There are only 2 units for sale as of early 2006 at The Metropolitan, downtown San Diego highest rated condo. The quality of this building and its level of amenities (more than any other condo) have kept residents there from selling. There is nothing to trade up to in terms of quality, views or amenities. Current asking prices are over $1,000 per square foot, the highest of any San Diego condo. Reason for this, the views, as most building average price per square foot it brought down by the units with no views.
We have started the year off with a very high level of resale inventory, 550 units. In the first two months of the year we are averaging 62 units per month going into escrow (being sold). This is about equal to last years (Jan & Feb) averaging 68 units per month. Inventory has grown because of the larger amount of units coming on the market, 170/month so far in 2006, vs. 90/month in 2005. Where are all these units coming from? A few are new construction, mainly from a few projects that finished up near the end of 2005, most of them are units re-listed from 2005, as a lot of listing agreement periods were through the end of the year. In 2005, 350 units that were put on the market for sale were from new construction that was completed in 2005. In 2006, I expect this number to be between 50 and 100. This will put downward pressure on inventory levels which is currently being balanced out with the investors selling a lot of their units. Personally I think the investors that want out will be out by summer putting further downtown pressure on inventories and therefore upward pressure on prices.
The Metropolitan condos and other high quality buildings (i.e. Park Place) with great water views are at premium prices. These are the trade up buildings that residents go to when they want more space, better view and often more amenities.
Metropolitan Condos Downtown San Diego
