So How’s Your Market?

There is good news and bad news , which would you like first?

Here is the Good News.

* During the month of August, there are 263 Active Listings in RB ( Rancho Bernardo). The Average Price is $899,718 and the Median Price is $668,880.  There were 53 Listings Pending Close of Escrow and 46 Sold Listings during the month. The Average Sold Listing was $694,993 and the median sold was $564,450.

A Recap of the Year to Date Sales shows we had 246 sold homes so far with the high selling price of $4,000000 and the low of $324,900. As you can see, we have a wide variety of single family homes ranging in size from 1200 sq ft to over 9,000.

On the Attached Home side of the housing market we have the following activity that took place in August. There are 58 Active Attached Listings through the end of August. The Average List price was $272,370 and the Median List Price was $278,000. There were 10 Listing Pending Close of Escrow ranging in price from $132,500 to $383,000. The 4 Attached Properties that Sold ranged from $145,000 to  $499,876.

A Recap of the Year to Date Sales shows we had 138 Attached Homes Sales with a High Selling Price of $689,000 and a Low Selling Price of $125,000 for 540 sq ft. The Average Selling price was 261,249 for 1,163 sq ft and the Median Sales Price year to date was 234,950 for 1092 sq ft.

That was the Good News! Ready for the Bad News? Home prices are tending up and there is strong evidence that interest rates will likely be going up as well. Sitting and waiting for a better deal in Rancho Bernardo is not likely to happen so if you are considering a new Home or Condo, now is time to get in the market.

*Data obtained from Sandicor MLS and believed to be correct but not gauranteed.

READ ALL ABOUT IT! When Passion Meets Opportunity | San Diego Real Estate|William Johnson!

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Victorian Homes in Heritage Park Getting a Makeover and Re-purposed.

They will serve as Inns to be rented out nightly for guests and visitors to San Diego.

Heritage Park’s nineteenth century Victorian Homes are being transformed from a Park to an enclave of hotel guest room as part of a multi-million dollar restoration.

The Burton House ( 1893)

Heritage Park was created  to preserve a number of century old structures  that were threatened by demolition when the post WWII expansion of downtown San Diego started.

The Bushhead  House ( 1887)

With the help of matching federal funds, San Diego county purchased the current 7.8 parcel of land adjacent to Old Town in 1971. Seven buildings were moved  from various parts of downtown and the Banker’s Hill area of Hillcrest from 1971 through 1982.

The Christian House ( 1889 )

The original vision was a for a Victorian Village with shops and restaurants but Heritage Park never quite proved itself financially enough to expand it it’s designated purpose.

Just restored, The Senlis Cottage ( 1896)

The new vision by the county is to turn these homes into guest rooms as part of a larger expansion associated to the  Hacienda Hotel in Old Town.

SHerman-Gilbert House ( 1887)

Everything has a season  and Heritage Park will provide for a new attraction for guests and visitors to San Diego.  Thankfully the visionaries of yesterday  saved these historic structures  and now will see these marvelous old homes be able to create new memories. May they live on for yet another century.

Temple Beth Isreal ( 1889)

Very soon these restorations and modifications will be completed and I will be back to take new photos of the transformation. Some of the new colors are already showing up. There will be over time, three new constructions in the same architecture with a number of additional rooms and they will complete the makeover.

William Johnson, Certified Residential Specialist

Need Help and Guidelines for Buying or Selling a Home ? Search for Homes and Condominiums in San Diego County. “ Voice of San Diego Real Estate Blog “

]]> http://therealestatetextbook.com/2010/11/21/victorian-homes-in-heritage-park-get-a-makeover-and-re-purposed/feed/ 1 http://therealestatetextbook.com/2010/11/21/san-diego-home-sales-fall-25-october-2009-through-october-2010/ http://therealestatetextbook.com/2010/11/21/san-diego-home-sales-fall-25-october-2009-through-october-2010/#comments Sun, 21 Nov 2010 18:58:06 +0000 William Johnson http://therealestatetextbook.com/?p=1348 San Diego Home Sales Fall 25% October 2009 through October 2010

The October San Diego Housing Market report indicates that while the median sales prices for resales have increased slightly, the number of sales last month have dropped and over the last year they have done so rather significantly.

The year over year San Diego Median Home Prices changes from October 2009 through October 2010 suggest that there have been increases across the board in Single Family and  Condominium resale prices and especially in new homes sale prices. The median prices increased 2.5% ( $369,000) for Single family homes, up 2.38% ( $215,000) for condominiums and a whopping 21.12 % ($486,000) for new homes. These combined gave the county a 2.92% ( $334,500) boost to the median price of all combined types of sales.

The sales numbers year over year however show  a significant drop in the number of sales in all three categories. The resale numbers for Single Family homes sold was 1659 sales county wide, a drop of 24.83% year over year while the total Condominiums resales of 822 was a drop of  24.86% year over year. New homes sales of 269 similarly dropped over 27.30% year over year.  The over market change in San Diego county reflect that there was 2750 total sales in all categories for October, a drop of 25.09 % in the housing sales figures for the 12 month period of October 2009 through October 2010.

We have seem over the last year some price stability even while the number of sales are dropping. It has been speculated by others that the overall economic picture on employment and the increasing number of distressed properties may very well have a disrupting affect on the price stability gained thus far and could show up in the coming markets. While I remain optimistic, statistically at least, the current downward trend in sales continues while the prices rise slightly because we have a well balanced inventory. If the inventory expands greatly and the sales don’t improve, that will have the most marked affect causing values to decline, not so much the short sales as the experts suggest. So I am using Lenn Harley’s caveat statement, ” I am No expert” . Anyway, once demand starts to improve, that will bode well for New Home construction ( think jobs) . But the total of 269 new home sales in October was the lowest reported since 1988 and continues to be slow. This compares to 1,829 new homes sales as reported in April of 2004. We forget how much things have already changed while looking for any glimmers of hope of things getting better.

The question many homeowners ask me is what is my forecast for the coming year. My “positive spin” on that forecast is this. I don’t have any idea when we will see things really change but there is expected to be a lot of pent-up demand for homes in all categories once the market indicators show that job stability is returning and the general economic anemia is ending. Here are a few of things that might spur that to happen. Un-employment numbers dropping significantly and increased jobs in the key market centers, interest rates remaining low and a rise in overall consumer confidence. I remain guardedly optimistic that we will see some of these things beginning to show up by mid 2011.

Rumors fly this time of year especially when it comes to Apple products

The article referenced an important San Diego company that makes chips that will allow for different types of connections ( both GSM and CDMA). These are the two dominant radio standards for cell phones and smart phones out there. Having chips that would accommodate both types of networks makes sense to me and seems very logical and likely in the new version iPad 2.

The article suggests that Apple will introduce the new version in the first quarter of 2011, several new features that will appeal to the iPad user, including making it thinner. The new chips and several other features  like a camera for video calling. I know that I would like to have an iPad now that our MLS and our Standard Forms are accessible from the iPad. I fully expect that many real estate professionals will gravitate to this neat piece of hardware. Currently the iPad still needs a reliable printer app that prints correctly but sending the Contracts to the clients e-mail allows then to print it just fine. When we sync the iPad to our computer, we can also print the contracts or MLS from our Mac or PC. A good work around for the time being. This printing issue will get solved and maybe in this new version?

When I was at ActiveRain Raincamp in San Diego, I was sitting next to a person that was typing away on his iPad during the presentation. As I recall he had a mobile keyboard as part of the case that housed the iPad. Pretty cool. I really liked the idea of being able to take notes on a small profile computer that is easy to hold in your lap and the iPad has so many other cool applications.

There have been lots of rumors of what the new features of the iPad 2 will be, most of which are likely from someones wish list. Some of those items, including but certainly not limited to the camera to accommodate FaceTime®  may also be a part of the new version but we will have wait for it to be introduced by Apple to know for sure. I switched to the MAC almost 2 years ago and I have been pretty much pleased with the way things work and now with many new software programs being added. One of things that was really so different with my Mac experience over  the PC ( at least prior to the opening of the new Microsoft stores around the country) was the idea that you could carry the Mac into the store and have the Genius Bar ( a very apt name for their service dept.) fix it if anything goes wrong. Most of the time from what I can tell, is that many of the  issues that came up with the Mac are mostly human error based and pretty easy to solve. But like any machine anything can go wrong but having a fix locally based is really awesome.

Because I do a lot of photography and those files are large, I am personally hoping for a larger storage capacity as well, but I can find a work around even if not. I will just have to store less of them on the iPad but certainly there is enough space for adding my selection of photos to my blogs. My current printers are not set up for Wi-Fi as they are connected via USB but that will have to be a consideration when I actually do get my iPad.

Each time I go into the Apple store, I find more after market things that will make the iPad one of the key pieces of hardware in my real estate business. So I am anxious for the new version to come out. And I fully expect to be the type that wants to share the success and the particular applications I find to make it easy for those interested to adapt to it. Having been a Tablet PC user, I am excited to embrace this great new tool for my real estate business.

San Diego Housing Market Has Been Steadily Improving-But Now It Is Slowing Down

Over the last 14 straight months, the San Diego Housing Market was improving. I reported so here on ActiveRain and on my Voice of San Diego Real Estate blog site with glee. So what is happening now? It would seem at first glance that the Federal Tax credit coupled along with state housing credits inspired most of the qualified buyers that were in the market to have already purchased leaving, us with a much smaller Buyer pool. And  that doesn’t look to be increasing any time soon. Could that be a real possibility after having a steady increase in the improving numbers of home prices and sales? A possible cyclical change already?

According to Data Quick reporting, more money was spent last month on housing in Southern California  in in the past 2 years. Home purchases are dropping significantly and with the historically low rates that haven’t been this low since the 1970’s, what could be going on?

We have had home price improvement for home sellers with the median price edging up 13.2 percent in the last year. The mix of homes  from distressed to equity homes sales has improved from what was in the range of over 50% to about 33% currently. Higher home priced sales  make up about 20.8% , which is up over last year , Investor and absentee buyers are currently making up about 19% of the sales. So that leaves up with 30% of the market made up of homes sales in the low priced category ( under $500K ) which is now lower than last year.

I suspect that Buyers are having a more difficult time of qualifying for the mortgages now. The requirements are getting more difficult  to qualify so it may be that many more potential buyers are not eligible to purchase.

Here is another  statistic that  might help explain some of the change we are experiencing. Over the years , typically adjustable rate mortgages make up  anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of the buyer pool at any one time. Today we are down to just a little over 6% of the mortgages  are adjustable. Jumbo loans , even though the interest rates are available under 5%, qualifying requires extra high credit scores, at least 20% down and cash reserves.

The Buyer pool is still shrinking and that could spell some serious pricing problems ahead for sellers as we see the ratio of supply and demand make these dramatic changes. This is likely to add to the number of distressed homeowners entering the inventory market in coming months. It may be early for this statement but I am thinking that the idea that the housing market is going to float all boats and help get us out of the economic downturn might have been just wishful thinking.

La Jolla Festival Of The Arts

This art show and 4th annual charity event held at the beginning of each summer is sponsored by the Torrey Pines Kiwanis Club. It is held on the east campus of the University of California San Diego. The designated grounds use many acres to accomplish the very large event. One of the finest Art Shows in all of Southern California, this art show in particular, I don’t miss. 

This is no ordinary community art show as it features Internationally known artists, book signings, Chalk art by Prominent world Class Modonnari, a Classic Car exhibit, Cuisine prepared by Restaurant Row participants, An Interactive Kids Zone, and Music Entertainment by Featured Musicians and Bands on The Carvin Entertainment Stage.

The variety of Fine Arts in different medium covers a very large area on the grounds and the numbers of artists this year was extraordinary. The sections of street painting by world class class Madonnari ( chalk artists) was simply amazing.

This year, I am featuring two artists whose wonderful artistic stylings I have come to know and really enjoy. Introducing you to Kari von Wening and Jan Bush.

This Hand Painted and Metal Sculpture, titled ” Bon Appetite” is one of the pieces that drew me in to see Kari and Jan’s work. Earlier this year, I had first come across their works as exhibited at the Little Italy show in Downtown San Diego.

It was quite evident that I wasn’t only one drawn in as their display area was crowded with art collectors. And they were the more serious collectors who regularly add to their collections. I met one middle age couple that been collecting their work for some time and were about to purchase yet another piece for their collection.

There was another violin there that I was attracted to and they asked me why I liked it. The form and design reminded me of “Carnival” in Venice. We discussed that further and they decided they wanted it in their collection. I was delighted to have been a part of the decision making process for them.

At the La Jolla Festival of the Arts show yesterday, once again I was found a piece called “Bon Appetitie”. I was talking with Kari and Jan about the Blog post I wrote of the review of the movie Julie and Julia where I used that title.

I asked Kari and Jan if I could feature this violin in this post because I really liked it. Who knows, I may start a new collection of their violins. Their work is so intriguing and is always an inspiration to me. Here is a link to their site if you would like to see more of their works. As a collection is really wonderful and each piece seems to make such a bold statement.

Here are some other photos representing other works found here at this festival. Enjoy!

While visiting the many artists exhibits I also found and spoke with many different kinds of artists, specializing in different media, including a Photographer whose work I really appreciate. He and his wife are world travelers and he originally was a newspaper Photo Journalist from San Francisco. We spoke about his vast array of works, my interests in photography and about the PhotoBlogger group I founded. His work is simply stunning and he has welcomed me to consult with him on some very creative techniques he developed.

Some of the artist categories at this show were custom jewelery design, wood workings, furniture, photography, original oil, water colors, acrylics, glass,paper, ceramics, Fiber and textiles, Sculpture, Drawing, airbrush and mixed media and Madonni.

]]> http://therealestatetextbook.com/2010/07/03/la-jolla-festival-of-the-arts-featuring-the-works-of-kari-von-wening-and-jan-bush/feed/ 0 http://therealestatetextbook.com/2010/05/11/1235/ http://therealestatetextbook.com/2010/05/11/1235/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 01:17:32 +0000 William Johnson http://therealestatetextbook.com/?p=1235 San Diego Home Prices Leading the Nation in Home Price Increases.

According to Zillow, San Diego home prices year over year have increased 3.5 % and other reliable analysts agree that San Diego’s bottom was met and prices are on the rise and now lead the nation. Out of 27 major market areas, San Diego lead the way of the 6 top markets showing ayear over year increase in price followed by 4 other California markets.

Good news for Homeowners and for home ownership. It seems pretty clear that if prices are going to continue to rise, short of any great new economic downturn on the horizon, this is a very good time to buy with prices still low and interest rates still affordable. Single family homes are up on average 4.5 % over the past year and condominiums were 2.2 %.

Buyers that want to buy a home at the ground floor level would be well served now to get back into the market and make hay will sun shines, which it does most of the year here in San Diego. There are still some very good bargains out there but the inventory is low and hasn’t had much increase in inventory. Think in terms of supply and demand and take action now.

I would highly recommend San Diego Buyers to realize that the time is now if you still want in at the bottom.

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