Machines for Living: Downtown Condo and Office Towers

Fantastic cover story in this week's San Diego Reader features a walk through downtown and details many of downtown's buildings.

I posted this a few days ago on my other blog, since this site gets a lot more traffic and there's a lot of chatter about downtown condos I think you might enjoy this article.

Developer could transfer Imperial Beach project | The San Diego Union-Tribune

Here's another story from today's Union Tribune, very interesting quote from D.R. Horton which is a very active building in San Diego:

"Last month, in a conference call with Wall Street analysts, D.R. Horton reported that San Diego was its weakest market in California. Horton officials said there were too many homes and not enough buyers. "

Developer could transfer Imperial Beach project | The San Diego Union-Tribune:

Survival... Like Déjà Vu, All Over Again

This could easily be called "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Excellent piece from Kelly Bennett of the Voice of San Diego on the real estate boom of 1886-88.

voiceofsandiego.org: Survival... Like Déjà Vu, All Over Again: "The Great Boom' of 1886-88."

Escondido code sweep nets pile of real estate signs; agents irked | The San Diego Union-Tribune

Escondido code sweep nets pile of real estate signs; agents irked

I had to laugh a bit at this story.

Downtown Condo at Gaslamp City Square #604

Gaslamp City Square is in the heart fo the Gaslamp and was completed in late 2004.

The second phase is just being completed and there are many unsold units for sale by the same developer of Cortez Blu and Acqua Vista.

Type: Closed Sale

Resale Price: $470,000
Cost: $478,609

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $36,809
Loss%: 7.69%

Resale Date: 05/04/2006
Purchase Date: 01/18/2005
Holding Period: 16 months

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 799

Purchase Details: view

Resale Details: view

Downtown Condo at Palermo Price Cut Below Developer Price - #115

Palermo is located on "Lower Cortez Hill" and is right on the border with Little Italy. Designed and built as rentals it was converted into condominiums at the end of the development of the building. There was even an "Apartments for Rent" sign on the building at one point. This is the third unit featured on this blog.

It's also noteable that this unit has been reduced to below the initial purchase price from the developer.

Price cut history:

Price Reduced: 06/09/06 -- $535,000 to $499,000
Price Reduced: 08/28/06 -- $499,000 to $490,000

Type: Listed on MLS(#066032843)

Resale Price: $490,000
Cost: $494,990

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $34,390
Loss%: 6.95%

Purchase Date: 05/23/2005
Holding Period: 15 months and counting...

Bedrooms: Loft
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 1096

Purchase Details: view

Legal Problems at El Cortez Condominiums

Dan Bauder with the SD Reader and formerly with the Union Tribune reports on the lawsuits and development and sales practice controversy at the El Cortez condominiums development located in downtown's Cortez Hill neighborhood.

I have personally been in this building and while it's pretty much cornered the market on classic building condominiums downtown the infrastructure of the building is troubled.

San Diegans Start to Feel the Exotic Mortgage Pain

The Voice of San Diego reports on the effect of exotic financing on homeowners in San Diego. Excellent discussion with a borrower about her experience as well as quotes from mortgage industry members.

I do think that Julie Haas, the option rate mortgagee, miscalculated her worst case scenario. I think anyone buying real estate in the last three years should have factored in a 25% market decline into their numbers to see if they would still be happy over the medium to long term.

Look for more "Live Downtown" commercials.

The San Diego Business Journal reports on a new $200,000 advertising campaign by the Downtown Residential Marketing Alliance aimed at encouraging more people to move downtown.

The Downtown Residential Marketing Alliance is made up of CCDC and several private developers.

5170 Clairemont Mesa Blvd #2, San Diego 92117

This older Clairemont Mesa condominium is listed on Foreclosure.com as fully foreclosed.

This unit is currently owned by Wells Fargo which presumably was the lender on the property.

Type: Listed on MLS(#061055067)

Resale Price: $299,000
Cost: $365,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $83,940
Loss%: 23.00%

Purchase Date: 04/19/2005
Holding Period: 16 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1058

Purchase Details: view

Thanks to Sven for finding this unit and posting it in the comments of another post!

Big Price Cut at Cortez Blu Condominiums

I think that downtown has a real challenge in 2007 in terms of stopping the losses that the market has been incurring. Below is an email snippet from the developer of Cortez Blu. While they aren't saying "PRICE CUT" this unit has clearly taken a reduction. At $345 a square foot this relative bargain is a sure sign that developers that are long unsold units in new developments will cut prices in order to move inventory. There are thousands of new condominium units coming to the downtown neighborhoods in 2007 & 2008.

The Lodge at Bankers Hill new condominium development has also endured a price cut.

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Flipper Couple takes Double Loss on Downtown Condos at Portico #505

Same exact story as Portico unit #406 except this unit cost more so the loss is bigger.

As noted in the #406 entry my records show that this and unit #505 are owned by the same couple.

Type: Listed on MLS(#068068385)

Resale Price: $335,000
Cost: $375,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $60,100
Loss%: 16.03%

Purchase Date: 03/28/2005
Holding Period: 17 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 728

Purchase Details: view

Downtown Condo at Portico #406

Pretty generic and spartan one bedroom condo that's taking on some serious water.

Note that my records show that this and unit #505 are owned by the same couple.

Type: Listed on MLS(#068068255)

Resale Price: $325,000
Cost: $350,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $44,500
Loss%: 12.71%

Purchase Date: 03/28/2005
Holding Period: 17 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 728

Purchase Details: view

Stats: Top 10 Downtown Condos by Loss

Since we're up to 63 properties tracked and many of them are downtown condos I thought a stats post that shows the top 10 loss in order by loss amount would help everyone get a quick read on the downtown condo market.

It's interesting to say the least that all 10 of these units has an assumed loss greather than $100,000.

Property	Loss	Details
Park Place #3001	$220,000	view
Renaissance #507	$196,940	view
Park Place #1405	$176,900	view
The Grande #1305	$163,000	view
Treo #817	$162,000	view
Treo #2106	$143,640	view
Village Walk #409	$142,140	view
Discovery #907	$137,500	view
The Mills #405	$118,861	view
Village Walk #406	$105,140	view

Massive Loss on Another Condo that Sells for less than 2004 Value - Treo #817

Treo is a mid-level quality high rise condo in the Columbia District.

This example of our market in decline is yet another example of property selling for less than it was purchased for in 2004.

Type: Closed Sale

Resale Price: $800,000
Cost: $914,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $162,000
Loss%: 17.72%

Resale Date: 06/08/2006
Purchase Date: 10/14/2004

Holding Period: 20 months

Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1629

Purchase Details: view

Resale Details: view

Thanks goes out to downtown sideliner for helping to find this property

Downtown Condo at Portico #513

Portico is located downtown in Little Italy. This building is only a year old but already has several units that are listed at a loss to the original owner. Since these units are very bare bones, most don't have balconys, very low budget finishes and only one parking spot. Portico was designed and developed to be a rental project and was converted into condos before completion

Type: Listed on MLS(#066050329)

Resale Price: $452,000 (Range priced $439,500 to $464,500)
Cost: $475,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $50,120
Loss%: 10.55%

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 934

Purchase Date: 06/30/2005

Holding Period: 14 months and counting...
Purchase Details: view

The Secret is Out: Downtown Condo at Village Walk #409

This property has a number of interesting things going on, another $100,000+ loss, the third unit featured from Little Italy's Village Walk development and most interesting is the text from the MLS listing:

"Wow!This condo is priced $111,000 less than paid for 2 years ago!" This is the first time I've seen the market downturn acknowledged in a MLS listing.

Also this condo is hitting the market on day one with such a reduced price relative to where it sold in October 2004. Many of the properties that I've featured on the site have been on the market for quite some time before the owners cut the price to become realistic.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066072619)

Resale Price: $519,000
Cost: $630,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $142,140
Loss%: 22.56%

Purchase Date: 10/13/2004
Holding Period: 22 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1264

Purchase Details: view

840 Harbor Cliff Way #294, Oceanside, CA 92054

This Oceanside condo is barely a year old and has slipped in value just over 5%.

Type: Listed on MLS(#061066010)

Resale Price: $525,000
Cost: $557,500

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $64,000
Loss%: 11.48%

Purchase Date: 10/31/2005
Holding Period: 10 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1145

Purchase Details: view

Thanks goes out to an anonymous poster in a prior entry for finding this property

5094 Via Manos #A, Oceanside, CA 92057

This is our first visit to Oceanside.

Here's a property that's listed post cosmetic remodel for less than it last sold for back in December 2004.

Type: Listed on MLS(#061064168)

Resale Price: $308,900
Cost: $315,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $24,634
Loss%: 7.82%

Purchase Date: 12/11/2004
Holding Period: 20 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 951

Purchase Details: view

Thanks goes out to an anonymous poster in a prior entry for finding this property

San Diego Market Monitor Statistics

The biggest dollar loss so far has been taken at a 30th floor luxury unit at Park Place. view

The biggest loss percentage on a downtown condo has been on a foreclosed unit at Renaissance. view

Finally the biggest loss percentage recorded on this site to date is on a property in Rancho Bernardo. view

Total Losses: $4,399,178

Total Properties Tracked: 59

Average Loss%: 12.49%

Largest Loss: $220,000

Largest Loss%: 29.66%

Say You Want a Revolution

Columnist Catherine Hockmuth of The Voice of San Diego discusses the current "buyers market".

Catherine also wrote a great piece on renting recently.

I highly recommend both of these articles.

I'll add to her comments that you need to negotiate well and get a good deal for yourself if you're buying in this market. You could easily find yourself $100,000 underwater if you don't do your homework. Her idea of factoring in 5% growth since 2001, a reasonable growth rate of a normal, non-bubble market is a good way of looking at the market. I've actually used the same exact methodology in some of my analysis work. Perhaps I'll add a "5% annual growth rate since 2001" statistic to my posts.


Thanks to Mark for pointing out this article in the comments of a prior post!

Downtown Condo at Palermo #507

Palermo is techically located in downtown's Cortez Hill neighborhood but isn't on the hill and is right on the border with Little Italy.

This building was designed and built as rental apartments (read lower quality) and was coverted into condominiums before completion.

At this point downtown there are many run of the mill one bedrooms on the market (and many coming in 2007) so there really isn't anything to make these properties stand out, except affordability which means lower prices.

Type: Listed on MLS(#061068322)

Resale Price: $425,000
Cost: $441,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $41,500
Loss%: 9.41%

Purchase Date: 04/25/2005
Holding Period: 16 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 749

Purchase Details: view

Another Downtown Luxury Condo Posts a Big Loss - Park Place #1405

This site's biggest recorded loss to date is $220,000. This unit is challenging for the biggest loss title as it's coming in at $176,000. Interestingly enough both of these large loss units are located at Park Place (check the search below or the archives to find the other unit).

Park Place is a Bosa development in downtown's Marina District.

Also noteable is that unit is listed for 10% less than it's value in late 2004!

Price cut history:

Price Reduced: 07/30/06 -- $965,000 to $945,000
Price Reduced: 08/10/06 -- $945,000 to $925,000
Price Reduced: 08/17/06 -- $925,000 to $865,000

Type: Listed on MLS(#066049547)

Resale Price: $865,000
Cost: $990,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $176,900
Loss%: 17.87%

Purchase Date: 12/02/2004
Holding Period: 20 months and counting...

Purchase Details: view

Downtown Luxury Condo at the Meridian #1408

The Meridian is downtown's original luxury tower. Unit #1408 is the first property from Meridian to join the list.

This property was purchased in January of this year and relisted shortly thereafter.

Is this a flipper investment gone awry?

Price cut history:
Price Increased: 04/13/06 -- $735,000 to $739,500
Price Reduced: 05/18/06 -- $739,500 to $699,000
Price Reduced: 06/14/06 -- $699,000 to $675,000
Price Reduced: 08/11/06 -- $675,000 to $650,000

Type: Listed on MLS(#066030286)

Resale Price: $650,000
Cost: $687,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $76,000
Loss%: 11.06%

Purchase Date: 01/19/2006
Holding Period: 7 months and counting...

Purchase Details: view

Up to $120,000 Price Cuts at The Lodge at Bankers Hill

The Lodge at Bankers Hill is a new development that was supposed to be rentals. The project has been converted into for sale condominiums. It should be ready for move ins this fall.

They have announced price cuts and a 4% commission for real estate agents.

I'll speculate that this is going to a very common occurance for the many new projects that are hitting the market over the next year. Stay tuned to this blog as I'll be posting on price activity as I document it.

Single Family Home in Rancho Penasquitos - 12495 Brickellia St.

Rancho Penasquitos join the list with this single family home.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066028880)

Resale Price: $699,000 (Range priced $669,000 to $729,000)
Cost: $775,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $117,940
Loss%: 15.22%

Purchase Date: 06/28/2005
Holding Period: 14 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3
Square Feet: 2420

Purchase Details: view

Credit goes to MANmom with an assist to Lew Breeze as they pointed out and located the details on the property. Thanks guys.

UPDATE: Downtown Condo at The Mills #405

This was actually the very first property featured on this blog back in April. It's still on the market and has taken a $25,000 price cut that puts this property into the growing list of downtown condos that is underwater over $100,000.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066026210)

Resale Price: $720,000
Cost: $795,661

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $118,861
Loss%: 14.94%

Purchase Date: 10/07/2004
Holding Period: 22 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1702

Purchase Details: view

Prior Blog Entry: view

Another Downtown Flipper Condo at Metrome #813

I remember walking down 6th Avenue in the Gaslamp a few years ago. At the time this development was still under construction. I dropped by the Metrome sales office to see the model. I was told emphatically that I need to buy and that they only have a "few units left for sale."

As it turns out Barratt American still has units for sale and the investors that bought are taking losses.

This is the third Metrome condo on this list. Check the search box at the very bottom of the page to find the other two if you're interested in the details.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066044950)

Resale Price: $344,500
Cost: $349,700

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $25,870
Loss%: 7.40%

Purchase Date: 12/30/2005
Holding Period: 8 months and counting...

Bedrooms: Studio
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 605

Purchase Details: view

Downtown San Diego Condo Downturn Featured in Nationwide News Release

The Boston Globe picked up an Associated Press article that focuses on San Diego.

I will say that while this article is useful I'm amazed that they don't reference the specific losses that people are taking on downtown condos.

With all the new projects coming in 2007 next year will be very interesting.

Downtown Condo at Treo #1313

This is the fourth unit at Treo to make the list. The MLS listing describes this unit as a rarely used vacation home with views from every room that has recently had $60,000 in upgrades.

The price was cut on July 14 from $680,000 to the current price of $649,000.

Note the loss calculation below does not factor in upgrades although clearly that's an additional loss in value.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066041054)

Resale Price: $649,000
Cost: $660,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $49,940
Loss%: 7.57%

Purchase Date: 01/05/2005
Holding Period: 19 months and counting...

Purchase Details: view

Yet Another Acqua Vista Condominium - #1406

Acqua Vista is an apartment conversion in Little Italy. It was designed and developed as an apartment building and was sold midway through the development of the building to Hovnanian and was sold as condominiums.

This is the 6th property to make the list. Note that this condo was purchased from the developer and wasn't a flipper unit. There are many units at Acqua Vista that were resold by the first investors. These units are very clearly deeply underwater at this point.

Type: Listed on MLS(#058072623)

Resale Price: $362,000 (Range priced $350,000 to $375,876)
Cost: $381,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $40,720
Loss%: 10.69%

Purchase Date: 03/09/2005
Holding Period: 17 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 655

Purchase Details: view

Another $100,000+ Loss on Downtown Condo at City Walk #320

City Walk was built in 2003 and is downtown's Marina District.

This may have been flipper unit as the property was relisted nine months after the closing. Below is the price cuts that the unit has undergone.

Price Reduced: 12/14/05 -- $860,000 to $839,500
Price Reduced: 03/21/06 -- $839,500 to $819,500
Price Reduced: 04/24/06 -- $819,500 to $795,000
Price Reduced: 06/21/06 -- $795,000 to $765,000
Price Reduced: 07/17/06 -- $765,000 to $750,000

Type: Listed on MLS(#050071897 )

Resale Price: $750,000
Cost: $810,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $105,000
Loss%: 12.96%

Purchase Date: 02/24/2005

Holding Period: 18 months and counting...
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1332

Purchase Details: view

$100,000+ Loss on Downtown Condo at Village Walk #406

Here's another large loss on a condo that was purchased in June of 2004.

Village Walk is a nice project located on the main strip in Little Italy.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066035460)

Resale Price: $569,000
Cost: $640,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $105,140
Loss%: 16.43%

Purchase Date: 06/24/2004
Holding Period: 26 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1232

17% Loss at Downtown Condo at Park and 10th on Cortez Hill #107

This building was built in 1983 and is one of the oldest condo projects in downtown San Diego. It's up on Cortez Hill and is in reasonable shape.

Type: Listed on MLS (#066053984)

Resale Price: $410,000 (Range priced $405,000 to $415,000)
Cost: $469,500

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $84,100
Loss%: 17.91%

Purchase Date: 10/01/2004
Holding Period: 22 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1004

Purchase Details: view

Downtown Condo at Hawthorn Place in Little Italy #105

This is building is only a few years old and is located on the main strip in Little Italy.

The building is fairly nice but doesn't have any amenities.

Type: Closed Sale
Resale Price: $515,000
Cost: $564,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $79,900
Loss%: 14.17%

Resale Date: 08/24/2005
Purchase Date: 10/08/2004

Holding Period: 10 months

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1018

Purchase Details: view

Resale Details: view

Downtown Condo at 350 West Ash #705

This is a 7th floor studio so it will have somewhat of a view. It's very small.

350 West Ash is an "adaptive reuse" project as it was converted recently from an office building into condominiums.

Resale Price: $328,000
Cost: $330,500

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $22,180
Loss%: 6.71%

Purchase Date: 06/25/2005
Holding Period: 14 months and counting...

MLS: 061034959

Purchase Details: view

Resale Details: view

San Diego House Sales Down Again

The San Diego Union Tribune reports on the new DataQuick numbers which show that "Coupled with a slide in sales activity, the decline in median prices followed a 1 percent year-over-year reduction recorded for June. Taken together, the two summer months showed the first back-to-back downturn in prices here since May and June of 1995."

This article also has some great anecdotes about the psychology of the market changing.

Downtown Condo at Village Walk sells for less than 2004 Value - #308

Village Walk in Little Italy joins the list of downtown developments that has had a condo sell for a loss.

Resale Price: $600,000
Cost: $643,600

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $79,600
Loss%: 12.37%

Resale Date: 05/15/2006
Purchase Date: 08/10/2004
Holding Period: 21 months

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1228

Purchase & Resale Details: view

UPDATE: Foreclosed Downtown Condo at Renaissance #507

The foreclosed unit feature in a post a few week ago has endured a $30,000 price cut. It's important to keep in mind that financial institutions are not in the business of owning real estate and will want to get these properties off of the books.

Also keep in mind that if you use the current Fed Funds rate of 5.25% and add in taxes and HOA that the bank is paying this vacant unit is costing over $3,000 per month to carry. This makes cutting the price to get it sold the most practical move.

The numbers below have been updated to reflect the reduced price.

**************************************

Listed on Foreclosure.com as fully foreclosed this unit ended up being owned by WMC Mortgage Corp which presumably was the lender on this unit.

Check out Foreclosure.com for a free trial to access more information on this unit.

The site shows this as inactive so let's assume the unit has changed hands again.

Resale Price: $599,000
Cost: $760,000

MLS: 061033138

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $196,940
Loss%: 25.91%

Purchase Date: 10/25/2004
Purchase Details: view

Bank Owned Downtown Condo - Park Boulevard West #1110

Here's another condo that's fallen into the hands of the lender.

Park Boulevard West is a low rise project in the Ball Park District.

Resale Price: $364,900
Cost: $380,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $36,994
Loss%: 9.74%

Purchase Date: 11/05/2004
Holding Period: 21 months and counting...

MLS: 061069101

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 689

Purchase Details: view

Downtown Condo at Metrome #504

Metrome is a new building that still has developer units for sale.

I think this transaction illustrates nicely the pending scenarios for thousands of condos that are being delivered downtown in 2007. Investors or even regular buyers close on their unit from the developer only to compete with many brand new units for sale in the same building.

The loss numbers don't include staging or negative cash flows from holding a vacant property.

Resale Price: $501,000
Cost: $509,900

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $38,960
Loss%: 7.64%

Resale Date: 07/05/2006
Purchase Date: 09/14/2005
Holding Period: 10 months

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 994

Purchase Details: view

Resale Details: view

Nationwide Home Builder: Oversupply slump worst in 40 years

Toll Brothers came out today with a cut in its earnings forecast and also discussed some major problems in the national housing market.

When will lenders start to pullback on credit terms and start charging higher interest rates?

Icon - New Condo Development Near Petco Park

Based on my ongoing analysis of the downtown market it appears that Icon will be the first of the many new condo towers under construction to be completed and start closing escrows in early 2007.

Icon's tallest building is 24 stories and will house 327 condos.

They are advertising several units in the MLS with somewhat high prices, certainly not bargains. Typically this means there are a number of unsold, non-MLS listed units as the developers rarely expose their entire inventory, especially it if it relatively high.

I would like to understand how "sticky" the escrows are for this project. If early phase pricing is fairly high we may see a high cancellation rate.

Does anyone know what the early phase pricing was like on this project?

Does anyone know how many unsold units this project has?

Large Loss on Luxury Downtown Condo at The Grand South #1305

This property has been on the market for over a year. It was purchased from the original buyer and relisted six months later. Either this was a "double flip" unit or the owners can't sleep at night with the trains that go by all night long.

The MLS pictures look staged, if so this unit is kicking off a lot of negative cash flow to go with the below cost sales price.

Resale Price: $1,050,000 (Range priced $1,000,000 to $1,100,000)
Cost: $1,150,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $163,000
Loss%: 14.17%

Purchase Date: 10/19/2004
Holding Period: 22 months and counting...

MLS: 061050873

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1625

Purchase Details: view

Metro Lofts Price Cuts

The San Diego Daily Transcript reports that Metro Lofts which is five individual projects in Little Italy and the Ballpark District has just endured price cuts up to $70,000.

These are loft type rental apartments that are being converted into condos. For the most part none of them have amenities.

I am planning to post an analysis of how many units are in each building and how many have closed sale.

Please note that the story on the San Diego Daily Transcript site requires a login.

The Sun Always Shines in San Diego

The Voice of San Diego reports on the County of San Diego Assessor Greg Smith's opinion on the market.

Single Family House in Pacific Beach - 1713 Diamond Street

Pacific Beach makes the list with this small home near the beach.

Check out the sales history:

08/12/2005: $560,000
01/17/2003: $370,000
05/22/1998: $171,000

How can a property worth $370,000 in 2003 suddenly be worth $560,000 a few years later?

Resale Price: $535,000 (Range priced $510,000 to $560,000)
Cost: $560,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $57,100

Purchase Date: 08/12/2005
Holding Period: 12 months and counting...

MLS: 062067464

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 568

Purchase Details: view

Thanks to Lickitysplit from the Piggington site for pointing out this property.

Downtown Condo at Acqua Vista #310

This development is taking a real beating as this is the fifth unit that I've posted on in this blog. This illustrates the danger of an apartment conversion purchase. The quality just isn't there, as the market corrects I suspect that converted units will take a larger percentage loss than the higher quality properties.

Resale Price: $316,000
Cost: $331,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $33,960
Loss%: 10.26%

Resale Date: 06/08/2005
Purchase Date: 12/13/2004
Holding Period: 18 months

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 758

Purchase Details: view

Resale Details: view

Another Foreclosed Condo at Discovery #1902

Here's a bank owned unit that is fully foreclosed and listed for less than its value in June of 2004.

As usual the loss calcuation does not include carrying costs, since this unit is vacant the loss is much more than the value below.

It's interesting to note that this condo was priced at $474,000 by Bosa, the developer in June 2001. Anyone have a guess as to what this unit will be worth in August 2007?

More details about this and thousands of other properties availabe at Foreclosure.com

Resale Price: $805,000
Cost: $820,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $63,300

Purchase Date: 06/25/2004
Holding Period: 26 months and counting...

MLS: 061047063

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1230

Purchase Details: N/A

Downtown Condo at Vista Acqua Vista #212

Add unit #212 to the growing list of Acqua Vista condos that have sold for a loss.

Resale Price: $332,000
Cost: $337,798

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $25,718
Loss%: 7.61%

Resale Date: 06/15/2006
Purchase Date: 07/20/2004
Holding Period: 23 months

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 769

Resale Details: view

Purchase Details: view

San Diego Market Monitor Statistics

It's been an interesting few months, I thought I'd share some statistics that I've compiled from the posts in this blog. If you want to read the details there is a Google Search at the bottom or you can browse the archives using the links on the right side of the screen.

Total Losses: $2,862,926

Total Properties Tracked: 38

Average Loss%: 12.41%

Largest Loss: $220,000

Largest Loss%: 29.66%

Downtown Condo at Discovery #907

This unit is in pretty rough shape as it only has one parking spot which most large units downtown offer.

Discovery is a nice building located on Cortez Hill which is the outermost neighborhood in the city.

The MLS pictures show a vacant unit so there is likely a motivated seller holding this unit.

Resale Price: $625,000 (Range priced $599,649 to $649,000)
Cost: $725,000
Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $137,500

Purchase Date: 08/05/2004
Loss%: 18.97%
Holding Period: 24 months and counting...

MLS: 066053535

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1230

Purchase Details: view

UPDATE: Downtown Condo at Crown Bay #404

This for sale unit was price cut another $30,000 today. This moves the loss up to $54,600.

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First known loss at Crown Bay. This building is a midrise property in the Gaslamp Quarter across from the San Diego Convention Center

Resale Price: $410,000
Cost: $440,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $54,600

Purchase Date: 07/01/2005

MLS: 066044081

Holding Period: 12 months and counting...
Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 694

Purchase Details: view

Yet Another Treo Unit Sinks Below 2004 Valuation - Treo #1700

Thanks to Dave for pointing out this Treo unit in the comments from an earlier post.

I'm using an average price to calculated the loss even though it sounds like it fell out of escrow at $750,000. Sometimes I try to look on the brightside. :)

Note that this unit does appear to be blocked by some of the future development between India Street and the Bay so this unit has lost some of it's "location location location" appeal since the last time it changed hands.

Resale Price: $789,938
Cost: $845,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $102,458
Loss%: 12.13%

Purchase Date: 06/30/2004
Holding Period: 26 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2.5
Square Feet: 1337

Purchase Details: view

San Diego Mortgage Defaults Double

Yet another datapoint on our declining market, the San Diego Union Tribune reports that mortgage default notices more than double.

I think it's safe to assume that a fair number of these homes will be for sale as the current owners are not able to carry the monthly payments.

Check out Foreclosure.com for a free trial to view all of San Diego's foreclosure activity.

Vacant Flipper Studio Gets 4th Price Cut - Park Boulevard East #111

The psychology of this market is very interesting to observe. This unit was originally listed in the high 300s and has since been price cut to the exact price the investor paid just over a year ago.

Since I personally visited this unit awhile back I can tell you that it was rented for awhile but has been vacant for a solid four months while the unit has been for sale. I have to say that the unit isn't worth much more than $1,500 per month which indicates a price much much lower than $299,900.

Note that as usual the loss below does not factor negative cash flow.

Resale Price: $299,900
Cost: $299,900

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $17,994
Purchase Date: 06/28/2005
Holding Period: 14 months and counting...

MLS: 066006475

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 667

Purchase Details: view

Multi-Million Dollar Condo Takes a Loss - Park Place #3001

No sector of the market seems immune to the price reduction trend. This is the first known loss taken at Park Place which is a condo tower in downtown San Diego's Marina District

Resale Price: $2,000,000
Cost: $2,100,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $220,000

Resale Date: 06/15/2006
Purchase Date: 01/03/2005

Loss%: 10.47%

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 2047

Purchase Details: view

Resale Details: view

UTC Apartment Conversion Project Reverts to Rentals, Lawsuits Begin

Very interested San Diego Union Tribune article about a UTC area project. The lawsuits are over misrepresentations over square footage. It's also very noteable that they are haven't sold out phase one and phase two is staying as rentals for the moment. The people that bought in phase one are very much in trouble.

Wow, Phoenix is Falling Apart

Here's a slight departure from the San Diego Market, very telling article about what is taking place in Phoenix right now.