Case-Shiller Index: San Diego home prices continue downward trend

The closely-watched Case-Shiller Index of national home prices shows a continued decline in San Diego amid a “new equilibrium of minimal price growth.”

The latest report, released just before Thanksgiving, showed local home prices falling 0.9% in September — the fifth monthly decline.

“September’s monthly performance was uniformly weak,” said Nicholas Godec of S&P Dow Jones Indices. “All 20 tracked metros posted month-over-month declines before seasonal adjustment, with Tampa (-1.0%), San Diego (-0.9%), and Seattle (-0.9%) leading the downturn.”

Other housing market indicators showed the same weakness, with Zillow noting “home shoppers this fall are seeing some of the steepest price cuts in years.”

The online real estate service said San Diego is one of five markets seeing major price reductions.

“The biggest median discounts from initial list price appear in some of the nation’s most expensive markets: San Jose ($70,900), Los Angeles ($61,000), San Francisco ($59,001), New York ($50,000) and San Diego ($50,000),” said Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng.

Godec noted that since June, national home prices have grown less than the rate of inflation, and gap is widening.

“With mortgage rates stubbornly elevated and affordability at multi-decade lows, the market
appears to be settling into a new equilibrium of minimal price growth — or, in some regions, outright decline,” he said.