Are San Diego Penthouses overvalued?

In San Diego, Penthouses may be the best opportunity to find a bargain of any sector of the real estate market.  There is an abundance of Downtown San Diego penthouse apartments currently listed, and an apparent lack of buyers.

A quick search of Downtown San Diego condos shows 17 listings currently available utilizing the following parameters to define Penthouse:

• Above the 25th floor
• Minimum 1,940 square feet
• Minimum price $1,750,000

Within this category there have been only 3 sales in the past 6 months!  This means the market absorption rate is one in 60 days.  On this basis there is nearly a 3 year supply of San Diego.

In many American cities (ever watch Selling New York or Selling LA on HGTV??) San Diego’s highest priced penhouses would seem like a bargain.  Let’s have a closer look.

San Diego Penthouse Buildings

There are currently 7 different buildings with listings in this category: Bayside, Harbor Club, Sapphire Tower, Pinnacle, Meridian, The Grande and Electra.

They are focused in Downtown’s Marina and Columbia districts.  Not surprisingly, most have superb views.  Here is a breakdown of listings:

Among the 3 penthouse condos that sold over the past 6 months, one was new construction, while the 2 others were both resales.  The sale of the new condo encompasses over 3,700 square feet at the top of The Mark.  The Mark Penthouse was marketed for over 3 years and ultimately sold for $2 million less than its original price.

The second of these penthouse sales was a 25th floor Harbor Club Penthouse of 2,510 square feet.  It was beautifully designed and remodeled, selling in approximately 8 months.  It’s selling price of $2,300,000 was slightly more than 80% of the original asking price.

The last of the recent sales was a very large 20th floor penthouse at Renaissance in The Marina district.  This home of over 4,500 sf on the twentieth floor sold for $3,000,000 after being on the market for over a year.

Buying Penthouses San Diego

There certainly seems to be a high concentration of penthouse apartments in 3 buildings.

The opportunity at Harbor Club is that several sellers of similar value have all recently put their condos on the market.  Views are superb at Harbor Club and the location can’t be beaten.  The condos available have all been beautifully remodeled and upgraded.  Seeing all four is a definite must.

Penthouses at Sapphire Tower encompass half floors, from the 26th through the 32nd floor.  All will offer views to the East and West.  In their remaining inventory, both north and south facing penthouses remain. Views at Sapphire tower will change as future development is planned on both the north and south.

The remaining Bayside penthouses are virtual mirror images on the north and south side.  They are among the largest of condo offerings in San Diego.  Views are spectacular in both cases.

It might be “let’s make a deal”

Based on the current velocity of sales in this market segment, there really are superb opportunities to own the largest spaces and best views in any San Diego penthouse apartment.  With so many of the penthouses in the remaining developer owned buildings, we should definitely discuss past sales.

Particularly at Sapphire Tower and Bayside, we have a great perspective based on 2011 sales to negotiate fantastic outcomes.

At Harbor Club there are 3 very similar properties (and one truly amazing entire floor penthouse).  It is a competitive marketplace and a real opportunity for a penthouse buyer.

San Diego penthouses are selling at low prices today.  They’re world class spaces.  Come have a look and compare San Diego with any other destination.

David Manes is a penthouse expert at Welcome to San Diego Real Estate.  Contact David at 858.432.3203 or email davidmanes@welcometosandiego.com