We’ve been following the new and resale SFR market in San Elijo Hills since January. Resale inventory has been in the mid 60’s for several weeks. If you add in condos, the inventory nearly doubles. If you use the interactive map feature in Zip Realty, things look a little clustery.
As for the new stuff, things have the potential to get a little dicey. As of last Saturday, there were 36 unsold builder homes that have been released. This is up substantially since our first visit in January. There are two reasons for this. One, three new neighborhoods have had first phase releases in the last few weeks adding to supply. Two, the new homes there are just not selling as readily as they were.
Pulte is in the latter phases of their two neighborhoods. Their latest phase releases did not sell out including some high-end ocean view lots priced in the low to mid 900’s. They still had 11 homes available in their two neighborhoods. They have also been farming stuff out on the MLS through a Prudential agent in Carlsbad.
Other than the ocean view lots, there has been some discounting (both price and upgrades). For an example of the pricing discount, check the SEH website versus Pulte’s own website.
For the brand new neighborhoods, the first phase releases were less than spectacular. The highest end neighborhood by DR Horton was less than half sold.
First phase sales for the two Richmond American neighborhoods fared poorly. The higher end of their two neighborhoods had sold one home (in a release of seven homes) in about three weeks (there was also one house reserved by a buyer who had not yet qualified).
In their defense, they’re trying to sell these homes well before the models are built (probably mid-summer). Then again, that didn’t stop people from buying up releases two years ago.
Regarding the Mello Roos assessments, I’ve seen a couple of property tax bills in there and they appear to be more in the $300-400 range per month.
One last anecdote to share. At an Open House about a month ago, I was chatting with a realtor. Her one telling comment was that she thought there were a lot of overextended people in SEH. I saw all the confirmation I needed when I drove through Pulte’s two neighborhoods. More ragged landscaping than I would have expected (Hollowbrook Ct. stood out in that regard).
We like the location. If we can find something with a pool-sized lot and a modicum of privacy at the right price, we’ll pull the trigger. However, I’m not expecting that this year.
