Healthy Price Gains from January in the San Diego Market

San Diego County’s housing market came back to a quick price appreciation in January registering its largest increase for the month-to- month since 2004 after the autumn of 2013 disappointment according to Standard & Poor (S&P)/ Case-Shiller Index

In comparison to a decrease of 0.1 percent in December 2013, the price index bolstered to 0.6 percent in the month to month for the New Year. The increase based on a seasonally adjusted scale, showed a 1.8 percent was the highest monthly price increase in the 20 U.S. cities researched by the Case-Shiller.

The actual thought of this is considered to be the very accurate because it keeps information of repeat sales of identical homes according to the San Diego Union-Times.
The statistics showed that San Diego County enhanced themselves in being the nation’s most improved year-over-year – from a Realtor’s perspective. What’s even more eye-opening is that January 2014’s number is 19.4 percent higher than January 2013 – which is a jump of 18 percent from December.
Many indications propose that it will be a difficult journey to return the price growth of 20 percent which was recorded in the early portion of the 2000s. Experts look at the situation that San Diego County7 housing will finally balance out.
“I’m not expecting any great movements one way or another for the rest of this year, and that’s a good thing, “ said Mark Goldman to the San Diego Union-Times, who is a real estate broker as well as a lecturer at San Diego State University. “I think a stable market is a healthier market.”

This year, according to Goldman, he predicts that there will be an increase of average resale prices from three to 3.5 percent this year, which will be in line with the trend for a century of U.S. prices

However, one variable that could keep the formation of a new housing bubble, is falling affordability.
Even though the rates for unemployment dropped from eight to seven percent from this last year to 2014, wages have not really kept in pace because of inflation and less people are working.
According to the Federal Reserve numbers, mortgage payments have increased for buyers; the average fixed rate for a 30 –year mortgage was 4.32 percent last week, and was 3.54 percent in 2013.
Experts feel higher prices and increasing rates, with the combination of incomes that are stagnant are forcing home sellers in San Diego to agree to lower prices.
This jump could be temporary, but before the increase in January, price appreciation in the overall resale housing market which was way down from September to December 2013. Also the amount of homes sold in San Diego County, according to DataQuick faltered 8.6 percent in February compared to the same month in 2013.
Out of 6,099 active listings, the inventory for real estate for sale in San Diego County saw a surge of 44 percent according to the San Diego Association of Realtors. Even though this is a bigger uptick, the typical inventory number would be between 8,000-9,000, and well below of San Diego County’s peak which was 14,000 listings posted in 2005.

By Linda Moore