October 2014 San Diego Real Estate Market Update

Traditional and First-Time Homebuyers Greatly Outnumbering Investors

After a steady multi-month increase, national sales numbers seem to have taken a slight tumble. Final figures for August show that existing-home sales saw their first decline since spring, down 1.8% from July. Thankfully though, many real estate experts are saying this drop may be a good thing.

According to the National Association of Realtors' data for August, distressed properties – foreclosed homes and short sales – made up just 8% of the month's total transactions. As the number of value-priced distressed properties continues to decline, so do many of the opportunities for investors. In fact, NAR research shows that only 12% percent of August sales were made by individual investors, down from 16% just the month before.

This shows the market is continuing to move more towards traditional purchases, and away from “fire sale” foreclosures and troubled homes being sold for a fraction of their true market value. For sellers, this good news means that home values are likely to further stabilize and increase steadily, no longer artificially held down by underpriced distressed sales.

Despite the slowdown in closed transactions, the median price of existing-home sales across the nation saw its 30th consecutive period of year-over-year gains in August, rounding the month out at $219,800 – 4.8% higher than a year earlier.

San Diego Real Estate Market Prepares for the Holiday Season

Don't let anyone fool you – the holiday season is a slower time for the San Diego real estate market. Every year, just like clockwork, activity begins to drop off throughout October and November, and that's exactly what the most recent data is saying. But that doesn't necessarily make it difficult to buy or sell. Even with the number of active and sold properties decreasing, there are still plenty of advantages on both sides of the current market.

For San Diego real estate owners looking to sell, the median sales price for last month showed a small rise, up to $510,000, staying steadily above the half-million-dollar milestone for the fourth straight month. And while the average time that a home stays on the market increased to 48 days, it is still well below historic averages and is even lower than earlier in 2014.

If you're in the market for San Diego homes for sale, not only are lenders loosening their underwriting policies and offering a variety of new products, but interest rates are also at the lowest point we've seen since the middle of 2013. With average interest rates at 4.01% in October, and more mortgage options available than there has been in years, now is a great time to be looking to buy.

San Diego Real Estate Market Statistics for October 2014

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