Downtown San Diego is a very interesting marketplace. It behaves completely different than the rest of San Diego County, and you should be informed about the current statistics and trends before you make a purchase downtown. Today, I dove in and did some research as if you were my client and we were meeting for our initial consultation. I don't know your specific price range, so I researched and analyzed 5 different price categories, all in the 92101 zip code. The first thing I looked at is how many listings are "subject to court/lender approval." As of today, there are 97 condo or townhome listings in downtown San Diego (in the 92101 zip code) that ARE subject to court/lender approval, ranging in price from $191,000 to $1,895,000. There are 376 condo or townhome listings that ARE NOT subject to court/lender approval, ranging in price from $149,900 to $8,695,000. Add those two numbers together to find that there are 473 properties listed for sale in the Sandicor MLS in downtown San Diego.
Now, let's break it down into price categories.
$0-$400,000
Not Subject to Court/Lender Approval: 104 Active Listings, 4 Contingent Listings, 60 Pending Listings, and 52 closed in the last 60 days (26 closed per month average).
By my analysis, there is about a 4-month supply (absorption rate) in this price range for non-short-sale listings. This indicates a pretty normal marketplace (if you can call the current marketplace "normal") and possibly a seller's market in certain areas and price points.
Subject to Court/Lender Approval: 61 Active Listings, 97 Contingent Listings, 45 Pending Listings, and 28 closed in the last 60 days (14 closed per month average). Again, we're looking at a 4-month supply of active listings compared to closed listings, but you have to take into consideration the 97 contingent and 45 pending short sales. Some of these will never close as a short sale, some will become active listings again after the buyer walks, and some will take several months before they actually close.
$401,000 to $750,000
Not Subject to Court/Lender Approval: 161 Active Listings, 1 Contingent Listing, 35 Pending Listings, and 40 closed in the last 60 days (20 closed per month average). In this price range, we're looking at a supply of 8 months... There are more properties for buyers to choose from here than in the lower price range.
Subject to Court/Lender Approval: 30 Active Listings, 19 Contingent Listings, 6 Pending Listings, and 8 closed in the last 60 days (again right around an 8+ month supply).
$750,001 to $1,250,000
69 Active Listings (5 of which are subject to court/lender approval), 12 Pending Listings (3 or which are subject to court/lender approval), and 10 closed in the last 60 days (2 of which were subject to court/lender approval). We're looking at a 14-month supply in this price range - a total buyer's market.
$1,250,001 to $3,000,000: 47 Active Listings (2 of which are subject to court/lender approval), 1 Contingent Short Sale Listing, 1 Pending Listing, and 2 closed in the last 60 days. We're talking a 20 to 50-month supply in this price category!
$3,000,000+: 6 Active Listings, 1 Pending Listing, and 0 closed in the last 60 days (in fact, only one has sold in this price range in the last 12 months).
OK, so that's pretty interesting, right? Before you buy a condo downtown, you should be running these numbers and looking much more closely at your specific price range, size, specific wants (such as condos with a pool, etc.), area of town, and more. Doing so will help you understand the marketplace and help you form the proper expectations before looking at properties and writing an offer. A Globella exclusive buyer agent will help you with this research in your Buyer Strategy Session.
All statistics were gathered from the Sandicor MLS and are not guaranteed to be accurate. Keep in mind that some developers do not list all newly-built condos for sale in the MLS. To get the truest picture of what's available and what's been selling in your price range, contact your exclusive buyer agent.
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Justin Gramm is the founder and principal broker of Globella Buyers Realty, your San Diego Exclusive Buyer Brokerage. He also writes this blog, "For San Diego Home Buyers."
Exclusive Buyer Agents do not list homes for sale and never represent sellers. They have no "inventory" to try to sell you. They can represent you in purchasing any home. They are specialists at representing buyers only on the buyers' side of the transaction. Exclusive Buyer Agents work to get buyers the best price and terms when they buy a home.
If you have excellent credit and plan to buy a home or condo in San Diego County within 90 days, contact Justin Gramm to hire an agent on your side of the transaction. Call Justin at (858) 437-2662 or E-mail.