The overall SD County market looks hot with 52% of new listings finding a buyer within 2-4 weeks, but how about the tonier North SD County coastal region?  The year-to-date numbers look similar to the county’s stats we saw in the last post, rather ho-hum:

NSDCC Detached-Home Sales, Jan 1 – Oct 13

Sales are up 19% year-over-year, but average pricing and days-on-market aren’t over-heating.

Indeed, it is a bit calmer around NSDCC:

NSDCC Detached-Homes Listed Between Sept. 15-30

Total Number of NSDCC Detached-Homes Listed Between Sept 15-30:  135

Number Already Marked Contingent, Pending, or Sold:  46

Only a third (34%) of new listings have found a buyer in NSDCC, compared to just over half (52%) throughout the county.

People hang onto the notion that it takes longer to sell the more-expensive homes, and while that is a statistical fact, we shouldn’t just accept it as normal when everything else has changed.

Reasons Why It Shouldn’t Take Longer To Sell More-Expensive Homes

• The same internet tools enable all participants to determine the value accurately.
• People of means should have more resources/equity = fewer distressed sales.
• Better agents work the higher-end markets.

But how many NSDCC sellers price their home to sell quickly?

There are other reasons to price ’em to sell – the hassle of keeping the house immaculate, the inconvenience of showings 7 days a week – many with short notice, and the desire to move on.  But here are the NSDCC detached-home stats on how close sellers got to their list price this year, compared to how long they were on the market:

The Sales Price-to-List Price ratio is figured from the current LP at time the listing was marked active – it doesn’t include any price reductions in the interim. If you have been on the market 60+ days, you probably had to lower the price to re-ignite urgency because after 14 days, the showings dry up.  The 95% above is probably more like 90% of the original list price, and maybe lower.

Buyers use the days-on-market stat like a club, and want to penalize sellers for not pricing accurately. They will pay all the money in the first week or two, but after that it is a slippery slope. It is more efficient for sellers to price accurately from the beginning.

Sellers will find out how hungry buyers are for new meat – there is a rush of showings during the first 1-2 weeks, then they stop on a dime, and reducing the price is the only fix.

I don’t mind taking them a little high to test the market, as long as we adjust as needed.  My closed non-REO listings this year have averaged 50 DOM, and 97% SP/LP, and removing a short sale and two paid-off homes, they improve to 14 DOM and 99% SP/LP.