San Diego's home prices were flat in November, compared to the previous month, according to the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday.
However, on an annual basis, home prices in San Diego jumped nearly 19 percent between November 2012 and November 2013, according to S&P.
The figures reflect a continued trend in which month-to-month increases are slowing or even dipping around the nation, while the annual gains remain healthy.
Mark Goldman is a real estate lecturer at San Diego State University. He said he doesn't see last year's double-digit home price jumps increasing. He said all signs point toward moderation.
"Household incomes are not increasing that much. Interest rates have gone up a little bit in the last six months. Employment is getting stronger, but there's nothing that is a super strong indicator of the economy bursting out into tremendous growth," Goldman said.
Goldman said he expects year-to-year increases to moderate around three percent this year. He said more people likely will try to sell this year because they no longer owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth.
The indices were created when S&P took the price of homes in 20 major cities around the U.S. in January 2000, assigned them a value of 100, and began tracking their subsequent rise and fall.
San Diego's index stood at 194.15 in November, which is a 94 percent appreciation over nearly 14 years. The gain is the third highest among the studied cities, behind only Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
The national 20-city index stood at 165.8 in November, a loss of 0.1 percent for the month, but an increase of 13.7 percent since the same period in 2012. A 10-city index was at 180.15, down 0.1 percent but an annual gain of 13.8 percent.
"Despite the slight decline, the 10-city and 20-city composites showed their best November performance since 2005," said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Prices typically weaken as we move closer to the winter."
He said the annual gains began appearing in June 2012, and while the trend has continued, the rate of increase has slowed. All 20 markets studied by S&P had annual gains, with 13 by double digits.
KPBS environment and business reporter Erik Anderson contributed to this report.
