San Clemente, CA is a beachside city located on the Southern California coast. It is the southernmost part of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, situated between Los Angeles and San Diego, and is bordered to the southwest by the Pacific Ocean. The city is bordered by the town of Dana Point and Camp Pendleton Marine Base.
There are a few mountainous areas to the northeast of the city limits that provide a picturesque scene from the town. This, combined with the beach and the ocean views, make San Clemente a popular spot to unwind and enjoy all that it has to offer. The town is considered as one of the prime beach spots in America.
The city is part of Orange County, and the population as of the 2010 census is at 63,522. According to the United States Census Bureau, the estimated population of San Clemente as of 2019 stands at 64,558. The current population density is at 3,517 people per square miles, making the area denser than most towns -- which isn't surprising at all for Southern California beach towns.
Famous neighborhoods in San Clemente are Central District, Coast District, Forster Ranch, Marblehead, Marblehead Coastal, North San Clemente, Rancho San Clemente, Southeast San Clemente, Southwest San Clemente, and Talega. All of these neighborhoods are great and viable for real estate property development.
San Clemente is dubbed as the Spanish Village by the Sea because of its abundance of Spanish-colonial architecture that still stands to this day. Even some of the roads still retain their Spanish origin, giving a nostalgic vibe to the quaint streets.
San Clemente is characterized as Mediterranean, which means dry summers and wet winters. On average, the city's temperature stands at 70 degrees Fahrenheit, which means the weather has that SoCal trademark of year-round summertime. The annual rainfall in San Clemente is not too much, at 10.5 inches, except for occasions when the La Niña phenomenon takes place.
In terms of public transportation, there is a train that passes through San Clemente, which goes to and from Los Angeles and San Diego City. Two stations currently service San Clemente itself which makes the town convenient for commuters and visitors. The city's unemployment rate is lower than usual, and there are various job opportunities.
It is said that San Clemente, CA, is one of the best places to live in California. It is a highly suburban city with incredible scenery, numerous restaurants, parks, and tourist attractions. Some people say that living here can be expensive, but we'll cover that topic in the assessment of the real estate situation in the city later on.
Economy wise, the town has big medical and manufacturing industries. Most people are employed in schools, hospitals, government, and retail shops. Others also work as civilian employees at the nearby United States Marine Corps Base of Camp Pendleton.
Notable spots in the city include the Forest Ranch Community Park, Surfing Heritage, and Culture Center, Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, and the San Clemente State Beach.
San Clemente, CA Profile
San Clemente is a small town nestled between two powerhouses of Los Angeles and San Diego. While this may overshadow the city in terms of pride, this in no way diminishes the value of the town as a prime vacation spot and residential haven.
Its cozy, suburban feel makes it great for people who want to sit back and relax. It's beachfront is one of the best on the west coast, and the pristine blue waters of the Pacific in this area can attest to that.
Transportation-wise, you may want to get a car since there are not enough buses to go around, but that's fine since you can walk around the city for a fresh, pleasant stroll.
San Clemente, CA, is a relatively expensive city to live in.
According to Neighborhood Scout, the median home value is $1,032,563. This is relatively high compared to both California and the national median home value.
Most of the houses are above $1,139,000 in value, composing at least 35% of the real estate properties listed at the current writing moment (November 2020). Meanwhile, 31.2% of real estate properties are at a range of $854,000 to $1,139,000. The rest of the properties are below $854,000. There are little to no inexpensive properties in San Clemente due to its location.
When it comes to appreciation rates, San Clemente has an extremely high appreciation rate in comparison to state and national averages. As of the moment, there are at least 12% of the properties that are vacant.
Here's the deal, most of the houses were built from 1970 to 1999. At least 51.9% of the homes in San Clemente are that old, which leads to concerns on renovation and repairs. However, you can expect that all real properties in the city are made with quality, so there's not much of a problem in that case.
What's worrying is that at least 25.7% and 1.5% of the properties in the city are made from 1940 to 1969 and 1939 and below respectively. These homes may need some big renovations, but that remains to be seen since most houses made from this year are made with Spanish-colonial era architecture. This means that the heritage of these properties is unparalleled compared to the modern ones. On the bright side, at least 20.9% of the properties were made from 2000 onwards.
The real problem with the age of the houses is that San Clemente sits near the San Andreas Fault, which is a highly active fault line capable of generating numerous minor and major tremors alike. Having multiple minor earthquakes in a week can cause hairline fractures in the structure of old homes. Otherwise, you can still expect quality from San Clemente real estate properties.
Most homes are single-family detached properties, consisting of about 57.7% of the property population. Most homes contain two to four bedrooms suitable for an average-sized family in the United States.
Let's jump to houses sold over the past few months. Redfin, one of the most reputable sources of real estate market insights, states that there were at least 138 and 118 homes sold in September and October 2020, respectively. Regularly, the number of homes sold in San Clemente drops during January. Still, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of homes sold during March to May 2020 dropped significantly as the cases rose during that time. The worst drop in sales ever was in May, where it recorded only 36 home sales. However, things took a full recovery as sales rose shortly after to normal sales. In fact, September 2020 saw the highest sales in records in a span of five years.
When it comes to the median price, prices in San Clemente started relatively low in 2015 as the median price around that time was only $825,000. Five years later, we see a median price of well over a million – a stark contrast from the usual pricing in San Clemente's real property prices. In fact, this median sale price we have right now might be the highest in recorded history.
Meanwhile, it seems to be easier to sell houses in San Clemente now, only taking 37 days for properties to be sold compared to 82 days from the start of the year.
Because of this data and the trends of beach towns in general, we can infer that the San Clemente real estate market is high in demand right now. It seems that with lower supply than usual, the prices went higher after the significant recovery in sales that happened from June to September of this year. As of this moment, according to various real estate listing websites, there are around 200 homes currently in listing throughout San Clemente. Combine this with the fact that about 100 to 150 homes are sold each month, and we have the recipe for lower supply and higher price increases.
San Clemente can be summarized as a somewhat competitive real estate market. Indeed, some homes get multiple offers, but most do not. Usually, in order to sell houses in San Clemente, CA, you must lower the sales price by about 1.4%. This will look appealing to the buyer's eye and can give sellers a greater chance for someone to buy their real estate property within the 37-day selling period. Right now, there are only 23.7% of properties that were sold higher than the sales price, but this is 80.7% better than the year before. This proves that people are becoming more and more willing to buy homes in San Clemente than ever before.
Because of the higher prices in general, some real estate agents and realtors are dropping the prices of their homes. October 2020 has seen 14.7% of properties listed in San Clemente had a drop in their prices to snag in potential buyers. While plausible, this can cause an issue of supply since others may follow suit.
Real estate developers wanting to invest in building properties to add to the inventory should know that the median listing home price per square foot stands at $512. If one wishes to construct real estate properties in the vicinity, they must be ready to have the capital to do so.
San Clemente, CA Real Estate Assessment
San Clemente is undoubtedly an area where real estate properties are normally sold in the millions. Also, from the data, San Clemente is currently leaning towards a seller's market right now. This means that the demand is so high that it's presently overwhelming the inventory.
Imagine that if you only have around 200 or possibly 300 homes currently being sold and you're selling at least 150 to 200 homes a month, you won't have enough time to replenish the inventory. This is why the prices skyrocketed in this coastal paradise. It's not entirely because of the scenery, but because of lower supply and higher demand. As always, in real estate, the law of supply and demand takes precedence.
If you're a buyer, I would suggest buying properties from Central, Talega, Forster Ranch, and Rancho San Clemente. These are the best neighborhoods in town, featuring the best quality of life and better real estate deals than elsewhere in the San Clemente area.
Real Estate Forecast
At the current moment, it is forecasted that there will be an estimated $50,000 increase over the next year in median sale price in San Clemente. In five years, we will see an increase of $150,000 from the current median sale price we have right now.
This means that short-term investing in San Clemente can lead to lower expectations. While the price is high right now, it can be inferred that it only has something to do with the relaxation of some pandemic rules. It can be a profitable option when it comes to investments but don't expect spectacular results from it as a seller.
San Clemente is a real estate market that performs above average and will always be desirable.
Have a comment, tip, or concern?
Thanks for reading Elite Informer! Here's more where that came from.