Oct

San Diego Real Esate Sales Increase

San Diego real estate sales, as well as most real estate sales in most of California, are up for the most recent months. It seems this fact is getting so much attention that the accompanying fact that home values in California are still falling, is getting little mention.

Plus, the latest figures for real estate sales in California were in before our economic situation showed deepening signs of a severe recession.

The median price of $328,000 in San Diego County was the lowest since June 2002, as reported in San Diego Union-Tribune.

"There's this unfailing correlation between big price declines and big sales increases," an analyst with MDA DataQuick, told Bloomberg News.

Here in San Diego, upon checking with two major local escrow companies, it seems the bulk of the real estate sales in San Diego are bank owned or short sales. The escrow numbers showed that these distressed sales accounted for 62% to 70% of the new escrow business during August and September.

I personally feel this up-tick is a good sign, but by no means, a sign of an impending turnaround for the battered San Diego housing market.

It is much more important that the median San Diego home price is down 38% in the same period and the majority of San Diego home sales are foreclosures. Yet somehow, the rose-colored glasses crowd (or those in the mainstream real estate business) fail to mention these important details and only mention the increase in home sales.

Some prior posts on the San Diego real estate market: