The luxury real estate market in San Diego County for single-family homes of more than $1 million ended the year with slightly more homes sold in 2016 compared with 2015, according to a year-end report by the San Diego Association of Realtors. Eleven cities had a median price of more than $1 million in 2016, and combined, sold 2,473 homes versus 2,412 in 2015 or 61 more homes.
Last year, 10 cities had a median price of more than $1 million and this year Hillcrest/Mission Hills was added to the list with a median price of $1.013 million.
Point Loma just missed the cutoff with a median price in 2016 of $995,000, up from $910,000 in 2015.
The highest-priced home to sell in the county is a charming, Hampton’s style, 3,500-square-foot, five-bedroom, four-bath home on the sand in Del Mar at 1802 Ocean Front. It closed escrow in December 2016 for $18 million. Custom built by Sweig General Contracting Inc., the owner, Jim Sweig, has more than 30 years of experience in luxury home building, historical renovations and furniture making with exotic woods.
The listing agent was Laura Barry of Barry Estates Inc. The buyer’s agent was Jason Barry from the same agency. Founded in 1990 by Daniel and Catherine Barry, Barry Estates is one of the leading luxury real estate agencies in the county.
“Prices in the luxury San Diego market are well below those of competing areas and are a true deal comparatively,” Laura Barry said. “Rancho Santa Fe, in particular 92067, and properties on the sand in Del Mar are way undervalued.”
The next highest-priced home sold in 2016 is at 3403 Kellogg Way in Point Loma. It’s an 18,500-square-foot home with seven bedrooms and 11 baths. It is in the exclusive, gated, Kellogg La Playa community on nearly an acre of land overlooking the San Diego Bay and the San Diego skyline from nearly every room. The community is on the southeast end of the Point Loma peninsula at one of the highest points in the county. The property closed escrow in February 2016 for $17.7 million. The listing agent was Jason Barry.
The third-highest-priced home to sell in 2016 is at 3006 Sandy Lane; also right on the beach in Del Mar. Sandy Lane in Del Mar is a gated community of 14 luxury properties that provides security and privacy from the public access along the beach. The home is 3,950 square feet with five bedrooms and seven baths. It’s on just more than a third of an acre and was built in 1958. Eric Iantorno of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty, who represented the seller and the buyer, closed escrow in early November for $15.2 million.
And to Barry’s earlier point about Del Mar beachfront real estate, 3006 Sandy Lane had sold 18 months earlier in May 2015 for $11 million, a 38 percent decrease from the sale in November 2016. Real estate agent Kelly Pottorff was the seller’s agent for the 2015 sale and Claudia Ladt was the buyer’s agent, both representing Willis Allen Real Estate.
“People who have purchased on the sand in Del Mar or in 92067 (Rancho Santa Fe covenant) in the last couple of years have underpaid,” Barry said. “They will see good appreciation in the years to come.”
Barry said that neither (Del Mar and 92067) have come close to their top of the market prices and have lagged, but will catch up.
“There will be a big boom in those prices for 2017 and in the coming years,” Barry said.
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