September 2013 San Diego Real Estate Market Update

National Housing Market Showing Signs Of Slowing Growth

Housing markets around the United States are beginning to cool down following hitting their peak earlier this year. In June, the average year-over-year growth for the twenty largest real estate markets in the nation was 12.1% according to a CNN study. San Diego ranks #5 in largest price increase on that list with an average of 19.3%. While still high, the rate of increase has begun slowly declining on a national scale.

The best thing, for many homeowners, that has come from the recent growth we've seen in the real estate market is that fewer and fewer homeowners are still underwater on their mortgages. Research from CoreLogic shows that at the end of the second quarter of this year, the number of US mortgage holders that were underwater on their loans decreased by 2.5 million to a new estimate of 7.1 million.

Number Of San Diego Homes For Sale Continues To Rise While Sold Listings Hold Strong

For a seventh consecutive month, the average number of San Diego homes for sale has continued to increase. In August, the average was 6,246, a 15% increase over July. The number of homes sold during the month of August decreased by 5% from the previous month's sales. These two figures together tell us that we have around a 57 day supply of homes for sale if no more were added to the market. Although still historically low, that figure is up from the 47 days seen in July.

While the San Diego real estate market is not growing as quickly as it was six months ago, it is still continuing to see positive growth in real estate values. The 19.3% growth seen over the past year may not be able to sustain itself forever – right now prices around the country are about 23% lower than they were during the 2006 peak. While the rate of growth may continue to slow in the near future, it is still highly likely for positive growth to continue well into the long-term.

In August, the average Days on Market for a single-family home in San Diego County was just 42 days. In August of 2012, before the local marketplace really began heating up, that number was at 75. For this year as a whole, the average number of days it's taken a home to sell has been 55 – further proof that despite a slight slowdown, the San Diego real estate market is still headed steadily in the right direction with eager buyers looking to snatch up quality real estate quickly.

San Diego Real Estate Market Statistics

Active Home Listings

The graph below shows the active number of homes for sale for the corresponding month.

Home Sales

This graph shows the number of closed sales for the corresponding month.

Absorption Rate

The absorption rate is the number of months it would take to sell all of the homes that are currently for sale if no new homes were to come on the market.

Interest Rates

Interest rates are based on 30 year fixed mortgage rates.