Category Archives: Interest Rates

How’s the Real Estate Market?

Hows the Real Estate Market?

The U.S. unemployment rate is at a 50-year low, and consumer confidence remains high. In fact, the University of Michigan’s latest Surveys of Consumers found that Americans have their most positive personal finance outlook since 2003.

However, if you follow national news, you’ve probably heard speculation that we could be headed toward a recession. Global trade tensions and a slowdown in the GDP growth rate have sparked volatility in the stock market, leading to economic uncertainty.

Given these differing signals, you may be wondering: How has the real estate market been impacted? Where is it headed? And more importantly, what does it mean for me?

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September 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Markets

September 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Markets

North County and San Diego real estate gave us another month of mixed results. Prices dropped slightly in North County, but countywide they saw a slight, year-over gain. The strong economy, low interest rates and tight inventory are keeping pressure on the market, but our high prices are working against that. According to Forbes, home prices in the San Diego market are 19 percent higher than they should be based on incomes in our area.

Although some experts predict our market is at a higher risk of a downturn, others don’t put the San Diego market into their high-risk category should a recession hit. What does this mean for you as a home buyer or seller? It means there are still great opportunities for you. As a buyer, you should focus on long-term investments, and if you are selling, make sure your home is one of the best values for buyers in your specific market.

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August 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Markets

August 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Markets

North County and San Diego real estate markets show a mixed bag of results this month. We should be seeing a robust market with unemployment and interest rates so low, but price increases are stalling out and sales continue to slow.

Experts cite several reasons for the slowing market, the 2017 tax changes that limit state and local deductions, trade wars, and fewer foreign buyers. Some think that home buyers are waiting for prices to drop. But San Diego County’s lack of available homes for sale may keep that from happening. Although we have been seeing inventory slowly creep upwards, it pulled back this month. If that continues, there will be fewer choices for home buyers.

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July 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Markets

JULY 2019 NORTH COUNTY AND SAN DIEGO REAL ESTATE MARKETS

The North County and San Diego Real Estate markets continue to show modest gains in year-over, median home prices. But this may be due to the pressure caused by low resale inventory and the lack of new homes in our market.

The real estate market is slowing down. Sales have decreased consistently in the first half of this year when compared to the same time last year. Will this slump continue? The San Diego Union-Tribune polled their local experts in their weekly Econometer column. Opinions were evenly split, but even those who felt this slowdown was not necessarily long-term did concede that prices have moved beyond most buyers’ reach. Some also noted that we are nearing the end of an economic cycle.

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June 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Report

June 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Report

June 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Report continues with trends that started last summer. Home prices are slowly rising while the volume of home sales drops and available inventory creeps up. North County showed a year-over median price increase of just 1.0 percent while San Diego County as a whole saw year-over prices rise by 2.6 percent.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices put San Diego metro price gains at the lowest of their 20-city index for the fourth month in a row. Even with low interest rates, the price of homes in high-cost markets like San Diego is keeping buyers at bay. Some experts do believe that interest rates may drop even lower. Those lower rates could help warm up our market.

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May 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Report

May 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Report

The May 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Report shows that after climbing at a fairly fast pace for several years, home-price growth is slowing down. North County saw its first year-over, median price downturn in 43 months. Countywide, prices continued to move up at a moderate rate of 2.4 percent compared to the previous April.

Before you panic about a crash, most experts don’t see one coming soon. They blame this slowdown on a lack of affordability in high priced markets like ours. This lack of affordability is because home prices have risen faster than wages.

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April 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report

April 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report

The April 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report has good news for both home buyers and sellers. If you are thinking of buying, there’s good news all around. Home appreciation has slowed down considerably, interest rates are holding steady, and homes were as affordable in March as they were a year earlier. According to RealEstate.com, it’s even improving for first-time buyers.

If you are thinking of selling, it’s still a great time. Although inventory is slowing growing, it’s still very low. And this is a great time of year to sell a home. Realtor.com® claims that the beginning of April is the best time to put your home on the market. Their research shows that homes sell for more now than they do at the beginning of the year, and there are fewer homes for sale, thus less competition, than there will be in coming months.

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February 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report

FEBRUARY 2019 NORTH COUNTY AND SAN DIEGO REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT

The North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report for February 2019 continues to show a slower market, but with drops in interest rates that started at the end of December, there has been a slight pickup in sales. That’s why closed sales numbers were down 16.2 percent in North County and 17.9 percent countywide compared to the previous January. But pending sales, which show more recent activity, dropped quite a bit less with a 1.1 percent decrease in North County, and a drop of 3.7 percent countywide.

Experts anticipate that interest rates will rise as high as 5.5 percent in 2019. If this happens, it will most likely put a damper on home sales and appreciation. But because income growth is strong in San Diego, Zillow still predicts our market will be one of the top 10 hottest markets in 2019.

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January 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report

January 2019 North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report

The North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report for January 2019 shows stronger price growth in December, but continues with the same declining market trends that began last April. So even though the median sales price is still climbing, the number of sales continues to drop. We are also seeing longer market times and a growing inventory of homes for sale.

Experts predict more of the same in 2019 with the California Association of REALTORS® noting that while the median home price may rise slightly, home sales will continue to drop. If our slower market is keeping you on the fence as far as buying, you may want to reconsider. Interest rates have recently decreased in reaction to stock market volatility and trade tensions, but most experts expect them to climb, possibly as high as 5.5 percent, in 2019.

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November 2018 North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report

November 2018 North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report

This month’s North County and San Diego Real Estate Market Report shows a continued shift away from the strong sellers’ market we have been in for almost seven years. Sales have slowed down to their lowest point since 2007.

And although year-over prices are increasing, the much-watched CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices show a decrease in prices of repeat sales. For a more detailed explanation and to learn more about what’s currently happening in our market, take a look at last week’s blog post, “How’s the Market?”

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