09 Jun San Diego home sales increase, but slower pace predicted

Prices of homes for sale in San Diego rose to an all-time post-recession high in March, but are now starting to show signs of a slowdown after large appreciation gains and an investment-fueled real estate market that dominated 2013.

The S&P Case-Shiller Index, which tracks repeat sales of single-family homes in 20 U.S. cities, reported San Diego real estate prices increased 1.3 percent from February  to March. San Diego was #1 in the nation for appreciation, with 18.9 percent year-over-year gains in March in communities such as Carmel Valley, Del Mar, La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, Santaluz and Solana Beach.

San Diego real estate experts make predictions
While the real estate market in San Diego is stronger thanks to double-digit appreciation, experts warn that it is not sustainable long-term, annual growth is cooling, and the level of affordable San Diego homes for sale may have reached its peak.

Mark Goldman, a loan officer and real estate lecturer at San Diego State University, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that he predicts a lower inventory, flatter household incomes and tighter mortgage restrictions by the end of the year. Nationally, housing indicators remain mixed. Housing starts were padded by strong apartment construction, but new single-family home sales are still soft, despite relatively low mortgage rates.

In April, real estate tracking firm DataQuick reported San Diego County’s median home sale price was $435,000, up from $427,000 in March.