Steve Doyle’s Blog

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

MDA Data Quick reported yesterday that the overall median price of a San Diego home went UP in February. This is the first time in ten months, and prior to that blip, you need to look back to June of 2007 to find a month-over-month increase in median home prices.

You also have to look back to June of 07 to find the last year-over-year decrease in the number of sales for a given month. That means the number of homes sold in San Diego county has increased every month (compared to the same month a year before) for 20 consecutive months. This is good news for San Diego real estate sales!

The San Diego Association of Realtors said there were 14,733 active listings as of yesterday. A similar comparison would take you back to January 2006 to find a number that low. Even with 52% of the home sales coming from foreclosed homes in February of 2009, you have to go back 3 years to find a time when the number of homes listed for sale was lower than what was reported yesterday.

The Realtors also said the number of listing represented about a 7.3 month inventory for available homes in San Diego. In February of 2008, the inventory stood at 13.7 months! As inventory continues to drop and sales continue to rise, the balance between the number of homes available and the number of buyers looking for homes will flip. Traditionally, a 5 to 6 month inventory is called a “balanced inventory”.

Add into this mix, historically low mortgage rates, State and Federal tax credits for buying homes and increased loan limits. The more you look at the trends, the more likely you are to agree, were are reaching stability in the San Diego home market. And, the opportunities presented by this market are quickly being absorbed.

So what does this all mean? Well, I come back to my first question in this post … Are we there yet?