A new report by the California Association of Realtors released Tuesday notes the median price of a home in San Diego County reached a record $625,400 in March.
The reason for the spike according to experts, a lack of inventory. A typical home is on the market only 13 days before being sold, compared to a statewide average of 23 days.
The news comes as the San Diego City Council’s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee is hosting a workshop Wednesday. Committee Chairwoman Georgette Gomez will lead the workshops, which will include discussions of methods to preserve existing affordable housing and strategies to prevent residential displacement. Gomez said, “Preserving our current affordable housing units in San Diego and ensuring San Diegans are not being priced out of their neighborhoods without adequate protections is extremely important.”
Recommendations also will be made to the Planning and San Diego Housing commissions regarding best practices to maintain rental housing stock for low-income families.
Realtors’ Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie-Appleton-Young said,“Inventory still remains tight, which is driving home prices higher."
The median price was up 9.5 percent from a year ago, while the number of sales declined 10.4 percent. Steve White is the association President, he said, “Sales in the Southern California region have cooled for the past five months, even in the more affordable Riverside and San Bernardino areas."
The data is based on information collected by the association from more than 90 local Realtor groups and multiple listing services statewide.