Many years ago, we purchased a home in Carlsbad, using a realtor that was recommended to us - Jim Klinge. Fast forward to 2025, we recently had the privilege of selling 2 homes in Carlsbad, CA and didn't hesitate to reach out to Jim and Donna Klinge of Klinge Realty Group to guide us through the sales. The transactions were very different, each with its own unique situation, opportunities and challenges. From start to finish, Donna and Jim helped navigate the pre-sale preparation, the listing, showing of the house, buyer negotiations, the final close and all of the paperwork and decisions in between. What stands out with both transactions is the professionalism of Jim and Donna (and their team), wonderful communication (timely, relevant, concise), their deep understanding of market dynamics (setting realistic expectations), their access to top-notch contractors, and last, their ability to guide us across the finish line successfully. We wouldn't hesitate to use Jim and Donna in the future and highly recommend them for anyone looking to buy or sell a property in North San Diego County.
in my area of coastal OC, SFRs bought after credits have been closing below listings. the things that were bought with credits were being bid up. most recent home I saw was a 10% haircut from the list (and the list wasnt outrageous).
Government delay tactics and cheese can make for a confused market.
Meanwhile in the under-450k range that I’m getting email updates on, I’m seeing more prices being revised *up* than being lowered… If there’s a return to last fall’s list prices on the way, I’m not seeing signs of it yet…
Thanks for the chart. It really helps put the numbers into perspective.
It is hard to tell what a “normal” inventory should be for a county of 3 million. The 2004/5 range is likely too low, and the 2007/8 is way too high for normal. I would say maybe 10K would be a “normal” inventory. Even a 30 year statistic probably wouldn’t tell the story because of rapid population growth since 1980. Normal in say the mid-west would not be a normal figure here, but perhaps there are some national “normals”??
Good year for who?
Mark,
Agreed, there is no more normal, just individual warfare at each property – mostly between seller and his ego.
Genius,
I think it was a good year for those buyers willing to be patient and dig for deals. The recent seller enthusiasm shows how quick they are to ignore reality and over-price.
During the latest year-long stretch it was probably 5 out of 10 new listings that were wildly over-priced, now it’s 9 out of 10.
Speaking of digging for digging for deals, I’ve been watching the RSF stuff for a few months and this one popped up yesterday:
http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-100042416-8268_Top_O_The_Morning_Way_Rancho_Santa_Fe_CA_92067
While I would love for the homes in RSF to drop to $208/sf, I’m thinking that this one might be put in the ‘somethings not right’ bin.
Out of curiosity, if a realtor writes a deal that is a bit on the unscrupulous side, is there any recourse against the buyer who purchases the home, or can they just play dumb?
I have heard that a 4-6 months supply of active inventory is a relatively normal–take the closings of the last 4 to 6 months, add them up and compare them to total active listings. If inventory is 3 months of sales, then it is a seller’s market. If is is say 9 or 12 months, then it is a buyer’s market. Does that sound right?
The FHA is still making bad, near-zero-down loans and CR points out that they are going delinquent at an alarming rate. That will be inventory some day, depending on how long the FHA wants to give people free rent.
FHA is the new subprime.
Yeah, essentially zero DP government-backed home purchases are still ripping thru the system – propping up markets is a tricky, dangerous biz.
“While I would love for the homes in RSF to drop to $208/sf, I’m thinking that this one might be put in the ’somethings not right’ bin.”
The only thing ‘not right’ with this deal is the listing agent. It’s a short sale with an unrealistic price tag. The lender must approve the price and probably won’t be willing to take an $800k loss.