Home prices shot up again in July with the number of homes on the market still at record lows but some real estate professionals see the buying frenzy of the past few months easing heading into September.
“The number of homes is still going down and the price of homes is still going up,” said Nancy Layne, president of North San Diego County Realtors.
The Greater San Diego Association of Realtors reported that the median price of a single-family detached home was up 20.7% from June, reaching $875,000.
The median price of condos and townhomes was up 18% in July to $550,000, according to the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors, while the inventory of detached homes on the market in July dropped 47.4% and 59.1% for attached homes.
Not as Crazy
Nevertheless, Carla Farley, immediate past president of the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors said “We’re starting to see a few price reductions here and there.”
Farley said she expects prices to stabilize in the fall.
Farley said that the inventory of homes on the market could improve as some homeowners are deciding now’s the time to sell, worrying that the market could shift.
“I think you will probably see some seller fear set it,” Farley said. “Then they start really negotiating. Right now, they don’t have to negotiate.”
Layne of North San Diego Realtors, said the market is still hot, “just not as crazy” as it had been earlier in the year.
“We had agents frantically putting together spreadsheets with all the different numbers,” Layne said. “We’re still a very active market but it’s not quite as nuts as it was in that time frame when it was at the point of a spear.”
Layne said she, too, expects things to ease a bit in September.
“It always slows down around September and certainly through the holidays. People tend not to look during the holidays because people don’t want to sell during the holidays,” Layne said.
At the same time, that could be good news for buyers because if a house goes on the market during the holidays, it’s likely that the owner is motivated to sell, Layne said.
Discerning Buyers
OpenDoor, a real estate listing and buying company, reported that the hottest zip codes for home sales among property the company owns are in Rancho Bernardo, Mira Costa, Mission Valley, San Marcos, and Escondido.
Andy Swanton, general manager for OpenDoor in California, Oregon and Nevada, said he’s noticed a slight easing in the market.
“We’re not seeing as many offers coming in way over list price as we were three or four months ago,” Swanton said. “Buyers are a bit more discerning now whereas three or four months ago, buyers were desperate to buy a home even if they were sacrificing their wish list.”