North San Diego County real estate inventory issues persist into summer as average prices increase

FALLBROOK – Due largely to a persistently thin inventory, home prices in Fallbrook and Bonsall showed a five percent increase over the prior month and an extraordinary 13 percent bump over June of 2016, Jerry Kalman, a realtor with HomeSmart Legends, said.

Predicting that the relatively hot market will continue for at least another month, 81 homes came off the market in June, bringing the number in escrow to 114, which was a slight decrease from abnormally strong May levels. The average price of all those off the market dropped eight percent to $620,000.

The inventory was flat at 211 units as 95 new properties came on the market in June, a noticeable decline, but still well below seasonal averages for Fallbrook and Bonsall.

Time on the market for those homes entering escrow rose slightly from 36 to an average of 39 days. In June, homes that sold took 36 days to sell, a full month better than a year earlier.

“Even though there was some heavy discounting, more than 40 percent of the 100 sales in June were equal to or better than the original asking price,” Kalman said. “Many of those that sold at or above the listing price went into escrow in the first month of when they were listed.”

Almost two thirds of all transactions were financed with conventional mortgages. Veterans Affairs and Federal Housing Administration transactions decreased to 22 percent of the activity, while cash buyers in Fallbrook and Bonsall represented only12 percent of the transactions, the lowest level in several months.

Kalman said the average selling price per square foot in these two communities, an important metric used to price homes, rose four percent to $264. Bonsall was up to $272 per square foot, while Fallbrook was up slightly to $256. The San Diego County average rose to $381 per square foot.

Four high-end homes, two in each community, closed escrow in June with three of them selling at or above the original listing price. Ten more high-end homes, six in Fallbrook, are in escrow. There are 71 of these million-dollar-plus properties on the market, three quarters of them in Fallbrook.

In June, four condos, all in Fallbrook, sold with an average market time of 11 days. Twelve condos, seven of them in Fallbrook, were in escrow with an average market time of just over a month. Sixteen condos were on the market entering July, 11 in Bonsall.

Kalman’s data for the reporting periods, which ended June 30, came from Sandicor and CRMLS, San Diego and Riverside counties’ multiple listing services for realtors. This report represents properties listed or sold by various brokers in the region. He uses this information as a community service to analyze market trends and provide professional insight into real estate activity. HomeSmart Legends is located at 701 S. Main Ave. in Fallbrook.