July 2014 San Diego Real Estate Market Update

US Housing Market Sees Steady Growth, Increased Interest from International Buyers

According to the National Association of Realtors, the United States housing market is continuing to improve. While still waiting on June's numbers, analysts are pleased with the results that May brought in. Total existing-home sales rose by 4.9% from the previous month, while the total number of properties for sale grew by 2.2%. On top of promising growth in sales and the available supply, the median national existing-home price in May was $213,400 – a 5.1% increase year-over-year.

According to the NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, the increase of home values is expected to slow over the coming months as an increased supply of properties helps curb buyer demand.

While dropping just slightly, the percentage of sales to first-time homebuyers decreased from 29% in April to 27% in May. Many experts agree that the growth in home values has started pricing many first-timers out of the market.

What isn't falling, however, is the number of international home buyers taking advantage of still-favorable conditions in the US marketplace. Data released last month shows that home purchases in the United States by global buyers totaled a whopping $92.2 billion for the twelve-month period ending in March 2014. This figure represents a 35% increase from the previous period's total of $68.2 billion. California came in second, behind Florida, for the highest percentage of foreign purchases, with the Golden State being home to 14% of all internationally-based residential transactions.

Demand for High-Quality San Diego Real Estate Continues to Rise

In Southern California, the demand continues to grow for quality properties. The number of San Diego homes for sale has continued to rise in July to an average 7,998 – 5.9% above June. More impressively, that figure represents nearly a 60% increase from January's recent low of just 5,006 active listings.

Despite all of these additional San Diego homes for sale, the area has seen a decrease in sold properties for the past two months in a row. June's total dropped to by 1.7% to 2,963, which follows the 3.6% decrease seen in May. The consensus of professionals working in the San Diego real estate market is that this decline is the result of fewer desirable properties being listed. Instead, many of the homes entering the market are of a lower quality than buyers are looking for and are priced much higher than they're willing to pay.

For homeowners of mid- and high-end homes, this presents a major opportunity. Buyers are holding out for top-notch real estate, and qualified listings are often met with multiple offers coming in nearly immediately. Overall, the median sales price of single-family San Diego real estate rose by 5.2% in June, predominately fueled by the high demand for these nicer well-priced homes.

San Diego Real Estate Market Statistics for July 2014