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Carlsbad has proven to be one of the fastest growing and most active real estate markets in the United States in recent years. This phenomenon can perhaps be partly explained by the city's near perfect weather all year 'round, as well as its close proximity to many of the state of California's most popular business, entertainment, and leisure centers and hot spots.

These two factors actually go hand in hand with each other, as the weather'which never gets too hot or too cold'allows residents to enjoy the numerous attractions that are close to the city, among them the beaches of San Diego, Disneyland, the many golf courses in the area, and of course the Pacific Ocean, which is right by its side.

Many of the real estate properties in Carlsbad in fact have stunning views of the ocean, the aforementioned golf courses or the gorgeous flower fields that are abundant in this part of the country. If you are lucky enough to choose the right place, you may even get to see all of them from your own balcony or terrace.

Carlsbad has indeed come a long way since its humble beginnings as a quaint and picturesque'albeit largely unknown'town, frequented by only a few travelers on occasion. It is a lot different nowadays however, and the city has come into its own as one of the most in demand residential communities in the state, frequently being included in lists of the most desirable places to live in California. As you can imagine this has resulted in driving up the demand for residential properties in the city, and real estate prices have naturally followed suit. Houses, apartments and condominiums all attract a lot of buyers here, and they are typically snapped up within a few hours of being listed.

Nevertheless, there remains a fair amount of real estate properties available in the city, and depending on where you look, you may still be able to get some fairly affordable deals.

A recent report'released in January of 2008 in fact'showed that as of November of 2007, the housing market in San Diego'including Carlsbad'appears to be gaining some strength. While the number of residential real estate properties that passed hands fell by more than 21% over a period of one year, this decline was the lowest out of all 6 counties of southern California. The current median sales price of houses in the county was pegged at $440,000, which translates into a fall of almost 10% from a year ago. In the inland north county, prices of houses went down more than 6% during the same period, which translates to about $520,000, and prices of existing condo units went down more than 10% or around $310,000. By contrast, house prices in the northern coastal county actually rose 14% to about $630,000 over the same period, while the median price for condo units fell only 1% to about $415,000.

All of these statistics point to a trend of general growth in the Carlsbad real estate market. Even though the growth has tapered off in the past 12 months, it is still expected to continue throughout most of the year.

Actually, the tapering off in the growth of the real estate market can perhaps be partially explained by the wildfires that swept through many parts of the area in 2007, when more than 1,000 buildings were damaged.

Real estate analysts and industry experts agree however that the infusion of new capital into the area will continue to inspire even further growth in the region and will have further positive effects on the economy in general.

Currently, San Diego'of which Carlsbad is a part of'ranks number 4 in the United States in terms of apartment availability and retail growth. This is due to a combination of two factors: the relatively high median price of houses and the prospect of solid economic growth. The county is also ranked in the top 10 of rental rate increases in the United States, with a growth of almost 6% registered in the past 12 months. This is mostly due to the extremely high occupancy rate of residential houses in the area, which was pegged at a very respectable 96%. All in all, these factors will result in the continued growth of the real estate industry in Carlsbad, and will contribute to the city's continued desirability as one of the best places to live in the state, as well as in the rest of the country.