While most San Diegans were decking the halls, the local housing market was hitting a softer note in November, experiencing a dip in home sales but a slight uptick in prices, according to the Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS®. Data freshly pulled from the San Diego Multiple Listing Service indicates a clear chill in the market, with single-family home sales tumbling over 17 percent from October to November, while condos and townhomes also saw a nearly 15 percent slide during the same period.
The holiday season, notorious for slowing real estate transactions, seemed to have played its part; November sales also fell by about 14 percent compared to the previous year—this dip, however, comes alongside a median price increase for single-family homes that crept up by 2 percent to hit $980,000, over 11 percent loftier than last November, as figures reported by SDAR convey. Condo and townhome prices weren't left out of the climb, registering a modest gain of just over 1 percent from October and sitting pretty at 11 percent higher year-over-year.
Falling in line with seasonal expectations, "Home sales dropping as we enter the December holiday season is a very typical phenomenon in a yearly housing market cycle," Frank Powell, SDAR President, highlighted the cyclical nature of the homebuying trends. Despite the anticipated lull in activity, windows of opportunity could open, as Powell suggested, with the Federal Reserve considering rate adjustments in the new year and urging market participants to stay vigilant in their pursuit of real estate wealth.
Active hotspots in the county for November's single-family home sales were led by zipcode wonders, including Fallbrook's 92028 with 34 sales and Clairemont's 92117 with 31, whereas Oceanside (zipcodes 92057 and 92056) and areas like Poway (92064) and Mira Mesa (92126) didn't lag far behind in the realty race. A glistening gem among listings was a palatial estate in Rancho Santa Fe—this property, a spectacle with a 130-foot infinity pool and a myriad of luxurious trappings, sold for a jaw-dropping $23.5 million on November 27, as SDAR data showcases.
