Condo/Townhome Prices Surge in San Carlos

September 10, 2013

Full Recovery?

Much time has been spent on this site documenting the incredible rise of single family home prices in San Carlos so far in 2013.  In the Mid-Year Check In back in July, we documented how the average price of a single-family home rocketed upward by 15% from the previous year, and the gain in median pricing was even higher.

But what has been happening with the condo and townhouse market in San Carlos?   Back when the real estate market tanked in 2008, this segment took an especially harsh beating.  The precipitous drop in condo and townhouse values resulted in a much higher rate of short sales and foreclosures in the subsequent years than what we saw with single family residences.   Large complexes such as Brittan Heights were especially hard hit, as values fell by 20% or more.  For a period of time after '08, it seemed like every other unit that hit the market was either a short sale or a bank-owned property.

Well, as you can see from the charts below, the gold rush of 2013 has been very good to the condo and townhouse market in San Carlos too.    It's pretty safe to deduce, just like we did with single family residences, that this segment of the market has fully recovered from depths of the recession.

This chart shows the average sales price for all condos and townhomes in San Carlos over the past 5 years.   Not only has this metric rocketed upward by 32% from just last year, it's evident that sales prices have more than fully recovered from the post-recession slide of those years after 2008.

Average Sales Price: San Carlos Condos and Townhomes.

Average Sales Price: San Carlos Condos and Townhomes.

Taking a look at the median sales price performance over the past 5 years shows a similar result:

Median Sales Price: San Carlos Condos and Townhomes.

Median Sales Price: San Carlos Condos and Townhomes.

Rounding out the standard metric is the price-per-square foot, which predictably showed similar stunning gains in 2013:

Price Per Square Foot: San Carlos Condos and Townhomes.

Price Per Square Foot: San Carlos Condos and Townhomes.

But perhaps the most dramatic of the charts is the average time for a unit to sell in 2013.  Just a couple of years ago, it took nearly 100 days for the average unit to sell as the economy struggled to recover.  In 2013, units were only on the market an average of 17 days before being snapped up.

Average Days on Market:  San Carlos Condos and Townhomes.

Average Days on Market: San Carlos Condos and Townhomes.

Above Water Again.

This surge in values is welcome news to condo and townhome owners in San Carlos, particularly those who purchased their units in the 2005-2007.   The steep, unexpected drop in values meant that many of these new owners were “under water”, or in other words, they suddenly owed more on their unit that it was worth.   So even if they wanted to sell their place and move on, they couldn't do so unless they were willing to try to sell their unit short, or just default on the mortgage completely — neither of which is a good option.

The fact that the price increase for condos so far in 2013 was nearly double the increase for single-family residences during the same period should not come as a surprise in this market.  A large percentage of that tidal wave of buyers who entered the market this year were either first-time home buyers or investors looking to snap up rental properties before the market turned upward.  Quite simply, there were far more buyers shopping in this price range than in any other segment in the San Carlos real estate market.

And that is long-awaited music to the ears of condo and townhouse owners throughout San Carlos.

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