San Diego real estate listings that sold and closed during March 2011 for resale condos, townhomes and detached single family homes as reported through Sandicor and the San Diego Association of Realtors were as follow:

Attached Single Family Homes (Condos – Townhomes)
Total Sales Volume: March – $251,758,411 – YTD – $605,004,697
Average Sales Price: March – $278,494 – YTD – $256,684
Median Sales Price: March – $210,000 – YTD – $205,000
Sold Listings: March – 904 – YTD – 2,357
Average Days on Market: March – 98 – YTD – 98

Detached Single Family Homes
Total Sales Volume: March – $884,283,257 – YTD – $2,133,073,982
Average Sales Price: March – $508,794 – YTD – $490,700
Median Sales Price: March – $385,000 – YTD – $370,000
Sold Listings: March – 1,738 – YTD – 4,347
Average Days on Market: March – 84 – YTD – 89

Source: Multiple Listing Service of Sandicor, Inc.

Compared to last month, March sold listings saw a significant jump of 36.10% in detached homes and a 36.35% increase in attached (townhome and condominium) homes. We expected that big jump to come in spring and looks like spring came a bit early this year. Compared to March of last year closed sales, sales of detached homes decreased a bit by 0.29% while sales of attached homes also decreased by 5.96%. Looking at the total number of sold listings of the last 12 months, we can see that we are back to April of 2010 levels which was a very busy time as a result of the home tax credit that was available to most home buyers. If the sales continue to increase each month, we can very well surpass last year’s peak.

The March Median price also increased from the February figures. In March median sale prices for detached homes increased by 7.24% and by 3.44% for townhomes and condominiums. However, median prices still remain lower when compared to those of March of 2010 as they reflect a decrease of 3.02% for detached and 6.66% for attached homes. January and February of this year posted the lowest median prices in the last 12 months. However home sales in March saw a jump of about $15,000 for detached and a $7,000 increase for attached homes. Overall, prices still remain fairly steady.

The number of active listings did not significantly changed in March, however the number of pending and contingent listings are up again for the second month in a row. Just like last month these pending listings should reflect as sold listings in the next month.

As normally happens after a big jump in sales, the months of estimated inventory decreased from just over 6 months to about 4.5 months. If sales follow the patterns we expect during the next few months, inventory levels could be to about 3 months by June. Combined with the historically low interest rates, we could also see the highest increase in median price during the past 12 months in the early months of summer.

As a reminder, the above numbers represent condos and detached homes that closed escrow during the month of March 2011 and have actually been taken of the market during January or February 2011.