The overall SD County market looks hot with 52% of new listings finding a buyer within 2-4 weeks, but how about the tonier North SD County coastal region? The year-to-date numbers look similar to the county’s stats we saw in the last post, rather ho-hum:
NSDCC Detached-Home Sales, Jan 1 – Oct 13
| Year | # of Sales | Avg $/sf | DOM |
| 2011 | |||
| 2012 |
Sales are up 19% year-over-year, but average pricing and days-on-market aren’t over-heating.
Indeed, it is a bit calmer around NSDCC:
NSDCC Detached-Homes Listed Between Sept. 15-30
Total Number of NSDCC Detached-Homes Listed Between Sept 15-30: 135
Number Already Marked Contingent, Pending, or Sold: 46
Only a third (34%) of new listings have found a buyer in NSDCC, compared to just over half (52%) throughout the county.
People hang onto the notion that it takes longer to sell the more-expensive homes, and while that is a statistical fact, we shouldn’t just accept it as normal when everything else has changed.
Reasons Why It Shouldn’t Take Longer To Sell More-Expensive Homes
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The same internet tools enable all participants to determine the value accurately.
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People of means should have more resources/equity = fewer distressed sales.
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Better agents work the higher-end markets.
But how many NSDCC sellers price their home to sell quickly?
There are other reasons to price ’em to sell – the hassle of keeping the house immaculate, the inconvenience of showings 7 days a week – many with short notice, and the desire to move on. But here are the NSDCC detached-home stats on how close sellers got to their list price this year, compared to how long they were on the market:
| DOM | # of Sales | SP/LP Ratio |
| 0-14 Days | ||
| 15-59 days | ||
| 60+ Days |
The Sales Price-to-List Price ratio is figured from the current LP at time the listing was marked active – it doesn’t include any price reductions in the interim. If you have been on the market 60+ days, you probably had to lower the price to re-ignite urgency because after 14 days, the showings dry up. The 95% above is probably more like 90% of the original list price, and maybe lower.
Buyers use the days-on-market stat like a club, and want to penalize sellers for not pricing accurately. They will pay all the money in the first week or two, but after that it is a slippery slope. It is more efficient for sellers to price accurately from the beginning.
Sellers will find out how hungry buyers are for new meat – there is a rush of showings during the first 1-2 weeks, then they stop on a dime, and reducing the price is the only fix.
I don’t mind taking them a little high to test the market, as long as we adjust as needed. My closed non-REO listings this year have averaged 50 DOM, and 97% SP/LP, and removing a short sale and two paid-off homes, they improve to 14 DOM and 99% SP/LP.
