Housing prices rise amid rising inventory

SAN DIEGO COUNTY – San Diego home prices are trending upward into 2024, with more single-family homes coming onto the market and sales of existing homes likely to increase in coming months, according to the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors. It has been suggested that the

“We are optimistic that interest rates will fall next year, and when that happens, we expect sales volume in the San Diego market to increase dramatically,” said Spencer Lugash, the association's new president.
The median existing single-family home price in December was $949,000, up from $865,000 in December 2022, according to the association.
The number of single-family homes listed for sale in December was 4,246, up from 2,177 a year earlier, when rising interest rates led to a decline in housing inventory.
“Personally, I think prices will continue to rise,” Lugash said.
attached housing
The situation is similar for accessory dwelling units, where the association pegged the median price at $650,000 in December and inventory for sale was 2,223 units, compared to 1,003 units in December 2022. That's up from $585,000 a year ago.
“San Diego inventory and sales will increase significantly as interest rates decrease,” Lugash said. “I've already had people contact my agent and say, “I'd like to start looking again.''
That's a big change from most of 2023, when homeowners had mortgages with interest rates hovering at or below 3%.
Existing home sales in December rose from a 13-year low, rising 0.8% from November, the National Association of Realtors reported.
Although the increase was not significant, the change ended five consecutive months of declining inventories, the association said.
As of mid-January, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were hovering in the mid-6% range, after hitting a low of about 2.8% in 2021, according to Freddie Mac.
Lugash was reluctant to predict how far interest rates would have to fall for homeowners to take action.
“That's a crystal ball question,” Lugash says.
Broker of the Year
Lugash, a real estate broker and real estate attorney with more than 25 years of experience, succeeds Frank Powell as president of the Realtors Association, which has more than 12,000 members.
Mr. Lugash is a graduate of Pepperdine School of Law and directs the Lugash Law Center, which specializes in real estate.
In 2012, Mr. Lugash co-founded Big Block Realty, a flat fee real estate brokerage, where he served as COO, general counsel, and broker of record. He left Big Block in 2018 to form TXR Homes.
Lugash was named Broker of the Year in 2021 by the Realtors Association.
Jeff Hans of RE/MAX in Rancho Bernardo was named vice president of the association, and Karen Van Ness of eXp Realty in California was named treasurer.