Is the San Diego Real Estate Market Heating Up?

Last month, San Diego County saw its highest home-sale count for a March month since 2006 as it entered another spring home-buying season, Tuesday's numbers from DataQuick show.

A total of 3,237 homes were sold in March, up 19.5 percent from February and up nearly 6 percent from a year ago. Big percentage bumps are natural from February to March throughout Southern California, historical records show, but it appears this is the best March San Diego County has seen in six years, when a total of 4,367 homes were sold.


Related: San Diego housing inventory dips

Improvement aside, sales are still far below from pre-recession levels. The current housing cycle's peak was 6,926 transactions in June 2004.

"The year is young and lots could still change," said DataQuick John Walsh in the company's latest Southern California report. "But the results from the first big sales month of 2012 suggest the market is stuck in low gear. This remains a very gradual – not to mention fragile – recovery."

Sales saw the most oomph in the markets of single-family resales and new properties, in which tallies increased almost 10 percent and 27 percent, respectively, from a year ago. However, both submarkets saw their values in March fall from a year ago. Prices for single-family resales dropped 4.2 percent to $350,000, and almost 26 percent to $392,000 in the new-home market.

Can the county keep the sales surge alive this spring?

Clemente Casillas, a real estate broker in the South Bay, said it's too early to tell and that March's surge could be a fluke. Still, historically low mortgage rates and lower-than-normal prices in certain areas could push potential buyers off the fence, he added.

"I have a listing that hadn't gotten a call in a while," said Casillas, referring to a College Area home being offered in the $200,000 range. "(Now,) I've gotten two or three offers ... The price came down."

The median price for total sales bumped up 5.1 percent from February to $320,500, but fell 1.4 percent from a year ago. Prices fared the best among condo resales: The median price last month was $220,000, up almost 14 percent from February and up 6.3 percent from a year ago. Again, despite the improvement from a year ago, condo prices in the county are still far below their peak of $400,000 in March 2006.

The consumer demand for Southern California homes in the different price ranges continues to look disparate. Sales of homes below $300,000 increased more than 2 percent from a year ago, and sales exceeding $800,000 dipped 5.6 percent during the same time frame.

Thanks to Lily Leung for writing this piece.

Where was the highest foreclosure activity in July?

Top 10 default areas, July

Rank	Neighborhood	ZIP code	First half MED price	July '10	June '11	July '11	MOM PCT CHG	YOY PCT CHG	Per 1,000
1	Chula Vista NE	91914	$471,000	16	16	21	31.3%	31.3%	4.7
2	Chula Vista SE	91915	$325,000	29	24	29	20.8%	0.0%	4.0
3	San Ysidro	92173	$198,000	18	10	12	20.0%	-33.3%	3.8
4	Mission Valley	92108	$199,000	16	14	20	42.9%	25.0%	3.3
5	Jamul	91935	$432,000	6	0	8	n/a	33.3%	3.2
6	Paradise Hills	92139	$210,000	19	26	24	-7.7%	26.3%	3.0
7	Golden Hill	92102	$190,000	13	9	14	55.6%	7.7%	3.0
8	Alpine	91901	$412,500	13	12	13	8.3%	0.0%	2.9
9	El Cajon	92021	$219,000	45	24	29	20.8%	-35.6%	2.7
10	City Heights	92105	$175,000	39	21	23	9.5%	-41.0%	2.7

Source: DataQuick

Top 10 foreclosure areas, July

Rank	Neighborhood	ZIP code	First half median	July '10	June '11	July '11	MOM Pct Chg	YOY Pct Chg	Per 1,000
1	Campo	91906	$150,000	4	10	4	-60.0%	0.0%	4.5
2	Oceanside (Central)	92058	$197,000	20	9	11	22.2%	-45.0%	2.3
3	Alpine	91901	$412,500	0	6	10	66.7%	n/a	2.2
4	San Ysidro	92173	$198,000	9	9	7	-22.2%	-22.2%	2.2
5	Encanto	92114	$220,000	19	25	32	28.0%	68.4%	2.2
6	Mission Valley	92108	$199,000	9	9	13	44.4%	44.4%	2.1
7	Downtown	92101	$344,250	22	16	23	43.8%	4.5%	2.1
8	Jamul	91935	$432,000	3	1	5	400.0%	66.7%	2.0
9	Chula Vista NE	91914	$471,000	12	10	9	-10.0%	-25.0%	2.0
10	Fallbrook	92028	$346,000	18	14	22	57.1%	22.2%	1.8

Earlier today: San Diego foreclosure numbers for July


Foreclosure filings and mortgage defaults in San Diego County fell in July, continuing an erratic pattern of distress, Monday's DataQuick report showed.

Related: Where was the highest foreclosure activity in July?

Last month, the county posted 1,274 notices of defaults, down 5.8 percent from June and down 23.4 percent from a year ago. Those notices mark the first step in the foreclosure process. They peaked at 3,832 in March 2009 and have for years gone through unpredictable fluctuations.
DataQuick numbers show 798 San Diego homes were foreclosed on in July, down 15.9 percent from June and down 10.2 percent year-over-year. They peaked at 2004 in July 2008 and also have seen dramatic rises and falls over time.
The La Jolla company's data are based on public records for single-family homes and condos.
Please note: The rankings are sorted by the number of foreclosures and defaults in July per 1,000 homes in each neighborhood, according to Monday's Stay with us throughout the day for more coverage.
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Written by Lily Sdut...Thanks Lily!