October 2007

State of the Local Real Estate Market
I was 8 years old when I experienced my first wildfire evacuation. Roused in the middle of the night, my parents stuffed the family into the car, each of us kids wrapped in our blankets and pillows. We hurried away, watching the flames atop Castle Peak and the eerie orange midnight sky. Decades later, I’ve accepted that wildfires are as much part of the southern California landscape as the beach and surf. The topography which defines San Diego is the myriad of canyons and mesas and open space. We treasure our beaches but love our backcountry as well: Julian, the Cuyamacas and Palomar Mountain, to name a few. This landscape defines San Diego. During the fires and ensuing TV news coverage, many newcomers learned quickly the names of towns and communities, of the locations of mountains and creeks and canyons that may never have become familiar. For folks who lost their homes in the raging fires last week, my heart goes out to you.

Five million homes sold. That’s the number of houses that were sold across the United States last month! That’s a lot of congratulatory bottles of wine and front door welcome mats. In February, 6.6 million homes were sold; 5.8 million homes in April, 5.7 million homes in June. The downward trend in total monthly sales has much to do with banks and lenders getting ultra-tough on making loans. The lending pendulum has swung from ‘anything goes’ mode to “who goes there?” Until there is some credit easing, we will only be selling 5 million homes every month instead of 6.6 million.

The Federal Reserve has reduced the federal funds rate to 4.5%, the second consecutive monthly decrease after 14 months of no rate action. The move is expected to make it cheaper for consumers and businesses to borrow money. This latest effort to stimulate economic activity and keep away from a recession comes with a backdrop of surging oil prices and a sluggish national housing market.

Locally, venture capital investment accounted for almost $325 million made to developing San Diego County companies in the 3rd qtr. Of this total, $123 million was invested in technology or internet-related companies, $112 million in business and consumer services and $89.9 million on healthcare related companies.

Please feel free to contact me anytime for all your real estate questions, needs and referrals.

Average Sale Price by Zip Code (San Diego Association of REALTORS).
(If there is a neighborhood or zip code you would like to see tracked just let me know. Call me at 619-248-4200 or email me at kenbaer@willisallen.com)

Neighborhood	Zip Code	September 2007	September 2006	September 2005
Downtown	92101	$550,472	$866,250	$814,959
Golden Hill	92102	$546,980	$525,800	$534,131
Mission Hills	92103	$956,000	$902,764	$1,160,565
North Park	92104	$552,384	$563,575	$640,677
Point Loma	92106	$1,136,050	$1,020,958	$1,079,000
Ocean Beach	92107	$940,062	$1,029,583	$688,062
Mission Valley	92108	$313,825	$367,780	$389,156
Pacific Beach	92109	$808,545	$1,127,401	$993,433
Linda Vista	92111	$481,090	$509,300	$551,531
College	92115	$460,869	$522,400	$557,440
Kensington	92116	$531,500	$635,095	$636,147
Clairemont	92117	$631,583	$520,045	$598,113
Coronado	92118	$1,717,181	$1,626,000	$1,984,316
Del Cerro	92120	$631,000	$518,194	$638,028
University City	92122	$711,214	$625,214	$738,650
Mira Mesa	92126	$458,500	$505,080	$552,910
Santaluz	92127	$1,023,258	$1,169,813	$1,054,428
Rancho Penasquitos	92129	$640,566	$681,507	$688,033
Carmel Valley	92130	$1,354,973	$1,193,376	$1,145,269
Scripps Ranch	92131	$732,212	$827,089	$829,305
Chula Vista	91910	$444,700	$606,178	$676,586
Imperial Beach	91932	$450,333	$538,650	$542,500
La Mesa	91941	$560,131	$590,409	$612,036
Spring Valley	91978	$487,500	$627,800	$545,000
Cardiff	92007	$1,081,750	$1,021,625	$1,212,500
Carlsbad	92008	$704,800	$790,006	$952,648
Del Mar	92014	$1,997,777	$2,087,428	$2,776,769
El Cajon	92020	$544,000	$493,026	$500,950
Encinitas	92024	$1,040,812	$1,079,656	$989,335
Escondido	92026	$481,911	$556,651	$566,459
La Jolla	92037	$1,870,315	$2,126,538	$3,014,692
Oceanside	92054	$513,275	$728,920	$624,742
Poway	92064	$1,049,500	$848,718	$876,838
Rancho Santa Fe	92067	$3,816,111	$3,917,206	$2,734,083
Santee	92071	$443,625	$438,476	$492,542
Solana Beach	92075	$1,022,500	$1,828,750	$1,599,166
Vista	92084	$500,769	$688,607	$594,744