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 November 29, 2008

San Diego County home sales hit brisk pace as prices continue to drop
Qualified buyers should consider entering into the housing market now, as they will find the affordability rate of a home in this county the best it has been in the past 9 years. October home sales in San Diego County were the best in the past three years. The downside is that the average median price of a home hit a 6-year low of $323,500. October was the 4th month in a row that home sales showed an increase. This follows a 4-year period of sluggish sales.
A reflection of the current state of the country's overall mortgage crisis is that foreclosures made up for nearly 50% of all home sales. The sale of foreclosed properties has increased 20.8% over October 2007.

Housing starts continued to be down. Home builders are holding back on new home construction until a decrease in the amount of foreclosed properties is seen. A mere 231 permits were issued in October, compared to 659 one year ago.

Area analysts continue to speculate as to whether or not the County housing market has "bottomed out" and is on its way to a recovery. Many experts feel that the downturn will continue throughout 2009, with solid recovery not occurring until 2010. Some believe that because the County hit a downturn earlier than other major markets that our area could see a turn around by late 2009.

San Diego ranks as the 31st least affordable market out of 222 markets which were surveyed. The New York City area ranks as the least affordable market in the country. Here in our home state of California, the least affordable markets are 1. San Luis Obispo 2. San Francisco 3. Los Angeles 4. Napa.