In the San Diego-Carlsbad area, 26.4 percent of the homes listed for sale had at least one asking-price reduction this past August, according to Trulia. Nationally, that number was 17.2 percent, the highest national rate since 2014, according an October report by the real estate and rental website.
It might seem like great news for buyers, but the average decline is minimal. Trulia said nationally the reduction is only 2.4 percent off the original listing price.
Analysts said increasing mortgage interest rates are actually slowing sales down, too. In San Diego, there has been an almost 17 percent decrease in single-family home sales from October of last year to October of this year and a 15 percent decrease in condominium and townhome sales in the same time period, according to Multiple Listing Service of San Diego.
"The only real change has been the interest rates," said Steve Fraioli, president of the Greater Association of San Diego Realtors.
"If the interest rates keep going up — and there seems to be a threat of the feds raising the interest rates — that’s going to hinder sales all over the country. There's no two ways about that, but once again when you only build half the homes that you need for the region, your homes will always sell, especially here in San Diego," Fraioli said.
Analysts said the median home prices are likely going to continue to rise, just maybe not as fast as in years past. Right now, the average single-family home price in San Diego is $645,000.
Fraioli said sellers should be careful at where they price their property.
"I think people got a little over zealous with the price of their homes over the last couple of years, so there's a bit of adjustment if you priced your home too high than yes you'll have to lower the price for it," he said.
