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Bucking the apparent decline in the national housing market, the median price per square foot for San Diego homes held firm once again in May.
For the month, prices by this measure rose .5 percent for single family homes, 3.1 percent for condos, and 1.1 percent in aggregate. (The single family home price series tends to give the most reliable read on market conditions).
Demand rose along with prices. Both closed sales and pending sales increased for the month, and while closed sales were below last year’s stimulus-driven level, pending sales were the same as a year ago.
For-sale inventory continued the mild increase that’s been underway all year:
But since the increase in inventory was more or less matched by the increase in pending sales, months of inventory remained unchanged at just under five months:
This is above last year’s level, but not by much. And unlike last year, there isn’t a tax credit that’s about to disappear, meaning that current demand is more “organic” (except inasmuch as it is influenced by artificially low mortgage rates — but those could be with us for a while yet).
So despite the gloomy headlines about the national market, prices are holding steady here in San Diego, and supply remains for now at a level that is consistent with continued price stability.
Rich Toscano is a financial advisor with Pacific Capital Associates*. He can be contacted at rtoscano@pcasd.com.