San Diego County Real Estate Market Changes for November
On December 16th, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that fewer homes were sold in San Diego County during November than in previous months; however the median price of the homes increased. Before November the average price of a home was $412,750 and during November the reported average was $415,000 according to their source DataQuick.com. The Union-Tribune also reported that annually houses are up 15.9% from a year ago in November 2012. The number of real estate purchases fell by 500 transactions from October to November to 3,018 properties. The good news is that price increase has decreased through the year from a peak of 24.1% higher in June 2013 compared to June 2012.
Looking at the cause for the increase of price and the decrease of purchases, John Walsh, the DataQuick President stated, “November sales were pretty underwhelming. The exact cause is tough to pinpoint, but we see likely culprits: The inventory of homes for sale still falls short of demand.” Another potential reason for the shortfall in home purchases is likely because of the government shutdown during October. Walsh speculates that the federal shutdown would have affected November closings.
A differing voice on the subject, Mark Goldman, a loan office and real estate professor at San Diego State University claims that the market is simply returning to normal levels. Goldman points out that historic price gain in the real estate market is roughly 3%.
Analysis of this information points to the rental market remaining strong through the end of Q4 2013 and the beginning of Q1 2014. The lower drop in real estate costs from the median of 2013 to the slower price increase of Q4 makes the market prime for investors. The market heavily favors those with the resources and the income to find the right properties and to not be priced out.
Real Property Management, a San Diego County real property management agency, follows housing costs and transactions to have a strong idea of how the market is reacting. This information is provided to our clients and real estate investors for their benefit. With the housing market rebounding, but with the slow increase in jobs and slow decrease in unemployment, owning, renting, and leasing property is an owners market. Now is the time to invest.