$100,000+ Loss on 4S Ranch Home - 9965 Fieldthorn St, San Diego, CA 92127

Here's a great example of a single family detached home in North County San Diego that's seen a signficant value decline since it last changed hands just less than a year ago.

The price reduction history below speaks for itself:

Price Reduced: 07/21/06 -- $545,000 to $530,000
Price Reduced: 09/13/06 -- $530,000 to $519,000
Price Reduced: 09/23/06 -- $519,000 to $500,000
Price Reduced: 10/16/06 -- $500,000 to $490,000

Type: Listed on MLS(#066046518)

Resale Price: $495,000
(Range priced $490,000 to $500,000)
Cost: $571,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $105,700
Loss%: 18.51%

Purchase Date: 11/30/2005
Holding Period: 11 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2.5
Square Feet: 1581

Purchase Details: view

Thanks to John for the lead on the property. Send examples of losses to me directly at brightside@inbox.com!

Downtown Condo at Palermo #201

Palermo is another apartment conversion that's made this blog on a number of occaisions. This one is noteable as this isn't a flipper unit as it was purchased from the developer.

This development is located on "lower" Cortez Hill on the border with Little Italy. If you come downtown using 5 South and take the Front Street exit you'll drive right by this property.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066079965)

Resale Price: $699,000
Cost: $719,990

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $62,930
Loss%: 8.74%

Purchase Date: 06/30/2005
Holding Period: 16 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1568

Purchase Details: view

Fraud? Or just risk?

Very interesting article on more fraud and malfeasance in the real estate investment arena. Note that Crown Pointe Villas has been discussed on this blog before so now we're getting some answers on what has been taking place there.

Fraud? Or just risk? | The San Diego Union-Tribune

Downtown Condo at Diamond Terrace #607

Diamond Terrace is in the Ballpark District near Petco Park.

This small studio has lost $50,000+ in just on year and is listed as a short sale on the MLS. A short sale in the real estate market is defined as a sale that is taking place for less than what is currently owed. The bank ends up park of the sales process as it will be taking a loss at closing and has to agree to the sales price.

Type: Listed on MLS(#068080946)

Resale Price: $295,450
(Range priced $285,000 to $305,900)
Cost: $329,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $51,277
Loss%: 15.59%

Purchase Date: 12/19/2005
Holding Period: 10 months and counting...

Bedrooms: Studio
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 467

Purchase Details: view

Foreclosed Downtown Condo at Union Square #2627

Union Square is deep in the East Village in a somewhat rough area.

This unit is one of the very nice loft units. Other very similar loft units sold for over $600,000 at the height of the boom. This unit sold in late 2004 for $565,000 and has since gone into foreclosure.

Foreclosure.com indicates the unit is now owned by Morgan Stanley which is a very large financial services firm.

Resale Price: $499,900
Cost: $565,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $95,094
Loss%: 16.83%

Purchase Date: 12/10/2004
Holding Period: 22 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1250

Purchase Details: view

Union Tribune: Local home prices continue to fall

Noteable stats in this article include "The $476,000 overall median was down $6,000 from August and off $22,000 from September last year, the biggest year-over-year dollar reduction DataQuick has reported since it began keeping local records in 1988."

The article also notes that prices have moved back to early 2005 levels. I suspect we are heading towards 2004 soon in terms of the median price. This blog has many many examples of properties that are listed or have sold for less than 2004 prices.

Local home prices continue to fall

UPDATE: $56,000 Price Cut on Downtown Condo at La Vita #1804

Here's an update to a prior post on a one bedroom at La Vita.

The unit has just taken a $56,000 price cut to drive the loss to a massive ~$79,000, that's a substantial loss an 18 month and counting investment. In terms of a "rent adjusted cost" calculation the loss plus the mortgage payment is likely $8,000 per month, that's a lot of money for a small one bedroom apartment.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066037517 )

Resale Price: $399,000
Cost: $455,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $79,940
Loss%: 17.57%


Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 706

Purchase Date: 04/29/2005
Holding Period: 18 months and counting...

Purchase Details: view

Luxury Condo at Cityfront Terrace sells for less than it did in 2004 - #508

CityFront Terrace is a luxury condominium project in the Marina District downtown.

This unit has closed sale for ~7% less than the price it changed hands for two years ago. I have been reading quotes from sales people lately that state "We are down to a normal 5-6% annual appreciation downtown". I don't know where they are getting these numbers and I'd love to get a sense for what they are referring to.

Type: Closed Sale

Resale Price: $565,000
Cost: $612,500

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $81,400
Loss%: 13.29%

Resale Date: 07/11/2006

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1046

Purchase Date: 10/08/2004
Holding Period: 21 months

Purchase Details: view

Resale Details: view

UPDATE: Yet Another Acqua Vista Condominium - #1406

A roughly $35,000 big price cut just went throughh on a prior entry. I think the pain here is starting to amp up a bit as this is a lot of money to lose on a small one bedroom condo.

Note this unit was listed, expired, and has now been relisted with a new MLS number which is noted below.

Type: Listed on MLS(#068084575)

Resale Price: $325,000
(Range priced $320,000 to $330,000)
Cost: $381,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $75,500
Loss%: 19.82%

Purchase Date: 03/09/2005
Holding Period: 19 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 655

Purchase Details: view

Union Tribune: S.D. home price fall predicted at 8.5%

Timely article from the Union Tribune commenting on the national report from Moody's Economy on the national housing market that was released today.

Keep in mind that "Condos were excluded from Economy.com's forecast because it lacked good data." Note that condos historically are more volatile than single family detached housing.

SignOnSanDiego.com S.D. home price fall predicted at 8.5%

Downtown Condo at El Cortez #407

The El Cortez is the landmark at the very top of Cortez Hill, if you're driving on the 5 or 163 you'll notice the flashing "El Cortez" neon sign at the top of the building.

This listing is interesting as it's both the first property in the building to make in on the blog, it's another new listing in general that starts out below what the owner paid for the unit and the unit is listed below what the current owner paid the developer of the project.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066084499)

Resale Price: $379,900
Cost: $410,500

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $53,394
Loss%: 13.01%

Purchase Date: 01/28/2005
Holding Period: 21 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: n/a

Purchase Details: view

Downtown Condo at Metrome #702

This fairly large studio at Metrome is the fourth property from the Ballpark District complex to make the list.

I suspect that a majority of the units sold are now worth less than the current owners paid. Note the developer is still selling units in this complex.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066084019)

Resale Price: $342,000
Cost: $356,700

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $35,220
Loss%: 9.87%

Purchase Date: 10/21/2005
Holding Period: 12 months and counting...

Bedrooms: Studio
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 718

Purchase Details: view

Mortgage Broker Forced into Short Sale on Downtown Condo at Acqua Vista #206

More evidence that the real estate slowdown is starting to impact local investors, this Acqua Vista unit is noted as a vacant and staged short sale by a mortgage broker.

Acqua Vista isn't a stranger to this blog, note this was an original purchase from the developer and not a flip purchase which is also an interesting detail as this would seem to indicate that at least a portion of the original sales between the developer, Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc, and the original buyers have now yielded a negative return.

Another interesting detail is Foreclosure.com lists five Acqua Vista properties currently undergoing foreclosure proceedings.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066083899)

Resale Price: $329,000
(Range priced $299,000 to $359,000)
Cost: $355,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $45,740
Loss%: 12.88%

Purchase Date: 10/28/2004
Holding Period: 24 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 821

Purchase Details: view

Downtown Condo at The Mills #522

The Mills is an apartment conversion on Cortez Hill.

The lofts units are probably the most over-priced real estate downtown so this price cut to a large loss comes as no surprise.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066083981)

Resale Price: $499,900
Cost: $557,900

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $87,994
Loss%: 15.77%

Purchase Date: 03/29/2005
Holding Period: 19 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 953

Purchase Details: view

Big Loss on Downtown Condo at Treo #318

Treo is a high rise building in downtown's Columbia neighborhood. This is very close to the highly debated Broadway development that has been in the news lately.

This unit was purchased one year ago and has caused a serious loss to occur. At $70,000+ the cost of living in this small non-view one bedroom condo approaches $8,000 per month!

Type: Listed on MLS(#066083604)

Resale Price: $359,990
Cost: $410,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $71,609
Loss%: 17.47%

Purchase Date: 09/30/2005
Holding Period: 12 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 687

Purchase Details: view

Another High-End Downtown Condo Lists for a Loss - Cityfront Terrace #1601

Cityfront Terrace is a mid-rise development in the Marina District.

In a bit of irony it was developed as condos during the previous real estate boom and bust cycle and couldn't be sold as condominiums so it was reverted to a rental property for a number of years. The units were then sold off as condominiums again when the now busting boom cycle was underway.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066082869)

Resale Price: $839,000
Cost: $880,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $91,340
Loss%: 10.38%

Purchase Date: 12/08/2005
Holding Period: 9 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1492


Purchase Details: view

Yet another Downtown Condo at Acqua Vista #105

Here's another unit at Acqua Vista that's listed for a loss. This is a new listing so again it's interesting that people are coming out with their first price that's less than they paid. This is the only practical approach if you need to sell.

For new readers of this blog Acqua Vista is a newer building in downtown's Little Italy neighborhood. It was developed as a rental property and was converted into condos before the building was completed.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066082919 )

Resale Price: $555,777
(Range priced $530,777 to $580,777)
Cost: $594,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $71,570
Loss%: 12.05%

Purchase Date: 10/14/2005
Holding Period: 11 months and counting...

Purchase Details: view

Luxury Downtown Condo at Park Place Sells for $98,000 Loss - #506

Park Place is a high rise Bosa building in downtown's Marina District.

This is the third showing on the list for Park Place.

Park Place is one of downtown's premier buildings in one of the best neighborhoods so this should give you a pretty good indication of the price peformance of higher end units since 2004.

Type: Closed Sale

Resale Price: $800,000
Cost: $850,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $98,000
Loss%: 11.53%

Resale Date: 08/11/2006
Purchase Date: 10/28/2004
Holding Period: 22 months

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1227

Purchase Details: view

Resale Details: view

Condo conversion craze grinds to halt

The Union Tribune weighs in with this timely article on the end of the condo conversion craze.

I think that the likely thousands of apartments that are empty are a strong factor in the boost in the strength of the rental market.

Luxury Downtown Condo at Horizons Listed Below 2004 Cost - #905

Horizons is a Bosa development in the Marina District.

This luxury unit has been on the market for almost three months.

Price cut history of this unit:
Price Reduced: 08/03/06 -- $829,900 to $819,900
Price Reduced: 09/07/06 -- $819,900 to $799,900

Type: Listed on MLS(#068054852)

Resale Price: $799,900
Cost: $810,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $58,094
Loss%: 7.17%

Purchase Date: 09/10/2004
Holding Period: 24 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1245

Purchase Details: view

Downtown Condo at Acqua Vista #433

Here's another unit at Acqua Vista that's listed below the price the current owners paid the developer.

Also interesting is that they listed this unit for a loss without putting the unit at a higher price, not getting any offers (or likely no walkthroughs) and then cutting the price. Perhaps we are at a point where almost everyone including real estate agents recognize the market for having made a clear move down.

Going back to my point about listing below developer price, there were a fair number of flipped units in this building so the losses must be mounting.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066081157)

Resale Price: $384,900
Cost: $391,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $29,194
Loss%: 7.47%

Purchase Date: 04/01/2005
Holding Period: 17 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 1

Square Feet: 877


Purchase Details: view

More Unhappy Condo Owners - www.elcortez.info

Just up Cortez Hill from the under-development SmartCorner that was featured in the previous post, some of the owners and neighbors of the historic El Cortez are organizing to stop the proposed 777 Beech development which is proposed for the same block as the El Cortez.

I have no idea if all of the accusations on the elcortez.info website are true but they are very much worth a read. I did not know that the highly touted Mills Act property tax discount is being debated. I am also suspect of the sales practices of condo developments so I'm not surprised about some of the accusations.

I do think some more retail, which 777 Beech is proposing, would be very beneficial to Cortez Hill.

http://www.elcortez.info/

smartcornersucks.com

More controversy on a downtown high-rise project that is under development. The developer seems to have found a way to raise prices which is leaving contracted customers unhappy. Ironcically prices are going down, the developer may have been better off just leaving the prices where they were.

SMARTCORNERSUCKS.COM

Downtown Real Estate Sales People Starting to Feel the Pinch

A two bedroom unit located at Crown Bay in the Gaslamp District has slipped into foreclosure proceedings. Purchased for $750,000 in October 2004 it is not currently listed for sale, however I highly doubt it is worth that much in the current market.

Foreclosure.com shows a default of $26,884. While all this is becoming pretty standard the interesting detail is the owner of this unit is a real estate agent, in fact I believe the realty office is located in the Crown Bay building.

In the interest of privacy I won't copy the name, note the information is public and can be found by logging on to foreclosure.com. County records also indicate the same person owns 2621 Covington Road in North Park which is currently listed on the MLS (066032831). This indication of cash flow problems is yet another data point that the market has changed. I do believe we are just getting started as the market has a quite a lot of correcting to do before prices and fundamental valuations converge.

350 K Street #405 purchase details: view

The Upride Ends: Now It Gets Interesting

Don Bauder from the Reader ask a very appropriate question about what happens next now that the price boom is clearly over.

My own view is that we are just getting started and we won't know until this time next year how big the selloff is going to be.

The Upride Ends: Now It Gets Interesting

Yet another "Short Sale" listing - Downtown Condo at ParkLoft #218

This entry validates a what is becoming a clear trend, once again the MLS listing markets this property as a "Short Sale", this means the owner of the property is selling at a loss. That's obvious when you review the numbers below.

To be down $138,000 in just less than a year is quite interesting.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066078740)

Resale Price: $560,000
(Range priced $540,000 to $580,000)
Cost: $665,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $138,600
Loss%: 20.84%

Purchase Date: 09/26/2005
Holding Period: 12 months and counting...

Bedrooms: Loft
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 1281

Purchase Details: view

883 Antilla Way, San Marcos, CA 92078

We're heading up to San Marcos for this post as we focus on a home that was purchased in early 2005 that's been listed and relisted a few times.

Also noteable as that the houses on each side of this property are also for sale.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066078490)

Resale Price: $887,500
(Range priced $925,000 to $850,000)
Cost: $931,887

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $97,637
Loss%: 10.48%

Purchase Date: 03/03/2005
Holding Period: 18 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 4.5
Square Feet: 3,607

Purchase Details: view

Flippers Flee, Long-Term Investors Hold On

I love the "Where are they now" type of article, Kelley Bennett from the Voice of San Diego follows up on some of the investors in that now classic Money Magazine article on San Diego real estate from a little over a year ago.

voiceofsandiego.org: Flippers Flee, Long-Term Investors Hold On

Union Tribune: Housing still cooling

The updated aggegrate numbers are out and prices are down. Personally I don't think these numbers are especially useful as they don't tell the story as well as looking at specific properties or doing a comparables analysis.

There is no question in my mind that if you want to get a generic property sold you need to offer a compelling price.

SignOnSanDiego.com -- Housing still cooling

Huge Loss on Foreclosed Condo in Pacific Beach - Crown Point Villas #7

Listed on Foreclosure.com as fully foreclosed and bank owned this Pacific Beach condominium carries a massive loss of $129,000 and that's not including the $5,000 carpet and paint credit offered at closing.

You can discern from the price cut history that the lender that owns the unit wants it off of its books:

Price Reduced: 07/01/06 -- $515,000 to $505,000
Price Reduced: 07/17/06 -- $505,000 to $495,000
Price Reduced: 08/25/06 -- $495,000 to $485,000

I'm very curious what the rules are, accounting, regulatory or otherwise, that the banks are financial institutions are under when holding foreclosed properties. These institutions would seem to be highly motivated to cut the price in order to get a buyer into the unit. Of course this has downward price pressure ramifications for the rest of the market.

Type: Listed on MLS(#061047870)

Resale Price: $485,000
Cost: $585,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $129,100
Loss%: 22.07%

Purchase Date: 01/31/2005
Holding Period: 20 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 913

Purchase Details: view

Thanks to Gary for finding this property!

Downtown Condo at City Walk #124

This is the second City Walk unit to hit the list in less than a week.

Again City Walk is a nice low rise condominium project located in downtown's Marina District. There are no view restricting projects or other neighborhood changes so the decline in property values are completely market oriented.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066055267)

Resale Price: $620,000
Cost: $650,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $67,200
Loss%: 10.34%

Purchase Date: 10/15/2004
Holding Period: 23 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1225

Purchase Details: view

Interesting "Price Cut" Activity at Metrome

Metrome is a low rise condominium in the Ballpark District. Three specific properties have come up on this blog:

Metrome #608
Metrome #504
Metrome #813

Now the new interesting part, Metrome is still not sold out, the first wave of closings occurred starting in August 2005. Based on normal procedures this would have been the units that were reserved during the construction of the development.

Unit 606, a 994 square foot one bedroom one bath unit closed September 23, 2005 for $550,700 purchase details

Unit 706, also a 994 square foot, one bedroom, one bath unit closes almost a year later on August 17, 2006 for $495,000. Since there were no prior closings on this unit we can assume that this was an unsold unit that the developer has been holding for a year and has cut the price. purchase details

Since condo developments are pretty cookie cutter in the sense that a particular "stack" in the building will be identical with perhaps large patios on the ground floor units and vaulted or higher ceilings for the top floor it's pretty easy to do a comp analysis. These two units are on top of each other so they're virtually identical, in fact the cheaper unit is one floor higher and perhaps even has a better view. Note that Metrome is an eight story building and the two units are on the 6th and 7th floor so there isn't a penthouse premium that skews the analysis.

Assuming unit 606 is worth what the unit above closed for and the usual 6% sales expenses this property is underwater $85,400!

This example clearly shows the risk embedded in purchasing a generic condominium in an unsold out building. As we have seen with the posts on Cortez Blu and The Lodge at Bankers Hill, developers can and will cut the prices to move unsold property.

With so many new buildings completing downtown in the next year or two, many that aren't fully reserved at this point, it will be very interesting to watch how the market digests all these properties.

Downtown Condo Acqua Vista #1004

Readers of this site will be familiar with the Acqua Vista story; designed and built as rental grade housing, converted at the near top of the boom, units selling for less than orginal price.

The MLS listing describes this condo as having $40,000 in upgrades. The pictures verify this as the usually drab Acqua Vista kitchen has been upgraded and the unit has wood floors. The loss below does not include any upgrades, just dollars in dollars out assuming 6% sales expenses.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066057486)

Resale Price: $507,938
(Range priced $485,000 to $530,876)
Cost: $570,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $92,538
Loss%: 16.23%

Purchase Date: 01/27/2005
Holding Period: 20 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 938

Purchase Details: view

voiceofsandiego.org: News... If They Build It, Will Buyers Come?

Local homebuilders are cutting back, all the way down to the coffee in the breakroom.

voiceofsandiego.org: News... If They Build It, Will Buyers Come?

Downtown Condo at City Walk #423

The MLS listing markets this listing as a "Short sale!" which in the real estate business means the property is selling for less than is owed on it.

It's interesting to note that the property was originally purchased from the developer from $415,456 in February 2003.

City Walk is located in the Marina District downtown and is a low rise building, it's only a few years old.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066076942)

Resale Price: $612,500
(Range priced $575,000 to $650,000)
Cost: $650,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $74,250
Loss%: 11.42%

Purchase Date: 06/13/2005
Holding Period: 15 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Feet: 1330

Purchase Details: view

San Diego Real Estate Agent Meltsdown, Attacks Reporter

Frankly this is pretty unbelievable. Between the identity theft, mortgage fraud and assault and battery caught on video this agent is pretty much done.

Since this guy owns a number of properties and is in serious criminal and civil trouble these properties have a good chance of going into foreclosure.

Downtown Condo at Discovery #503

Discovery is a 199 unit high rise condominium in the Cortez Hill neighborhood downtown.

On the one hand this entry is "only" a $40,000 loss however this unit happens to be a very good comparable to the Cortez Blu unit featured in this entry.

Both units have only one parking spot, don't have a view (if anything the Cortez Blu unit has a slight view). Discovery does have nice amenities so let's be fair and give it a 10% price advantage.

As noted in the prior entry the Cortez Blu unit was offered at $350 a square foot. At $385 per square foot this Discovery unit is worth $473,500! Clearly a substantial discount to the unit's current list price.

Type: Listed on MLS(#066061752)

Resale Price: $595,000
Cost: $600,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $40,700
Loss%: 6.78%

Purchase Date: 08/30/2004
Holding Period: 25 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1230

Purchase Details:view

The Last Stand of the 6-Percenters? - New York Times

I normally post local stories or of course examples of specific properties in San Diego, however I think this New York Times piece on the national real estate industry is a must read.


Please note that nytimes.com requires a login.

Downtown Condo at Park View #216

This small two bedroom is located in one of downtown's older buildings on Cortez Hill. Since it's rental value is probably no more than $1,200 a month you would really wonder why someone would pay twice that amount to own a marginal unit like this one.

Type: Listed on MLS(#068075764)

Resale Price: $380,000 (Range priced $360,000 to $400,000)
Cost: $405,000

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $47,800
Loss%: 11.80%

Purchase Date: 10/01/2004
Holding Period: 23 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 919

Purchase Details: view

"Everybody wants to live in San Diego" Downtown Condo at Acqua Vista #959

This is a very interesting property as I believe this is the Acqua Vista unit discussed in this Union Tribune article from April of 2005.

This is more evidence of speculators taking losses on downtown properties. How many of the thousands of condos to be delivered downtown are under contract with speculators? Keep in mind that the buildings that are underway all started sales during a very pro-downtown "can't lose" environment.

Additionally interesting is that the Park Boulevard West unit discussed in this article generated approximately $75,000 in profit. The simplified loss on this unit is $46,060 however I doubt it sells for this price and as noted in the UT article it was a negative cash flow rental. County records show property tax of $5,986. Since this unit has only one parking spot and it's in a marginal building that was initially developed as a rental project it's unlikely it'll sell at this price point. At this point this investor experience downtown between the two properties is breakeven at best.

Type:Listed on MLS(#066037976)

Resale Price: $489,000
Cost: $505,720

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $46,060
Loss%: 9.11%

Purchase Date: 08/02/2004
Holding Period: 25 months and counting...

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 987

Purchase Details: view

Another Downtown Condo at Gaslamp City Square #703

Here's another unit at Gaslamp City Square that's sold for less than it last changed hands for in late 2004.

Type: Closed Sale

Resale Price: $618,000
Cost: $631,881

Loss@6% Sales Expenses: $50,961
Loss%: 8.06%

Resale Date: 05/16/2006
Purchase Date: 12/10/2004
Holding Period: 17 months

Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Square Feet: 1016

Purchase Details: view

Resale Details: view

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.