The San Carlos Real Estate Week In Review – 4/4/09…

April 4, 2009

3141-la-mesa-dr

Bargains in San Carlos?

Three homes listed this week, and not one of them was above $800,000.   I can't remember the last time that happened.  But the theme from last week has definitely carried over to this week:  The sub-$1M market is definitely heating up.   Look at the homes that went pending this week:

  • 259 Vine St:  $735,000.  Pending after 6 days.
  • 820 Sunset Dr:  675,000 – Pending after 7 days.
  • 2373 Howard Ave:  $729,000 – Pending after 23 days.

Homes in this price range continue to be the most sought-after right now in San Carlos.

San Carlos Inventory Analysis

Here's a snapshot of the San Carlos market, as of 4/4:

  • Active:  66 homes (last week: 69)
  • Pending Sale: 29 Homes (last week:27)
  • Ratio ~ 2.3:1 (last week:  2.6:1)

This ratio has declined for the third consecutive week, meaning homes are getting into contract more quickly.   Here are those same numbers broken out by price category:

  • Homes < $1M:   35 Active, 15 Pending =  2.3:1  (last week: 2.3:1)
  • Homes  $1M –$1.5M:  21 Active, 11 Pending = 1.9:1 (last week: 2.7:1)
  • Homes  >$1.5M:  10 Active,  3 Pending =  3.3:1 (last week: 3.3:1)

The biggest change in ratio actually occurred in the $1M-$1.5M range, since there were no new listings to replace those that went pending.  The good news here is that homes are selling in this range too.

Below are the new listings and home sales from this past week.  Click on the respective addresses to get all the details.

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San Carlos Home Sales

3141 La Mesa Drive, San Carlos

3141 La Mesa Drive, San Carlos

3141 La Mesa Drive

  • Pictured Above — Sale Price: $1,245,000Original List Price: $1,249,000.   Difference: $4,000 (0.3%) below original list.    DOM: 8 Days total under MLS # 80906233.   Listed by Norrine Higgins of RE/MAX Today.    These results are significant — it's not often today that we're seeing homes in this price range sell as quickly and as close to list price as this one did.  Granted, this home is in move-in condition, it's on the view side of La Mesa, and the listing agent priced it well.   But it's worth seeing if this starts to become a trend in the low $1M range.

979 McCue Avenue

  • Sale Price: $595,000Original List Price: $609,000.   Difference: $14,000 (2.2%) below original list.    DOM: 13 Days total under MLS # 80911908.  Listed by Deborah Wilhelm of Coldwell Banker.

365 Old County Road

  • Sale Price: $420,000Original List Price: $489,900.   Difference: $69,900 (14.3%) below original list.    DOM: 95 Days total under MLS # 80844569.   This was an REO sale.  Listed by Alex Lehr of Lehr Real Estate.

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New Listings in San Carlos

91 Kenton Avenue, San Carlos

91 Kenton Avenue, San Carlos

91 Kenton Avenue

  • Pictured Above:  $798,888 — 3BR/2BA, 1,610 sq ft on a 5,500 square foot lot.    MLS# 80916947, listed by Lorelei Keim of Coldwell Banker.

29 Plymouth Avenue

  • $749,000 — 3BR/1.5BA, 990 sq ft on a 5,370 square foot lot.    MLS# 80915730, listed by Peggy Ledoux of Cashin Company.

1004 Inverness Drive

  • $538,500 — 2BR/1BA, 820 sq ft on a 5,000 square foot lot.    MLS# 80916226, listed by Terry Michaud of Heritage Realty.

*** To see all of the homes currently for sale in San Carlos, simply click here:  San Carlos Single Family Residences for Sale

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Back on the Market

260 Windsor Drive, San Carlos

260 Windsor Drive, San Carlos

260 Windsor Drive

  • Pictured Above:  $1,224,950 — 3BR/2.5BA, 2,805 sq ft on a 7,650 square foot lot.    If you like contemporary decor, then you should check out this home.  The owner did a superb job.  MLS# 80915846, listed by Donna Colangelo of Intero Real Estate Service.

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(The “San Carlos Week in Review” series is a summary of new listings and home sales in San Carlos for the prior week, and an occasional podcast mixed in to keep things lively.   Between the two, you should get a great idea of what happened last week in San Carlos real estate.)

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2 Comments

  1. baggins on April 4, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Chuck

    Love the site, read it every week. Based on Redfin, the house at 365 Old County that just sold for 420K has the following sales history

    May 14, 2008 Sold $616,250
    May 26, 2006 Sold $716,000
    Apr 19, 2005 Sold $650,000

    Am I correct in guessing that the May 14 08 sale is actually the transfer of the home back to the bank?

    Its pretty amazing that the home is off nearly 300K or put differently, prices would have to rise ~75% from where this latest price occurred for the home to reach its prior peak!

    Is the the biggest “loss” % terms in a home’s value you have seen in San Carlos?

    How much do you estimate the drop to be on average in the starter home market in San Carlos?



  2. Chuck on April 8, 2009 at 2:27 pm

    Baggins,

    Thanks for your comments. I reviewed the MLS and there’s no record of the home selling in May ’08, so perhaps that was when title was transferred back to the bank. There was also a brokerage change right at that point, so that was a clear inflection point in the sale of this home. No doubt that this was a significant drop from the sale price in ’06.

    Regarding starter home prices, the average home price dropped only 7% in 08 versus 09. However, that same figure dropped nearly 19% in the first quarter of ’09, compared to the same period of ’08. I think higher priced homes are taking the lion’s share of the hit, and I’d estimate that “starter homes” are seeing something more in the 10% range.

    Thanks again for your comments.

    CG



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