The Hammond Real Estate Report

An affluent, luxurious coastal community, La Costa is a neighborhood located within Carlsbad, California, in Northern San Diego County. As many cities in Southern California, the La Costa real estate market has been hit hard by the recession in the United States as the overall market has fallen, with home values plunging and foreclosures skyrocketing. Some say the market may have been overheated before, spurred on by speculation, which has contributed to its fall in prices. But lately the market shows slight signs for optimism.

Sales of La Costa homes for sale showed an increased activity last year (2009) versus 2008 as many players who were interested in owning La Costa homes but always felt themselves priced out of the market finally found themselves able to jump in and take advantage of the unusually low prices. Of course, much of the increased real estate sales activity in the country can also be attributed, at least in part, to the government’s program offering thousands of dollars in tax credits to those who buy a new home, which may have pushed many who were considering buying over the brink into closing.

In Carlsbad, of which La Costa is a part, sales showed a positively upward sloping trend all year, with the highest activity coming right at the year’s close in December, when 70 homes were sold. The area started 2009 with homes having a median price of more than $700,000, but this figure gradually fell to close the year out at around only $620,000. The median price hit bottom in October at around $600, and then saw increases in November and December.

Condos in the region followed a similar path. At the start of 2009, the median condo price was around $375,000, a figure that rose and fell throughout the year, and finished 2009 at around $330,000. The condo market saw its low point coming in the third quarter of 2009, and prices began to creep up in the fourth quarter. Condo sales in the La Costa area were healthy throughout the year, with around 25 or 30 per month.

Like many American markets, the Santa Cruz real estate market has suffered its bouts of ups and downs throughout the past couple of years amid the larger financial crisis afflicting the U.S. The government’s stimulus program offering up to $8,000 in tax rebates to select home buyers helped the market regain some of its ground in the latter half of 2009.

Unfortunately some of the ground that was recovered at the end of the year seems to have slipped back in 2010. In January, the average price for a single-family residence sold in the Santa Cruz market was $569,544, down from over $603,000 in December 2009. Similarly, the median price in January was $480,000, down from $555,000 in December.

There were 94 homes sold in January, the first month sales figures fell below 100 since February 2009. The month saw a total inventory of 691 Santa Cruz homes for sale on the market, 208 of which were new. The condo market saw 22 total sales, the lowest figure since March 2009. In January, there were 212 condos on the market, 54 of which were new. Home inventory now sits at just 4.7 months worth, down from 11.9 months a year ago, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Condos and townhomes in the Santa Cruz market saw a drop in prices in January as well. The average price for a sold condo was about $359,000, down from over $378,500 in December 2009. The median price fell from $350,000 in December to just $313,500 in January.