What’s with all the doom and gloom? Here is a fresh look at the real estate market update in San Diego. Today, we’re tackling some common myths that have been swirling around social media.
It’s easy to get caught up in all the negative chatter online—with all of the different social media platforms that are full of doom and gloom predictions about real estate. From tales of bubbles about to burst to the threat of foreclosures and price collapses, these stories are everywhere, and they’re getting a ton of attention.
A Real Estate Market Update: Overview of Current Market Conditions
Now, let’s be clear: fear does sell. But it’s important to question who benefits from these scary stories on the real estate market update. Many of these viral tales come from folks without real expertise in the real estate economic world, yet they’ve managed to capture the eyes of millions. Unfortunately, this has led some potential homebuyers to wait on the sidelines, hoping for a crash that could let them jump into the market.
This takes me back to 2009 -2010. I remember being at several of our open houses in North Park; while there was lots of negativity and hardships going on in the real estate world during that time, I remember specifically a couple who would come to all of our open houses. We chatted for a while, and I remember them saying they were going to see how things worked out. They believed the market was going to come down further than what it was at that time. Well, I can tell you that as the years went by, this same couple would go to most of the open houses that we have in North Park.
Year after year. I didn’t see them for a while, so I figured they finally found a home. Well, guess what? I was hosting one of our open houses in the Morley Field neighborhood in North Park back in 2023, and they came in. We chatted for a while, and it turns out they ended up not buying. They waited all of those years, paying someone else’s mortgage, and the prices went nuts. I haven’t seen them in a while and I think they may have moved away. I felt bad for them because they lost out on a huge opportunity.
Market Shifts and Price Increases
So now let’s move on.. Since the rollercoaster ride starting in 2020 through the unexpected twists of the pandemic, home prices have been a hot topic. We saw a dramatic spike, then a shift as mortgage rates rose in the second half of 2022, yet prices have continued to climb. For many, the dream of homeownership seems tough to reach. And for many, unfortunately buying in San Diego has become out of reach.
But this is where we need to cut through the noise and focus on what’s actually happening. It’s time to move past the myths and look at the facts. Understanding the true dynamics of our market is crucial, especially if you’re thinking about buying or selling soon.
Remember, it’s all about staying informed and making smart decisions based on real data, not just headlines. So, if you’re ready to get a clear picture of what’s really going on and how it affects your home-buying or home-selling decisions here in San Diego, stick around. Let’s dive deep and debunk some myths together.
Increase in Active Listings
Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen our active listings jump up by 284 homes, which is an 8% increase, bringing our total to 3,672 properties on the market. Interestingly, we noticed a significant shift this April—34% fewer homes were listed than in our pre-COVID years, (2017-219) which is 1,685 fewer homes. But, compared to last April, we’ve got 868 more sellers jumping into the market.
Detailed Look at Market Demand
Now, let’s talk about demand. In the last two weeks, the number of homes under contract dropped slightly by 23, a 1% decrease, leaving us with 1,933 pending sales. This is still a bit higher than last year’s figures around this time, which stood at 1,857.
Market Time by Price Segments
Market time has also shifted a bit. It’s taking a little longer to sell homes now, with the expected market time increasing from 52 days to 57 days over the last couple of weeks. This time last year, homes were moving faster, with the market time at just 36 days. Here in North Park, South Park, and in our nearby neighborhoods of San Diego, we are seeing a slowdown because buyers have a little more to choose from. So here is some advice for all new sellers coming on the market. This is not the time to test the market. Price it right and price it right from the get-go. Because if you don’t you will only be helping your competition sell their home before yours.
Looking at different price ranges, homes below $750,000 are now expected to sell in about 54 days, up from 49. For homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million, market time has crept up a bit from 39 days to 41. And as we go up the price ladder of price, the time increases as well, especially in the luxury market—homes above $2 million are now taking between 93 to 147 days to sell. And if you think that seems like a long time, those homes above $6 million are taking approximately 400 days or so to sell.
Thankfully, distressed properties like foreclosures and short sales remain a minimal part of our market, making up just 0.4% of all listings and demand. There are only 16 distressed homes available right now, which is a small increase from last year.
Conclusion and Market Outlook on the San Diego Real Estate Market Update
And to wrap up, here’s a bit of good news—April was a strong month for sales. In San Diego, we closed 2,095 residential sales, which is 6% higher than last April, and we even saw a slight increase from March. Most of these sales were traditional, with homeowners having equity in their homes—only a very small handful were foreclosures or short sales.
And like always, if you have any real estate related questions, whether you’re thinking of selling your home in North Park, South Park or any part of San Diego County or thinking a buying a home. Reach out to us. I’m Z with the McT Real Estate Group. Our team is hear to help and guide you with your real estate needs.