Cardiff Any Different?

Written by Jim the Realtor

July 2, 2009

Just based on price alone, this new REO listing on Newcastle in Cardiff will get a lot of interest – I had to wait for two others groups to clear out before shooting this youtube tour:

Some of 92007 extends east of the I-5, but to me that was always suburban Baja Encinitas.  This house is in the real Cardiff, west of the freeway, where most sellers still think they are worth $1,000,000+.

Sellers (and their listing agents) will be quick to dismiss a dumpy REO with no view as an outlier, but buyers won’t.  They’ll expect bigger discounts of the nicer ones – but when will sellers oblige?

There are currently 2,055 houses listed over $1,000,000 in SD County, and 449 have closed this year, or about 75 per month on average.

2,055/75 = 27.4 months worth of inventory of million-dollar homes!

14 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    What’s your opinion, Jim? Is $700K a fair price? Will it start a bidding war at that price or just sit there?

  2. arizonadude

    Love those countertops and piss poor tile on the floors.Looks like a 400k house at best to me.

    Jim , do you take iou’s for deposits?

  3. Jim the Realtor

    I think $700,000 is a fair price for a buyer needs to buy, and who tops out at $700K. There aren’t many other options for those who want to be beach-close.

    But for those who are cautiously waiting for high quality only, this won’t be a blip on the screen because there are multiple problems:

    1. No view
    2. Skinny lot
    3. No yard
    4. High density

    I think buyers are getting motivated enough that they might compromise on 1-2 of their
    must-haves, but waiting is so comfortable now that it has to be pretty close.

  4. 3clicks from da beach

    Not worth it – that is not Cardiff. I’d rather pay 650K – 700K for a better, bigger and upgraded house on a bigger lot in a better neighborhood a few miles further. There are nicer homes for sale and if one waits a few more months the prices will drop even further. Buying this house in Cardiff would be like buying a Mercedes 190E thinking you hit big time.

  5. no_techie

    LOL – built-in aerobics room, will throw in leg warmers and Jane Fonda video.

  6. GeneK

    Jim, I think you’re wrong about that inventory figure. That just represents the inventory of properties whose owners THINK are million-dollar homes, and many of them are destined to eventually drop permanently down to the next lowest price group. The real “inventory of mullion-dollar homes” is the number that will actually SELL for $1,000,000+. What’s your guesstimate of those?

  7. Geotpf

    Is that garage conversion legal? Out in my neck of the woods (Riverside), it is illegal to convert a garage into a room without building other covered parking (that is, a second garage, although you can cheat a little and just add a carport).

    That’s an easy way to see if the work has been permitted-if there’s no garage or carport, and the house has been built after World War II or so, you’ve got unpermitted stuff.

  8. Mozart

    That’s basically the price for a tear down in Cardiff.

    Good area though, you can walk to the beach, Seaside Market, Pipes Cafe, Zenbu and Glenn Park is nearby not to mention really good schools. Don’t need to get in your car for anything on the weekends.

    I bet it goes within 60 days over list price. Fixed-up it could get close to $895K. Also begs the question; how much is a view worth?

  9. propertysearch

    Cardiff is awesome for the reasons Mozart mentioned above.
    The home itself was quite a maze and the interior seemed late 70’s to me. But at that price it has potential to be a nice place with some work.

    After the bubble finally bursts at the coast, I predict it would go for $600,000 in a couple years.

  10. The Blur

    Man, I can’t imagine that house is worth anything near $700k, but it will go quick at that price.

    As someone who grew up in Cardiff (well, “Baja Encinitas” – East of the 5 – thanks Jim;)) it’s hard to see that town as a high-end area. When my parents moved there in ’79 it was an out-of-the-way undeveloped little town. Now it’s $1 million+ only (as far as sellers are concerned, anyway.) It’s not immune and will come down, but it goes to show there’s some truth to “they’re not making anymore coastal land.”

  11. Aztec

    Why would anyone ever build a home that looks like that (from the outside)???? The designer/architect should be ashamed.

  12. Dwip

    That video should be required viewing for anyone planning on moving to San Diego from back east. “This is what you’ll get for $700K!” You could just sit there and watch their faces fall.

  13. 3clicks from da beach

    OK, I might have made a mistake. Is this house west of the 5? Pipes is great. I finally got the best of my appetite and worked down to the basic breakfast sandwich. For a while, I needed to get rolled out of there every other weekend 😀

  14. CA renter

    That’s a very depressing place, IMHO. Awkward layout, at least for a family.

    Might make an okay place for roommates, since the bedrooms are spead out on different floors.

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