Home Sales dipped in July and so did prices. A San Diego-based real estate tracking firm said concerns about the economy and the very public debt ceiling debate may have kept people from buying homes.
More than 18,000 homes changed hands last month in the six county region. That's down from nearly 19,000 a year ago.
"Granted, a year ago, July 2010 -- that's when the market took a plunge in terms of sales because most of the home buyer tax credits that were out there had expired, or been depleted," said Andrew LaPage of Dataquick.
Sales Volume and Median Price of All homes sold in San Diego County
July 2010 3,070
July 2011 3,041
%Chng -0.90%
July 2010 $338,000
July 2011 $325,000
%Chng -3.80%
Source: Dataquick
Sale of homes worth more than $500,000 declined the most, hinting that buyers looking to move up in the market seem to be staying where they are. Last month's headlines were also dominated by weak economic news.
"At least some of that could be the fear factor. It could be people getting spooked with all the political and economic uncertainty. The news in the economy was getting worse in July," said LaPage.
There is good news in the numbers, according to LaPage The July decline is the smallest year to year dip in 13 months. July also had five weekends, reducing the number of business days when a home sale transaction could happen.
