Buyers Snatching Up Houses Around San Diego County

Sales and price data released by the San Diego Association of Realtors shows small declines in August when compared to the previous month, but the local real estate market was still stronger than the same time last year.

The median price of a San Diego house sold in August was $483,000, down 0.4 percent from July, according to the SDAR report. However, buyers had to pony up 23 percent more than in August 2012.

Data shows 2,188 detached homes changed hands last month, nearly 3 percent fewer than in July and down 2.8 percent from the same period last year.

For attached homes, the media August sales price was $310,000, down 3.1 percent from July but 29 percent higher than August 2012, according to the SDAR.

The number of condominiums and townhouses sold in August totaled 1,084, down 0.4 percent from July but 6.6 percent higher than the same month in 2012.

The combined figures for the first eight months of the year still show strong gains in San Diego.

The SDAR reported that between January and August 2013, more than 17,000 houses were sold at a median price of $450,000. The sales total was up 4 percent over the first eight months of last year, and the median price was nearly 21 percent higher.

For condos and townhomes year-to-date, nearly 8,000 have sold at a median price of more than $290,000. That reflects an increase of 7.3 percent in sales and a price hike of almost 32 percent.

Houses sold in August spent an average of 42 days on the market, as opposed to 75 days in the year-ago period, according to SDAR.

-City News Service