Carlsbad real estate market

The Carlsbad real estate market, a primarily residential portion of the larger San Diego County real estate market, continued on a streak of positive indicators, although forecasters warned that market watchers should be cautious. According to a May 25, 2010 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, “With 11 consecutive months of growth, San Diego County is leading the nation’s largest metro areas in home-price appreciation, the widely-watched Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed Tuesday. In March, the index of San Diego prices was up 10.8 percent from the previous year, the biggest increase since the heady days of mid-2005.” The piece by Roger Showley also noted that “Analysts warned that San Diego’s increase may only reflect a change in market mix, not an increase in value, and that it will likely slow down and possibly reserve as additional foreclosed homes hit the market.”

Foreclosures, which typically artificially inflate the number of Carlsbad homes for sale, were set to decrease in the most recent report. According to a May 24, 2010 article from the San Diego Union-Tribune, “Mortgage defaults dipped in San Diego County last month to their lowest level since January, as distressed-property owners found alternatives to foreclosure, MDA DataQuick reported Monday.” The piece, also written by Roger Showley, went on to say that “Other signs of distress seemed to be easing, as delinquencies stopped growing, banks acted on their foreclosure backlogs, more homes were listed for sale and there were more building permits. Some real estate industry analysts read the figures as another sign the housing market is stabilizing at or near the bottom. But they cautioned the market will remain troublesome for the foreseeable future.”

These tentatively positive trends for Carlsbad real estate also extended partially to the larger Southern California area. According to a May 18, 2010 article from the Associated Press, “Home sales in Southern California declined last month for the first time in nearly two years, as buyers appeared to time their purchases to cash in on a state tax credit and supplies of affordable inland properties dwindled, a tracking firm reported Tuesday.”

Anaheim Hills Real Estate

Anaheim Hills is a planned community located in the eastern portion of Anaheim the city, in Orange County in Southern California. It lies in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, and because it is in then Southern California area that is highly susceptible to real estate fluctuations, the Anaheim Hills real estate market has seen quite a toll taken upon it since the economy in the U.S. began its downslide in 2008.

The Orange County Register‘s year-end statistical chart showed that 2009 continued to be a year of struggles for those with Anaheim Hills home for sale. The community’s two zip codes both saw declines in median price for the year, which came to $450,000 and $475,000, respectively, declines of 7% and 13%. Despite the bad news in terms of pricing, both zip codes saw increases in sales volume, with 418 and 292 homes sold in each, improvements of 12% and 17%, respectively, from sales volume during 2008.

Latest monthly statistics available on the Orange County Register chart, which provide figures from March, show that the median price for a home in one zip code within Anaheim Hills was $434,000, a 5.65% decline year-over-year. That area saw sales activity of 39 homes sold, flat year-over-year. The community’s other zip code saw a median home price in March of $505,000, a 8% increase from the previous year, while experiencing a 4.5% dip in sales volume, which stood at 21.

Furthermore, the Orange County Register’s real estate blog, which posts sales and price figures every week, showed that in the three-week period ended April 7, Anaheim Hills saw increase in prices year-over-year, suggesting that perhaps the market hit its trough in 2009 and will use 2010 as a recovery year. The two area saw median prices of $455,000 and $505,000, increases of 2% and 15%, respectively. Sales volume was up 18% in the first zip code at 39 sales but down 15% in the second, with just 17 sales.

Laguna Beach

The famed Laguna Beach neighborhood in Southern California’s Orange County, notorious for being home to some of the nation’s most pricey residential real estate, has seen its sales figures and home values drop in the midst of the nation’s worst housing crisis in decades.

Though many would think residents of upscale neighborhoods like Laguna Beach immune to the effects of a recession, like foreclosures, that thought is not quite right. According to the Orange County Register, in November, there were 77 homes in the Laguna Beach real estate market in default, with nearly half, 36, valued at more than $1 million.

Real estate in Laguna Beach is languishing on the market as well, looking for buyers with lots of cash or credit. As of Nov. 30, according to the Register, the average time on the market for homes for sale in Laguna Beach was 9.69 months, up from 8.27 months just two weeks ago.

The neighborhood, too, has seen its median sales price continue to decline. The median price of a home in Laguna Beach in a three week period ending Dec. 5 $1.02 million, down by 45% from last year. However, sales volume shows signs for encouragement during that period, as the area tallied 33 homes sold, an increase of 73.7% over the same period of last year, according to the OC Register.