San Diego Real Estate Continues to Appreciate
Jul 26th, 2010 by Kathleen Behrens
Houses for Sale in San Diego – San Diego real estate continued to appreciate during June as evidenced by the median price increase for a home in San Diego compared to both the previous month as well as the year prior. According to the California Association of Realtors, the median price for a San Diego home in June was $397,910, which represents an increase of 1.7 percent from one month earlier and an increase of 9.7% from June 2009. Although the exact figures for the median value of a home in San Diego vary from the California Association of Realtors to Zillow to MDA DataQuick, all three companies have recently reported increases for the median price of a home in San Diego.
San Diego home prices increased in June despite a decline in the number of homes sold in San Diego during the previous month. Although home sales in San Diego decreased by 4.1 percent, the number of homes sold in San Diego in June was up 1.1 percent from the year prior. However, San Diego real estate experts anticipated a decline in home sales would occur during the second half of 2010 as the effects of tax incentives, such as the federal homebuyer tax credit, came to an end. To qualify for the federal homebuyer tax credit, homebuyers must already have a signed contract. Due to the extended deadline, homebuyers have until September 30, 2010 to close escrow.
As far as the California tax credits are concerned, the California Franchise Tax Board (CFTB) is still accepting first time homebuyer applications to ensure they receive enough valid claims. However, the CFTB has already accepted over 28,000 first time homebuyer applications and is likely to stop accepting new applications for that credit soon. Buyers who purchase new San Diego homes, or new homes in any California city, still have time to cash in on the new home credit. As of July 20th, the CFTB had received 10,170 application and reservation requests worth an estimated $66,120,000 of the available $100 million for buyers who purchase new homes.
According to the California Association of Realtors, home sales for California were down 11.1 percent in June from the previous month and down 4.2 percent from the year prior. Although the median price for a home in California decreased 3.8 percent from May to $311,950 in June, the median price for a home in California was still up 13.6 percent from the previous year. With more than two-thirds of the California new home tax credit claimed and the first time homebuyer funds exhausted, we have already witnessed a decline in California home sales. Will California home values decline as well?
Buying a home in San Diego may pan out to be a wise long term investment as San Diego real estate continues to appreciate. The San Diego real estate market appears to have bottomed out during March 2009 when the median price for a home in San Diego sunk to a low of $326,830. Since then the median San Diego home price has improved 21.7 percent to $397,910 according to the California Association of Realtors. Although the median San Diego home value is still well below the peak of $622,380 reached during May 2006, an intelligent investor knows to embrace the adage buy low and sell high.
With record low interest rates and low, yet increasing home values in San Diego, now is an excellent time to enter the San Diego real estate market. Begin your search of houses for sale in San Diego today, or contact San Diego Broker and Realtor Russ Petrone of Petrone Properties at 858-259-1000 to have a customized search of the houses for sale in San Diego created specifically for you based upon the criteria you require for your San Diego home. With 25 years of experience in the San Diego real estate market, Russ has the experience, community knowledge, and negotiating skills to help you find and purchase the perfect home in San Diego.