San Diego Home Values Hit Seven-year High

The median price for San Diego home sales and condominiums reached a near seven-year high in June, rising to $450,000, up 8 percent from June a year ago.

But the pace is slowing as the number of San Diego foreclosures shrinks and interest rates tick upward, a combination that still bodes well for individual homeowners while potentially discouraging investors who have played a major role in San Diego real estate over the past decade.

Real-estate tracker DataQuick reported this week that while home sale values continued their rise over the past year, the increase was less than that 24.1 percent jump from June 2012 to June 2013. A major factor was the slowdown in investor-related sales of foreclosure and short sale properties.

Statewide, single-family home and condominium sales during June increased 2.8 percent while sales of distressed properties fell 9.1 percent. “June marks the sixth consecutive month that sales have been lower on a year-over-year basis,” said Madeline Schnapp, Director of Economic Research for real estate tracking company PropertyRadar. “The lack of distressed property inventory and rapid increase in median prices has definitely taken a toll on demand.”

Inventory, while still tight, is increasing. In the first six months of 2013, there were 46,146 active listings in San Diego County, up from 26,294 last year, the San Diego Association of Realtors reports. This month, inventory surpassed 8,000 for the first time since February 2012.