The San Diego Union Tribune reported today that home prices, as reported by MDA DataQuick, stabilized in the past quarter, with 8 out of 56 ZIP codes showing increase in prices over last year. The median resale price of a home was down only 5% compared with the comparable quarter last year, a marked improvement over the 24% drop in median price starting in 2007.
The highest areas of appreciation of prices were West Escondido and South Oceanside. Several central areas of San Diego continued to show falling prices.
The inventory of available detached homes on the market is down, at 5670, compared with 8562 in mid-July. This is partly due to fewer distressed properties on the market. Often the distressed properties are offered at very good prices, resulting in multiple, competitive offers. Sometimes first-time buyers are frustrated in their efforts to purchase properties by all cash offers from investors. It may be that a new wave of foreclosures will increase the number of available properties.
In general the market seems to have hit bottom, so this may be a good time to consider buying before prices begin to rise.