Average S.D. Home Price Hits $182,237; Sales Up 33%
The ever-increasing cost of San Diego County housing continued to spiral upward in August as the average cost of resold existing houses reached a record $182,237, a 16% jump from the average price during August, 1987.
The figures, compiled by the San Diego Board of Realtors, include sales of houses brokered by member real estate agents in San Diego, Chula Vista and El Cajon. The 1,427 houses and condominiums sold by its members in August represented a 33% increase over the sales volume last year.
The price increase reflects a healthy San Diego economy, relatively reasonable mortgage interest rates and a decline in new housing permits that has tightened the supply of housing in San Diego County, said San Diego Board of Realtors president Wayne Bank.
Of lesser importance but still a factor is the specter of growth-control measures that have been placed on several municipalities’ ballots and that, if passed in November, could severely limit the supply of new housing in many areas of San Diego County, Bank said.
“Most people don’t fully understand (a housing limit) until it’s upon them, until they are actually experiencing the housing shortage, and I don’t think it’s to that point yet,” Bank said. “But a few people are realizing,” he said, that, if they are going to buy a house, “they are better off doing it while there’s a plentiful supply.”
Prices of new houses sold in the county during the three months ended June 30, the most recent period for which figures were available, also reflected the hot San Diego market.
The average price of single-family homes and condominiums combined sold over the quarter was $178,172, up 12% from the $157,941 for the same three-month period in 1987, according to Market Profiles, a San Diego market research firm that tracks subdivision sales.
The price increase in new single-family homes showed a larger percentage increase, reaching $191,545, a 15% rise over the $166,578 paid for detached homes over the comparable period in the previous year.
