San Diego's housing market is showing sturdy resilience amid the economic ebb and flow, with a recent report revealing that an almost negligible 1.2% of homes were sold at a loss from August through October. This data nugget, coming from Redfin and featured by Axios, places the sunny California metro area third in rank for retaining home value across the nation's 50 largest cities.

While buyers might be getting a more temperate market, sellers are seldom feeling the pinch, with most cashing in more than they initially shelled out. In a dazzling contrast, San Francisco saw 13.5% of their homes plunge below their purchase price this fall. In a statement provided to Axios, San Diego Association of Realtors' president Frank Powell emphasized that the actual narrative is about affordability over devaluation, noting, "People have to mark their house down after three months if they don't list it for the right price, but houses aren't selling for less than people paid for them."

Although housing prices did take a slight dip from September to October, San Diego's real estate prices are still holding firm year over year—the median sale price of a single-family home was $936,250 in October compared to $860,000 the previous year. These figures were highlighted by the California Association of Realtors and picked up by NBC 7 San Diego. San Diego's housing inventory is also adjusting, with the ratio of new houses for sale to those sold easing from 3.0 in October of last year to 2.3 this year, further illustrating a stabilizing market.

The CAR's survey threw in a bit of statewide context, showing California's median home price at $840,360 in October, virtually stagnant from September but up 5.3% from the previous year. Despite higher interest rates smothering the once-hot sales pace, CAR President Jennifer Branchini told NBC 7 San Diego, "Despite rates remaining elevated, many other factors have swung in favor of buyers recently including more properties staying on the market longer before selling and fewer homes selling over list price, which could motivate more sellers to offer concessions."

Julie Chang from Pacific Sotheby's International Realty characterized the leveling prices as "normal" in her conversation with Axios after years of post-pandemic spikes. She delineates the recent deceleration in the market from the frenzy of the past few years.