Coastalhomefinder.com

If you are alive and breathing and listing to radio and television or reading websites or an actual newspaper, it is likely you have heard all the talk about the real estate market. You might think it is the end of the world, it is not. If you are thinking of buying a home, all this talk may have delayed your decision or even made you question the wisdom of home ownership entirely. Here is one man's opinion from the New York Times, entitled A Dream House After All.

Maybe the best thing to do first is to take a step back and consider what has taken place over the past year in San Diego real estate, as a whole and specifically the North San Diego Coastal towns we focus on at CoastalHomeFinder.com Here is our updated report with San Diego County real estate stat's which includes residential real estate, condo, town home & detached properties is below:

The North San Diego Coastal Market Trends Report:

One thing to note from both reports is that the Months Supply of Inventory for San Diego and the North San Diego Coastal real estate markets fall within the balanced market category, with north San Diego Coastal having a bit higher supply at 6.9 months, and San Diego County having under 5.3 months supply of housing inventory.

A couple of interesting stats that came out recently in the distress area of the real estate market in San Diego: For July, Notice of Defaults, the first step in the foreclosure process fell approximately 50 percent from a year ago. To be sure there are debates on why this is. It could be there are less people in trouble, more loan modifications getting done or more short sales being approved. It is most likely all of these factors.

Foreclosures: July foreclosures in San Diego county were down 32 percent from a year ago. July Sales Volume for San Diego County was down 19.4% according to MDA DataQuick but median price was up year over year 5.6% to $338,000.

I am not sure who, other than the media, has been surprised by the slowdown recently in the number of sales. We should keep in mind that we have just experienced the largest amount of stimulus in history poured into the real estate market. It has now come to an end. With one big exception, mortgage rates are still extremely low. The tax credit has served it's purpose of stabilizing the real estate market. Now the fear debate has heated up again. We are headed for a double dip some say. After 13 months straight of median price increases in San Diego, we are due for a bit of a pause or dip in median prices. I tend to think the over-hyped stories will end up being just that, nice stories, but only time will tell.

There are a couple of facts to consider: Mortgage Rates are at all time, historic lows, and prices are significantly less that they were just a few years ago. Lastly, investors are buying right now, some very smart folks that called the fall of real estate are back in the game buying.

One of the most helpful ways to figure out your best path, especially in times like these is to look at things from three perspectives:

1. What is the best case scenario? 2. What is the likely scenario? and 3. What is the worst case scenario?

Run the numbers. For example, a $417000 loan today in the 4.25% range would cost approximately $2051 per month for principal and interest. If the market dropped to allow you to buy the same house with a $50,000 lower loan amount of $367,000 but mortgage rates went up to 5.5%, your monthly principal and interest payment would actually be higher at approximately $2083 per month. So I suggest looking at it from several different scenarios.

Make sure you are buying for the right reasons and that those reasons make sense long term. If you would like to discuss what your options are in today's real estate market just call me directly at 760-602-1000 or Loren@Coastalhomefinder.com

See this weeks list of coastal distressed deals 

Located across the street from one of the finest beaches in North San Diego County

and a short walk to the Village of Carlsbad we have two residential building lots available

that are zoned R-3. Each lot is priced at $699,000. Carlsbad California features not only

wonderful beaches, picturesque lagoons, walking trails, challenging golf courses including

 Aviara Resort Course and The Crossings at Carlsbad, but our own airport, Palomar Airport,

excellent schools, shopping and more. For more details on these lots

email Loren@Coastalhomefinder.com or Call 760-602-1000.

 Tax Credit Hangover with a side of ebb

The North San Diego coastal real estate market is charging ahead of many markets across America. June 2010 was the 11^th straight month of median price gains, up 15.66% over June 2009. We were due for a pause,  many are calling it the "Tax Credit Hangover", but just as likely is the fact that we need a bit of a pause to catch our breath. To be sure inventories in some locations and price brackets seem to be building, up to 7.1 months supply of inventory in North San Diego coastal detached homes.  For context, last year we had 8.5 months supply of inventory in June of 2009 and this year in April we got down to as low as 4.75 months supply of inventory.

You can download or view my North San Diego Coastal Real Estate Update for July here. This report offers a yearlong month by month graphical display with a breakdown of all the important numbers including Average Days on the Market, Month's Supply of Inventory, Supply & Demand, New Listings and more. This market dynamics report can be done for your specific zip code and price range as well. Just request one by emailing Loren@CoastalHomeFinder.com

A couple other things of note right now are that Notices of Default are down 41% from last year, which means two things are happening. There is a push to cut down the time it takes to do short sales and also there may be less people falling behind on their mortgage payments. Both are good news for the market.

The other item of note is that mortgage rates are at historical lows, if you are in the position to re-finance now would be a very good time to do so. Also there are some great real estate deals in North San Diego County and with rates this low and prices low as well, now is the time to act.  If you are planning on living in San Diego for awhile or want to retire here now is a great time to buy your dream home. This is a list of Coastal Short Sales and Foreclosures now on the market. If you would like to see one of these homes Call (760)602-1000 or email Loren@coastalhomefinder.com

If you would just like to search for homes in San Diego, you can search by school district, draw your own serch area on a map or use our standard search as well.

I walked through an incredible home today that any North San Diego Coastal ocean front home buyer should consider looking at. Located on Ocean Street in Carlsbad, this property is both flexible and stunning. Completed in 2009- seven years in the making, it offers ocean front home buyers the opportunity to buy both portions of a duplex which could easily be adjusted to become one large ocean front home: A total of 6 bedrooms, 8736 square feet, two elevators, dazzling view decks, space for 5 cars all with top quality materials used throughout. This option is $9,800,000.

The other option is to purchase one of the units individually: Option 2- 4787 square feet, 3 bedroom 4.5 baths for $5,800,000 or Option 3- 3  bedroom plus optional room, 3949 square feet for $5,400,000: Check it out here: Ocean Street in Carlsbad Ca. Priced at $1122 per foot on the ocean is an incredible price, especially for a home of this quality.

For those of you looking for a more modest home in North San Diego coastal areas, here are 17 properties you may want to consider. Included are $184,000 La Costa Resort area condo, a Cardiff by the Sea condo located walking distance to the beach across from a picturesque park, a Del Mar beach colony home one block to the beach for under $2.5 million, an Aviara panoramic golf view home with over 3200 sq ft and a pool for only $899,000, or if you are looking for spectacular ocean views you may want to check out the 3 bedroom,  white water view Solana Beach townhome for $750,000. Check out all 17 homes (use blue arrow at top to scroll through) here is the link: 17 North San Diego Coastal Hot Properties.

Call me direct at (760) 602-1000 or email Loren@coastalhomefinder.com to see any of these homes.