Looking at numbers for the 2018 San Diego Market Update, we're starting to see proof of the fact that the real estate market is shifting. What does that mean for you if you are thinking about buying or selling? Kyle Whissel explains!

Selling your San Diego area Home? Get a free price evaluation

Buying a San Diego area Home? Search all homes for sale

What's going on in the San Diego real estate market? We're starting to see numbers to support the signs that we are in a shift.

As always, with our market updates, we want to give you the leading indicators. The things that are happening today in the real estate market. These are the things that the media is not going to be reporting on for three or four months. So, by watching our videos, you guys are getting the inside scoop on exactly what's happening. Because, we've got our finger on the pulse, we're selling hundreds of homes a year, and we're getting this information from the streets of what's happening.

So, first number we like to look at, is the number of new homes that are coming onto the market for sale. That number is up 15.8%. That's a pretty big jump. For a lot of 2018, we're seeing the number of new listings going down year over year. But we're up 16%, so it's a pretty big jump.

On the other side of things, the number of homes going into escrow or off of the market, that's down 5.3%. So, you've got more homes coming on the market, and less homes going off the market. So, what that's doing, is leading to an increase in supply or inventory of homes for sale, to the tune of 42.1%. So, from this time in 2018, back to this time in 2017, you got 42% more homes for sale.

“What the media is going to do is latch on to that percentage number.”

That sounds like a big scary number, 42% more homes. That's a lot. But, the number we got to focus on, is how many months of supply is that. So, when I say supply, what that means is if we look at how many homes are selling per day, and we look at how many homes are for sale on the market right now, if no other homes came up for sale, how long would it take us to sell out of homes? In a balanced market, we typically see about six months of supply of homes for sale. It's 2.7, so we were down here, at one point something a year ago. Now, we're up here to 2.7. So, we have increased 42% on supply, but we're no where near the six month supply number.

So, there's still a lot less homes for sale than we see in a balanced market. But, it is more than a year ago.

Are we freaking out yet, no. But we're seeing some signs of the shift.

42% is a big increase there. The other thing that we're seeing too, is that the days on market, or the time it takes for a home to go into escrow, is up 10%. So, logically, if you have more homes for sale, it's going to take a little bit longer for those homes to sell. So, those are the numbers.

What does this mean to you if you are thinking about buying about buying a home?

The beautiful thing is, you've got some more choices. So, if you were looking, in the middle of summer, and you looked in a neighborhood and there was only one home for sale, go look in that same neighborhood today. There's probably three, four, five, six homes for sale. So, you're going to have more choices out there which is a beautiful thing. If you're on the selling side, you're thinking about putting your home on the market, it's a great time to do it because the inventories growing. We expect to see that inventory continue to grow. Especially when we hit 2019. Not as many people put their homes on the market over the holidays. But, as soon as the holidays are over, we expect that inventory number to shoot up.

So, if you're thinking about putting your home on the market, it's better to put it on the market now while the inventory is still relatively low at 2.7 months. Because as the inventory grows, it takes longer to sell. And, I'm going to guess you don't want it to take a long time for your home to sell. So, if you're buying, more options. If you're selling, perfect timing before inventory does grow.

If you're looking to do either one of those, we'd love the opportunity to help you out, Whissel Realty Group. Give me a call, Kyle Whissel, at 858 699 3895.