San Diego real estate market, March 2009

Home prices in San Diego County, after rising in February 2009 for the first time since April 2008, were unchanged in March 2009, with the median home price at $285,000.

Home sales in March 2009 zoomed 43 percent over March 2008, at 3,020 homes sold. That came in as the largest March increase in five years.

So basically what we've seen recently is that home prices have been stable for three consecutive months, and home sales have increased, year over year, for nine consecutive months.

Real estate experts attribute the trend to low interest rates and more affordable housing, and some believe that the bottom of the market for low-end properties might have been reached, but they also expect high-end properties to continue their recent price declines.

The San Diego Association of Realtors reported an inventory of 13,895 resale homes on Wednesday,
April 15. At current sales rates, it would take about 4.9 months to sell the inventory. A five- to six-month supply is considered a good balance for both buyers and sellers.

There is some disagreement on the inventory, though, with some agents believing it is overstated because it includes short-sale homes, and others believing it is understated because some prospective sellers are waiting to list their homes. In my mind, current inventory is current inventory. If it's for sale, it's for sale. If it's not, it's not.

Many agents are also reporting multiple offers on properties, sometimes higher than the listing price. There are also reports of people selling houses they bought two or three years ago to buy a bigger house now at a lower price, a tactic that provides them with more than simply refinancing the loan on the smaller house.

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