The Big Story
Quick Take:
- Median home sale prices slipped for the second straight month in August, falling to $429,100 from June's peak of $442,800, though they remain slightly above where they were a year ago.
- Inventory pushed higher again in August, reaching 1,620,000 homes for sale, the highest level we have seen in this cycle and nearly 6% above last year.
- Existing home sales fell to 3,980,000, the softest reading in over a year, as mortgage rates climbed to 6.69% in August and 6.71% in September.
📈 San Diego Prices Are Still Climbing
The national housing market is showing signs of a summer cooldown. After five straight months of gains, the national median sale price fell to $429,100 in August, down 1.67% from July and 3.09% from the June peak. Prices are still 1.59% higher than last August, but the momentum has clearly slowed.
San Diego, however, is telling a different story.
The median single-family home reached a new high of $1,099,500 in July, up 5.72% from last year. That marks the 10th consecutive month of year-over-year price growth for San Diego.
🏠 Fewer Homes Are Available in San Diego
National inventory has climbed to a record 1.62 million homes, up 5.88% from a year ago. But San Diego isn't following that trend.
San Diego had 5,841 active listings in August, down 4.90% year over year and marking the fifth straight month of inventory declines.
That's an important difference. While buyers nationally are seeing more choices, San Diego continues to have fewer homes available than it did at the same time last year.
⏱️San Diego Homes Are Still Selling Faster
Despite the seasonal slowdown that usually comes with late summer, San Diego homes continued to move relatively quickly.
The average home spent 19 days on the market in July, compared with 24 days last July. That's a 20.83% improvement year over year, even though San Diego did see a modest increase from 18 days in June.
In other words, buyers may have a little more time to think than they did during the spring, but San Diego is still moving faster than it was a year ago.
⚖️ San Diego Is Below the 3-Month Balance Point
One of the clearest ways to understand the market is through Months of Supply Inventory (MSI).
California has historically used roughly 3 months of supply as a general dividing line between balanced conditions and a seller's market. San Diego came in at 2.9 months in July, down 17.14% from 3.5 months a year ago.
By comparison, Orange County was at 3.1 months, Los Angeles at 3.5 months, and Riverside at 3.8 months.
For San Diego, the combination is notable: prices are at a record high, inventory is below last year's level, and homes are selling faster than they did last summer.
🌴What This Means for San Diego
The national market is giving buyers more leverage as inventory builds and sales slow. San Diego is operating from a different starting point.
Here, limited supply continues to be the defining factor. Even as higher mortgage rates put pressure on affordability, there simply aren't as many homes available as there were a year ago.
As we move into fall, we'll be watching mortgage rates, new listings, and how quickly homes are getting absorbed. Those three factors will tell us whether San Diego's current momentum continues or begins to cool.
