Welcome to San Diego Blog | March 5, 2012

Market Absorption Rates…

Properties in Downtown San Diego…

We’ve seen a huge swing in Downtown San Diego Real Estate over the past 2 years.  At one point, we had over 650 properties active on our local multiple listing service (MLS).  Guess how many properties there are for sale in downtown today?

I’ll answer that for you at the bottom of this article, but for now, here are the trends we are seeing in various price brackets.  You might be surprised to discover what is going on with Downtown San Diego condo properties.

Let’s start on the low end of the price bracket. If you are looking for a downtown condo for a second home in the $300,000 or less range, it’s slim pickings!  There is less than 1 months supply with only 18 properties for sale today.  Take into account that 7 of these are at The Hardrock Hotel which is fractional interest ownership.  You better have a good agent that moves fast!

The Real San Diego Condo Story

In the $300,000 to $449,999 range we currently see about a 2 months supply of downtown properties, but it appears that sales in this category may be slowing down some.  Want to know why?  There have been less properties for sale which translates to less properties being sold.  We could run out of properties to sell really soon.  Then what?

In the $450,000 to $599,999 category, we still see less than a 4 months supply of condos.  The trend shows us that the months of supply is growing due to sales decreasing.  Again, this is due to limited inventory…there are only 31 properties for sale and some of these are your grandmother’s condo (sorry granny, love you, but not your place).

A Balanced San Diego Condo Market?

It’s not until we get above $600,000 to $1M that we surpass the 6 month supply of properties.  Always keep in mind that a 6 months supply of homes is a balanced market.  A supply of less than 6 months would be considered a seller’s market and a supply greater than 6 months would be considered a buyer’s market.

But isn’t it a buyer’s market right now?  Yes, due to low interest rates and low prices on account of short sales (seller’s don’t care how little their properties sell for because they aren’t incentivized to care).  However, buying a condo in the $450,000 and below price range can be difficult as the good properties go quickly and often above list price.  Again, if you have a good agent that is in tune with the downtown market and you listen to their advice you should have a good chance at getting one of these “hot properties”.

For the $1M and greater price range, this is where the real deals can be found…  We have about a 2 year inventory and sellers are competing with each-other to sell their properties.  There are great opportunities in some of the most premier addresses in Downtown San Diego.  From 100% custom designed and furnished where you bring your clothes and toothbrush to projects where you buy a scraper with amazing views and create your dream.  If you can muster up $1M or more, you’ll be thanking yourself later.

As always, please give us a call to discuss your ideas.  We are happy to help you buy or sale with confidence.

Answer: As of today, there are currently 169 properties for sale in Downtown’s 92101 zip code.


Written by: chad

Categories: Absorption Rates, Downtown San Diego, Real Estate Investment, San Diego Real Estate

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