Mar real estate market certainly is an interesting market at the moment.

Search Del Mar real estate for sale on my company website.

All of the data presented above was reported from Sandicor on 2/4/2010.

Many buyers in San Diego's marketplace qualify for FHA financing. FHA is the government-appointed entity that ensures banks that make loans with certain parameters. There have been some important changes to FHA guidelines recently, but most FHA buyers will still enjoy a minimum down payment of 3.5%.

The purpose of this post is to show San Diego home buyers how to check to see if a condo project is on the FHA-approved (HUD-approved) list. If you plan to buy a detached home, this post does not apply to you. However, if you are planning to purchase a condo with FHA financing, this is an absolute must-read for you! If you want an FHA loan, you can only buy in condo projects that are approved by HUD (the Department of Housing and Urban Development). Ask your exclusive buyer agent to help you determine which condo projects to focus your energy on.

HUD has recently made available online a new and improved (revised) list of the condo projects that are already approved. Before I show you how to access the list, know two things: (1) If a condo project is on the list, it must still be checked by your lender to make sure it still meets HUD's requirements (for owner/occupancy ratios, etc.), and (2) If a condo project is not on the new list, it could be very difficult or impossible to get an FHA loan on a property in that complex (but it could be possible, so talk to your San Diego exclusive buyer agent and lender about these possibilities).

Here's how you check the list:

(1) Go to HUD's website at this link: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm.

(2) Fill in the blanks as they pertain to your condo search, and click the 'send' button at the bottom of the screen.

You will then see a page that lists all the approved condo projects in the area you searched in.

The most expensive home sold in 2009, according to Sandicor MLS data from 1/21/10, was a home in La Jolla that sold for $18,150,000. The home was originally listed for $26,500,000 and was on the market for 219 days. The home has six bedrooms and 11 bathrooms and is 9,309 square feet in size. All of the information reported in this post is according to data from Sandicor. The home is located in an area of La Jolla called La Jolla Shores.

If you would like to view luxury listings for sale in La Jolla or other areas of San Diego County, visit the luxury listings page on my official website at http://luxury.globella.com.