How do the NSDCC active listings today compare with last year?
NSDCC Detached-Home Active Listings, First Week of May
| Price Range | ||||
| $0-$1.0M | ||||
| $1.0M – $1.5M | ||||
| $1.5M – $2.0M | ||||
| $2.0M – $3.0M | ||||
| $3.0M+ |
Even though pricing has skyrocketed, buyers are grabbing anything they can get their hands on, at any price. Sales last month are 27% above where they were in April, 2019 (336 vs 265).
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Two weeks ago we hit a slight dip attributed to the spring break, and the pendings have roared back:
Three Weeks Ago:
Actives: 334
Pendings: 362
Two Weeks Ago:
Actives: 357
Pendings: 344
One Week Ago:
Actives: 335
Pendings: 358
This Week:
Actives: 342
Pendings: 362
While the +20 pendings over actives is impressive, the 362 is far from an all-time high. The total number of pendings was in the 400s between June 22nd and Nov 30th, with the high being 491 on September 7th.
These average $$/sf are touching new highs though, and the sellers will keep pushing:
NSDCC Detached-Home Active Listings
| Price Range | ||||
| $0-$1.0M | ||||
| $1.0M – $1.5M | ||||
| $1.5 – $2.0M | ||||
| $2.0M – $3.0M | ||||
| $3.0M+ |
If you can buy a house between La Jolla and Carlsbad for less than $600/sf today, you’re doing pretty good!
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Last week I mentioned that because there was a drop-off in pendings, we might have hit peak frenzy. But I didn’t consider the usual spring break lull – we’re right back at it now:
Two Weeks Ago:
Actives: 334
Pendings: 362
Last week:
Actives: 357
Pendings: 344
This Week:
Actives: 335
Pendings: 358
The action under $2,000,000 is phenomenal – look at the NSDCC active-to-pending ratios:
| Price Range | ||
| $0-$1M | ||
| $1.0M – $1.5M | ||
| $1.5 – $2.0M | ||
| $2.0M – $3.0M | ||
| $3.0M+ |
The $1.0M to $2.0M range is red hot!
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It is unusual to have so few active listings for sale. Yet, we are having more sales than ever, with the quality homes all selling in the first week – leaving very few active listings.
Casual observers don’t find any decent homes just lying around, making it difficult to stay engaged. You gotta really want to buy a house these days, which should help keep the demand in check – it’s just for serious players only.
But there are plenty of those, and we should hit October levels of sales in each of the next few months:
This might have been the week that the frenzy peaked.
Last week:
Actives: 334
Pendings: 362
This week:
Actives: 357
Pendings: 344
It’s only one week, but it did seem like there were quite a few escrows that fell out which would be the primary cause of the shift. Let’s not jump to too many conclusions just yet – let’s see how the counts play out over the next couple of weeks.
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On Monday, I got my two counts backwards for 2020 & 2021, which made it look like the number of new listings was picking up.
But it was wrong – here is today’s counts of new listings in the first quarter:
New NSDCC Listings in the First Quarter:
2017: 1,296
2018: 1,230
2019: 1,278
2020: 1,081
2021: 931
If we’re usually around 1,250 new listings in the first quarter, then in 2021 we are 25% under normal – which would push for a stronger seller’s market in any given year. But with demand increasing at the same time, it’s a wild mix.
There is more desperation among the buyers who don’t have a house here yet – they are struggling just to get a piece of the pie. It limits how many existing homeowners can move up or down, because they are always comparing homes and prices to what they already have. Without those existing homeowners moving, it’s restricting the supply mostly to just those who are willing to leave town – which we’re finding isn’t as many people as needed.
Did you get concerned about the pending index falling another 10% last week?
The U.S. housing market is suffering from its lowest supply in history, and that is taking an increasingly hard toll on sales.
Pending home sales, a measure of signed contracts on existing homes, fell a wider-than-expected 10.6% in February compared with January, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were 0.5% lower year over year.
“The demand for a home purchase is widespread, multiple offers are prevalent, and days-on-market are swift,” said the Realtor’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun. “But contracts are not clicking due to record-low inventory.”
The pendings between La Jolla and Carlsbad are doing just fine. In spite of the total number of NSDCC homes for sale being fewer than usual, people are still buying at a torrid pace:
Our market was helped by having more homes for sale.
New NSDCC Listings in the First Quarter:
2019: 1,278
2020: 922
2021: 1,081
After the first two months of this year, the total number of NSDCC new listings was 26% behind 2019.
But we had a big March, and the number of new listings in 1Q21 is only 15% behind those in 2019.
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We’re at the point where any of the year-over-year comparisons will be hampered by the initial shock of the pandemic in March-May of 2020. But the number of active listings was steady through March, 2020, so let’s compare the $$/sf on the list prices to see how much they’ve gone up in 12 months:
NSDCC Detached-Home Listings, End of March
| Price Range | |||||
| 0-$1.0M | |||||
| $1.0M – $1.5M | |||||
| $1.5M – $2.0M | |||||
| $2.0M – $3.0M | |||||
| $3.0M+ |
Rates were about 1/4% higher last March, so about the same and sellers don’t care much about those.
But with the Under-$1.0M market now virtually non-existent, the $1.0M to $1.5M market is now our entry level and where first-timers, move-uppers, and downsizers are all in fierce competition!
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On Friday morning I had a bout with vertigo, which is about the only thing that has sent my head spinning more than this market! Thankfully Richard and Donna are very capable and jumped in to ensure there wasn’t any disruption to the business, for which I am very thankful!
Once the initial shock wore off, it meant I just sat around and rested all weekend, which gave me more time to ponder. This was the equation that I found most shocking:
| Year | ||
| 2020 | ||
| 2021 |
Home buyers came into 2021 fully prepared to buy a home, and didn’t need the usual warm-up period – they came out firing! The 20% decline in the number of new listings juiced the market further, and now virtually everything is selling.
Higher rates might spoil the party, but they will need to get up near 4% before having real impact. Any surge of inventory will affect the immediate neighborhood, but not do much to the overall feeling that sellers are in full control for the next few months….at least!
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I’ve joined the San Diego Association of Realtors, and have dual citizenship for the time being. Though the SDAR and the NSDCAR allegedly have a data-sharing agreement where all realtors in the county have access to the same information, there are some discrepancies.
Today’s listing counts between La Jolla and Carlsbad:
NSDCAR
Actives: 341
Pendings: 369
SDAR
Actives: 332
Pendings: 333
It appears that NSDCAR and the CRMLS have some of the townhouses and attached homes included, so I’m going to use the SDAR counts from now on. Either way though, the market is hot – and should get hotter as the spring season really kicks in!
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Are you looking for an experienced agent to help you buy or sell a home?
Contact Jim the Realtor!
CA DRE #01527365, CA DRE #00873197
