Home prices rise, sales slip in San Diego County

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The median price of a single-family home in San Diego County crept up last month, but sales of existing homes fell, the California Association of Realtors reported Thursday, Sept. 17.

The median home price countywide in August was $732,560, compared to $719,000 in July, representing a 1.9% increase, according to CAR.

On a year-over-year level, the price was about 13% higher; in August 2019, the median price of an existing single-family property was $650,000, according to CAR data.

Statewide, the median price last month was $706,900, compared to $666,320 in July -- up 6%. In August 2019, the median price was $617,410, reflecting a year-over-year rise of 14.5%.

The median represents the point at which half of homes sell above a price, and the other half below it.

CAR Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young said the real estate market is contending with constrained supply and high demand.

``Low (interest) rates and tight housing inventory are contributing factors to the statewide median price setting a new record high three months in a row, from June to August,'' she said. ``A change in the mix of sales is another variable that keeps pushing median prices higher, as sales growth of higher-priced properties continued to outpace their more affordable counterparts.''

Last month, home sales countywide were down 2.2%, but they were up 10.2% year-to-year, according to CAR.

The association's Unsold Inventory Index for August indicated that the median time a property was on the market before it sold in California was 13 days. In San Diego County, it was eight days.

The average price per square foot for an existing single-family home in California last month was $315 -- $28 more than in August 2019.