Home prices dropped in August, on the whole, according to the median price per square feet.
The median price per square foot was down by 3.5 percent for single-family homes but up by 2.0 percent for condos. Condos are a less reliable price indicator than detached homes, however, as is clear from the much higher relative volatility exhibited by the orange line on the accompanying graph. And a volume-weighted aggregate of the two property types dropped by 2.0 percent for the month. So we will call this a down month for San Diego home prices, at least per this price indicator.
The graph also shows that August continued the mild downward drift that began as the various tax credit stimuli waned earlier this year.
Interesting side note: if my estimate (described here) for August’s Case-Shiller index value proves correct, August will be the first negative month-to-month change for the index since April 2009.
— RICH TOSCANO