Carlsbad Real Estate Market Report for May 2021

North County Market Reports February 2024

The Carlsbad housing market continues to be strong, with 150 homes sold in May, although this was a decrease from April by 23%! Here’s what happened:

Single Family Homes Sold – 98 (down 21%); 10 Average Days on Market; the Average Sales price was $1,479,969 (down by 3%); the Average Sales price was 108% of original asking price

Condos, Townhomes & Duplexes Sold – 52 (down 28%); 12 Average Days on Market; Average Sales price was $788,769 (up 3%); Average Sales price was 104% of original asking price

Overall home sales decreased from April, with substantially fewer single family homes, and condos, townhomes and duplexes sold but still 5 sales per day. The average sales price was lower for single family homes by 3%, but was higher for condos, townhomes and duplexes. May sales prices ranged from $333,000 to $3,150,000.

The average marketing time was shorter for single family homes than last month, only 10 days, and was quite a bit shorter for condos, townhomes, and duplexes, at 12 days (versus an average of 42 days last month).

May 2021 had 92% more sales of single family homes than 1 year ago, and there were twice as many condos, townhomes and duplexes sold in May 2021 compared to May 2020. Sales prices in 2021 were also higher, by 26% for single family homes, and 27% for condos, townhomes and duplexes.

Most of the homes (67%) went pending in 1 week or less – many buyers made quick decisions to tour properties and submit successful offers! If you  want to compete successfully this is important to keep in mind!

While some Carlsbad buyers negotiated the price of their homes down from the original listing price, 4 out of 5 buyers (83%) paid full price or higher, with 2 paying 27% over list price (in 1 case this was $400K over list price). This is a good indicator of the competition, and important to remember if you are thinking of buying a home. Submitting a low offer will likely not lead to success in this market!

The median sales price for single family homes was $1,412,500, up 5% from last month, another increase, and $708,500 for condos, townhomes and duplexes, up by 4% from last month.

We saw a 15% decrease in the Carlsbad inventory, from 101 at the end of April to 86 in May, with homes ranging in price from $520,000 to $8,800,000. Is the Carlsbad inventory tight? Yes, plus we saw a modest decline in May!

Carlsbad’s current inventory remains limited, with a 16 day supply for condos, townhomes and duplexes (down from 19 days last month) and 15 days for single family homes (compared to 20 days last month), based on the rate of sales over the last 3 months. Carlsbad continues to be a very strong sellers’ market based on current inventory and continued strong buyer demand.

In May 155 new listings entered the market, compared to 175 last month, but still some good news for buyers.

156 homes went pending (excluding homes that closed), a 14% increase from April and an average of around 5 pendings each day…it was another busy month for buyers and sellers.

This overview of the Carlsbad real estate market is based on data provided by the MLS. I’m happy to provide more details with regard to current activity, as well as for specific Carlsbad neighborhoods that interest you, including La Costa, Aviara, Bressi Ranch and Calavera Hills.

Please reach out to me at (760) 840-1360 to discuss your specific housing needs, timing, lifestyle, and budget, and address any questions you have, and perhaps some you didn’t know you had. Armed with this information we can then create a strategy to buy your new Carlsbad home, and/or help sell your current Carlsbad home.