Median home prices rise in Encinitas, La Jolla, Ocean Beach By Lori Weisberg : San Diego Union-Tribune
STAFF WRITER
April 16, 2008
As median home prices continue to decline, it seems no community is immune to the slumping real estate market. And yet, during the last quarter a few coastal areas were able to eke out a healthy rate of price appreciation reminiscent of the housing boom.
Take Ocean Beach, which experienced a 14.4 percent year-over-year increase in the median price of a resale home during the first quarter of this year. By comparison, resale home prices for the entire county fell 21 percent during the same period, according to statistics released yesterday by DataQuick Information Systems. In fact, prices declined for all but three of the county's 59 ZIP codes that recorded at least 20 sales between Jan. 1 and March 31 of this year and last. Bucking the trend were Encinitas, La Jolla and Ocean Beach, which experienced price gains, while in Mission Beach and Pacific Beach, the median price remained relatively unchanged from last year.
That comes as little surprise to real estate agent Cindy Wing, who sells homes in the 92107 ZIP code, which includes Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliffs and part of Point Loma. “We're selling paradise because it's the beach, and it's beautiful,” Wing said. “That's how I feel when I sell. It's kind of a vacation feel in your everyday life. Prices remain high, with the median cost of a home at $829,500, compared with $725,000 a year earlier, according to DataQuick.
Laura Godfrey, an environmental attorney, recently sold her Ocean Beach cottage of two years and traded it in for a significant upgrade to a $957,000 Spanish revival house with an ocean view. While she broke even on the sale of her house, she was able to buy her new house for nearly $350,000 less than the original asking price. “I feel a little stretched, but I have the income potential, and I plan to stay here for awhile,” said Godfrey, 31. “I joke around that people will be dragging my body out of here in 50 years. “And I love Ocean Beach. I come from a small town, and this is a small town within a big city and it's a short commute from downtown,” she said. “I know all my neighbors, and I feel safe as a single female here. Also, I surf, so I can walk down to the beach with my board. I like my life.”
There is little for homeowners to like, though, about the steep plunge in home values in inland areas such as west Escondido, Encanto, Paradise Hills, Fallbrook and Spring Valley, which experienced declines of 30 percent or more last quarter. Part of the blame may lie with the high number of foreclosures some of these neighborhoods have experienced, which in turn drag prices down for the whole area, say real estate agents. “I think we've all seen that folks are out looking at the bargains, so those are a large percentage of what's selling – the bank foreclosures and short sale properties,” said Lori Staehling, president of the San Diego Association of Realtors. “They're generally in poor condition, and the banks want 30-day sales, so prices are lower. “But it doesn't necessarily mean every home in the county has gone down by those percentages.
(*) Story Edited (reduced) to fit on one page.
