Santee Real Estate Wrap-Up: Sale Prices Up 14% Compared to 2012

By Nikki Coppa

Santee is posting attractive combined sale price gains over 2012 year to date (YTD) of 14 percent, exceeding the 13 percent East County average and falling just short of the 18 percent San Diego County increase. The highest sale reported YTD in Santee has jumped to $879,000. 

The active inventory dearth facing Santee is more caustic than in most other communities in East County and throughout San Diego County as a whole. With only an 18 day supply of attached inventory and a 21 day supply of detached inventory available to sell, buyers are facing fierce competition in the negotiation process.

The current active inventory mix features an increasing number of traditional sales at 82 percent, foreclosures at 9 percent and short sales at 9 percent. The resurgence of traditional sales is welcome news for buyers as the traditional sale process typically results in faster seller response times to offers and more reliable closing timelines.

In most areas, average sale price is increasing because of the inventory shortage, not high end property sales. For example, in Santee last month we had the one sale for $879,000, but other than that every other sale was in the range of $215,000 – $445,000, with only three sales over $400,000.

At the moment, when a property comes to market, there are at least 10 offers in the first 48-72 hours. If a property is listed for $350,000, buyers offer higher and higher. The seller accepts the highest offer (most often), let’s say that is $400,00. Then the appraisal comes in at $340,000 and the buyer expects the seller to drop the price down to $340,000. The smart listing agents are advising their sellers to eliminate the appraisal contingency in the contract and ask for proof of funds for to pay the difference between the price they offered and the appraisal price. On the example above, this means that the buyer would obtain a loan based on $340,000 and bring an extra $60,000 to close escrow.

Why would a buyer do this? Basically, if they don't, they'll have to compete for the next home listed, and it will likely sell for more than the previous home. If the buyer doesn’t throw the cash in now, they will likely pay more for the next one that comes to market.

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