San Diego home prices climbed 0.1 percent between October and November last year. That may not sound like much, but it was the only major city in the U.S. to see any gain in that period.
The small increase in November brought San Diego housing prices to 2.6 percent ahead of where they were last year. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. were the only other major markets to see prices rise over the same period, according to the latest Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
The local housing market may be able to credit its position ahead of the curve to the simple laws of supply and demand, said Mark Goldman, real estate professor at San Diego State University.
“San Diego has a critical housing shortage and there’s even a greater lack of homes that are in the permit process that will be coming on line,” he said. “So, we’re going to be experiencing a housing shortage in San Diego for quite some time to come.”
While the Case-Shiller Index reports data that is now two months old, Goldman said sales information from December show the trend should continue.
“We’re starting to see some improved activity,” he said. “I’m hoping we’ve more or less seen the bottom. We might see some minor declines, but overall we’ll see some modest continuation of strengthening of prices in San Diego.”
Of the 20 large cities tracked in the Case-Shiller report, nine – Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Portland, Seattle, and Tampa - saw housing prices decline to their lowest levels since the beginning of the economic downturn.
