Scripps Ranch real estate housing market

The Scripps Ranch housing market, a predominately residential sector of the larger San Diego County real estate market, showed mixed signals in the most recent tracking period. Although foreclosures were on the decline and the median sales price rose, the number of homes sold decreased sharply. An August 17, 2010 report from San Diego News 6 noted that “The number of homes sold in San Diego County plunged 19.4 percent in July, compared with the same month a year ago. Prices increased 5.6 percent during the same period, a real estate information service reported Tuesday. A total of 3,070 homes changed hands locally last month, compared to 3,809 in July 2009, according to La Jolla-based MDA DataQuick. The median price of a home in San Diego County in July was $338,000, compared to $320,000 in the same month a year ago. A total of 18,946 new and resale houses and condos sold in the six- county Southern California region -- Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties -- in July, according to DataQuick. That was down 20.6 percent from 23,871 in June, and down 21.4 percent from 24,104 in July 2009. The drop in the number of homes sold was the biggest year-over-year decline in more than two years, with the market losing the boost it had received from federal home-buyer tax credits.”

Fewer Scripps Ranch homes for sale were forced into the market as a result of foreclosures, according to an August 12, 2010 report from the San Diego Union-Tribune. The article, composed by Jennifer Davies, stated that “Foreclosure activity in San Diego County dropped dramatically in July from the previous year, say two different reports. RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace, found there were 5,032 foreclosure filings -- which include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions -- a decrease of more than 37 percent from July 2009 when there were 8,031 filings. Foreclosure activity was up slightly, a little over 1 percent, from the previous month. ForeclosureRadar.com, a website that tracks every foreclosure in California, had slightly different numbers but also saw foreclosure filings fall to 4,978 -- an almost 36 percent drop from a year ago when there were 7,742 filings. ForeclosureRadar also tracks distressed homes sold to a third-party, which are typically investors buying distressed properties in auctions.”