Realtors including myself say that we have “low inventory”, but it’s not because fewer sellers are listing – it’s because the heavy demand is gobbling them up faster, and at higher prices:

NSDCC Listings and Sales between Jan 1 and May 15

Year
Total Listings
Sales
Avg $$/sf
Avg DOM
2009
2,163
596
$399/sf
71
2010
2,167
837
$380/sf
73
2011
2,266
891
$374/sf
82
2012
1,910
991
$374/sf
84
2013
2,057
1,118
$405/sf
49

The sales amounted to only a quarter of the total listings in 2009, and this year they are half!

We know that the higher-end market is sluggish at best (there are 713 active listings over $1M). Here’s a look at the UNDER-$1,000,000 markets:

NSDCC UNDER-$1,000,000 – Actives and Pendings/Contingents

City or Area
#Actives
#Pend/Cont
Carlsbad
115
186
Carmel Vly
28
51
Del Mar/SB
6
11
Encinitas
19
59
La Jolla
10
9
RSF
1
3
Totals
179
319

On the street, it feels like the frenzy is slowing.  But until the ACT/PEND ratios get closer to a more normal 2:1 (or at least 1:1), the UNDER-$1,000,000 market will continue to be very competitive.

The lowball season usually starts in June, but there are only 23 active listings under $1,000,000 that have been listed for more than 60 days (out of 184)!

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Jim the Realtor
Jim is a long-time local realtor who comments daily here on his blog, bubbleinfo.com which began in September, 2005. Stick around!

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