San Diego County’s median home price hit an all-time high of $570,000 in April, increasing 8.6 percent in a year, said real estate tracker CoreLogic. It surpases the previous peak of $550,000 from the month before.

The increase was largely led by the rising price of resale condos, going up 11.7 percent in a year to a record high median of $430,000 with 1,102 sales.

While the rising prices are notable, they still technically lower than prices at the height of the housing boom. In November 2005, the median hit $517,500, which would be more than $655,000 today after adjusting for inflation. Some economists argue comparing the current market to the last housing boom is faulty because the runup was based on unrealistic access to loans, and that’s not the case now.

In April, 3,717 homes sold, about the same as April 2017 when 3,640 sold.


It was not just condos that hit a record price in April, but resale homes. The highly desired resale home reached a record median of $610,500 with 2,258 sales.

The newly built home price was $707,500 with 357 sales, but was not a significant indicator of the market because of such few sales. For context, an average 1,234 new homes were sold each month in 2004.

Quickly increasing prices could be a burden for people looking to buy their first home, said Alan Gin, economist at University of San Diego. He also said that people who manage to get into a home could still have a hard time.


“Usually, if you have to spend more than 30 percent of your income on housing, you’re stressed,” he said. “Some people in California are spending more than that.”

Gin said it could be tough for a homeowner to find a new home in California if they want to sell. But, the ideal situation would be if a homeowner could sell their home and move to a low-cost state for either a new job or to retire.

Evan Morris, a real estate agent based in Golden Hill, said condos are becoming a more popular option with first-time buyers, even if their desire may have originially been a single-family house. He said they might be approved for up to $650,000, which could cover a traditional home, but are alarmed by the monthly costs of a home that expensive.

“They see that sticker shock and change their minds pretty quickly,” he said.


The number of condo owners putting their homes up for sale appears to be increasing. There were 1,573 condos for sale in April, up from 1,174 at the same time the year before, said the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors.

In general, there were more homes listed for sale in April — 5,637 — than the same time last year when 4,763 homes were available.

Morris said first-time buyers often find value in a condo because they can live in the neighborhood they want, without killing their budget.

San Diego County is still a cheaper option in coastal Southern California.


In April, the median home price in Orange County was $715,000, increasing 5.9 percent in a year. Also more expensive than San Diego County was Los Angeles County with a median of $590,000, increasing 7.3 percent in a year, and Ventura County, with a median of $585,000, increasing 4.4 percent in a year.

The cheapest homes continue to be in San Bernardino County with a median of $330,000 (increasing 10 percent in a year) and Riverside County with a median of $375,000 (increasing 6.1 percent in a year).


Business

phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar

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