In today's San Diego Union Tribune, they listed the 5 most appreciating 
neighborhoods in San Diego for the third quarter with Encinitas ranking #1 at 21.7%. If you follow their chart, the home you purchased in 2006 for $772,500 is now worth $940,000 which if my math is correct, is a cool 170 large for doing zip. They say real estate is the ultimate wealth builder.
The unfortunate thing with this article is anyone who works in real estate, has been trying to sell a home in San Diego County, and beyond, or 
has purchased in the last couple years knows this is crap. So to show you the value of my services and why working with a competent REALTOR is so valuable, I am going to do a quick breakdown for you.
First, north San Diego county went through a huge building period over the last several years and the impact of this is on overall statistics is where we need to start our process.
The home above is in Encinitas Ranch which was built after 2000. Many of these owners have realized their capital gains write off and have been 
selling. So much so that when looking at the third quarter of 2006 Encinitas had 21 homes out of 115 that sold for 1 million dollars or more which is 18%. IN the third quarter of 2007, 40 of the 114 homes sold were over 1 million dollars which accounts for 35% of the homes sold. That's our first clue that the the 21% appreciation is not appreciation but a difference in product. If Ford started selling Porsches under the Ford umbrella, does that increase the value of my Escort?
In order to look at the full impact of the newer homes on the resale market we should take a look at how the average home in Encinitas has performed for the same quarter. Searching for a 3-4 bedroom 2-4 bath home up to 2000 
square feet built before 1995 we see the per square foot value in 2006 is $435. So with a 21% appreciation rate we should expect that value to increase to $526. Based on the average of house at 1768 square feet, the UT says you just picked up $161 THOUSAND dollars. Nothing short of brilliance on your part. But wait... the reality is in 2007 the square footage value is actually $416 and you just lost $34,000!!! That's almost a $200,000 hit and you're in trouble. The bright side is you only are taking a potential hit of 4%. Check out the heavy hitters who bought those million dollar new construction homes.
When looking at the 3rd quarter statistics for home built 2000 or later we find twice the home, average is about 3500 square feet, and twice the misery. In 2006 these homes averaged to be a 4/4 3600 square feet and sold for approximately $447 a square foot. So let's plug this number into the UT fantasy creator and see how rich we are today; that's 1.6 million x 21% = 
1.947 or $339,000 in pure PROFIT in a YEAR!!! That new Escalade is going to look so cool pulling the jetskis!!
But let's plug our numbers into the Brian Long fact finder before we buy that new car. When we take our same search parameters and apply them to 2007 we get a square footage price of $380. Yes,$380. So let's plug in $380 x 3600 sqft.= 1.368 million which is a 14.5 % loss.
I do not know why a publication like the UT would print something like this when probably half of their staff knows it is not an accurate portrayal of the real estate market. I continue to believe there is value in purchasing within your means, just make sure you are working with someone who is ethical and willing and smart enough to take the time to research and educate you. If you do not have to sell get your home off the market. If you have to sell you need someone you can trust to get you the most out of todays market. If you do not trust them enough to price the home for you then find another REALTOR who you believe in, but you have to be opened minded and let the professional guide you through this market. Call me at 760-415-3329 or email me at brianalong@msn.com
Peace...........
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