4 Neighbor Factors That Reduce Your Home’s Value
San Diego real estate
My first house in San Diego was within walking distance of San Diego State University. It was on a nice little cul-de-sac street, and for San Diego, on a huge almost 1/3 acre lot.
It was while living at this home that I became keenly aware of the factors in one’s neighborhood that not only can have an effect on your home’s resale value but also on its marketing time.
Yes, every neighborhood has them, homeowners who, for lack of a better phrase, have no pride in ownership. Naturally, this varies widely from neighborhood to neighborhood, and individual homeowners. Read more 
San Diego Home Prices Increase
San Diego home prices
Today, the S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index was released for January (index is calculated every month and has a two-month lag). The 20-area index real estate home sale prices report showed declines in 18 of the major metro areas, with just San Diego and Washington, D.C. showing home prices increases.
San Diego County Home Prices
San Diego home prices
San Diego County home prices fell in September for the second month after 15 consecutive monthly increases, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index report.
The resale home value of a typical house fell 1 percent in September from August. The value had dropped 0.6 percent in August from July.
However, September’s home price was still 5 percent above that of a year ago, according to the index, which reports home prices for 20 cities and the nation as a whole.
San Diego County houses priced under $314,451 slipped 0.9 percent from August; houses priced from $314,451 to $474,176 dropped 2 percent in value; while those priced above $474,176 rose 0.5 percent in value.
The national quarterly index, which measures home prices in the nine U.S. census regions, dropped 2 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter.
“While housing prices are still above their spring 2009 lows, the end of the tax incentives and still active foreclosures appear to be weighing down the market,” the monthly report stated.
San Diego’s Home Prices Projected to Fall Further
San Diego California home prices
A report by Fiserv, which provides the data for the widely watched Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, said San Diego prices rose now face a double-dip. They are projecting a 8.5 percent fall through 2011.
“Some of the largest declines in prices will occur in markets that had strong spring and summer 2010 price increases,” said David Stiff, Fiserv chief economist. “This is because the homebuyer tax credit delayed the correction in home prices that is necessary to return housing affordability to pre-bubble levels.”
San Diego home short sales
San Diego Mortgage Default Rate Drops
San Diego foreclosures
According to MDA DataQuick, a real estate analysis firm based in La Jolla, during the first half of this year, there were 5,458 notices of default in San Diego County and 3,315 foreclosures. The San Diego real estate default rate has dropped nearly 45 percent from last year!
A 45% decline in San Diego home foreclosures sounds good on the surface, but, one should be aware of the fact that the huge number of San Diego short sales was the main cause of the drop in foreclosures.
If one considers the number of San Diego short sales, the actual San Diego foreclosure rate has slid less than 6 percent.
San Diego Homeowners – End Up Screwed
San Diego home foreclosures
Under-water San Diego homeowners are left with two not-very-appealing choices: stop making payments, take a major credit hit and risk the lender seeking a court judgment for the balance of the loan — or keep paying and hope the house begins to appreciate, however little, again.
There are many government programs to help homeowners in trouble & I advise all distressed San Diego homeowners to seek out these programs. However, from the recent reports on the performance of these good intentioned programs … so far they have been dismal failures!
Perhaps the government needs to understand that there is nothing wrong with renting! Some of the many under-water homeowners were simply not suited to own a home!
What of the San Diego homeowners who are not under–water on their mortgages? What benefit is there for homeowners that were resourceful, hardworking and buying only what they could afford when they could afford it?
The majority are offended that they — and their children and their grandchildren — will be paying for someone else’s mortgage woes through higher taxes.