As the rain pours down on Chula Vista’s battered homes just a few days before new years, you cannot help but see the symbolism as we close out the year. It has been a particularly rough past 12 months for the local real estate market in our beloved City not just in regards to home values but also in the rate of mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures and the overwhelming number of properties on the market driving home prices on a downwards trend.
2010 wasn’t all negative. The average sales price in Chula Vista rose 5% year over year to $328,750 as the average number of properties listed dropped 27% over the same period.
No one can be sure, but from where I’m standing, Chula Vista is poised for a great recovery albeit slow, in the next few years. As banks continue to clear out their inventory, work through the short sale market and modifications the real estate market will find itself in an unfamiliar territory. While new home builders have staled on new communities, the demand for housing has continued even through this economic downturn paving the way for a housing shortage in the near future.