San Diego

San Diego Median Home Price Rose by Nearly 8 Percent in May

May 2018 is the 74th consecutive month where Southern California experienced a year-over-year increase in the median sale price

San Diego County home prices remain high with the median price rising by 7.6 percent compared to the same period last year, a real estate information service announced Thursday.

Last month, the median home price was $570,000 up from $529,750 in May 2017, according to CoreLogic.

The median price was unchanged from April 2018 but the number of homes sold increased by 7.7 percent from 3,717 homes sold in April to 4,004 homes sold last month, the company said.

The number of homes sold year-over-year, however, was down, according to CoreLogic. This could signal that prices are starting to reach unaffordable levels, CoreLogic analyst Andrew LePage said.  

“With inventory tight and affordability worsening, the number of Southern California homes sold has fallen on a year-over-year basis during three of the last five months,” he said. “Total sales during the first five months of this year fell about 2 percent from the same period last year, reflecting limited inventory particularly in more affordable price ranges."

The median price for all Southern California homes sold last month was a record $530,000, an increase of 1.9 percent over April 2018 and an 8.2-percent increase over last year when the median price was $490,000, CoreLogic said.

May 2018 is the 74th consecutive month where Southern California experienced a year-over-year increase in the median sale price but it is still 10.9 percent below July 2007 peak during the height of the real estate bubble.

“The 8.2 percent year-over-year increase in Southern California’s median sale price last month tells only part of the story of waning affordability, where housing costs have outpaced income gains,” LePage said. “The roughly 50-basis-point rise in mortgage rates over the past year means the principal-and-interest mortgage payment on the median-priced home rose almost twice as much — about 16 percent — as the median.”

Last month, 22,874 properties changed hands in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties compared to 23,671 homes with the same month last year, a decrease of 3.4 percent but a 10.2-percent increase from April 2018, according to CoreLogic.

Contact Us