The real estate market in downtown San Diego has experienced some substantial changes since the booming price appreciations we saw in 2012 and 2013.  The big story on this is that we’re finally approaching what would be considered a “normal” market place.  From 2000-2006 we saw a huge upswing in home values and number of sales, then we transitioned directly into a monumental market crash from 2007 – 2011 followed by a dramatic upswing in 2012-2013 with some leveling off on price appreciation in 2014.  Where does that leave us today?

An economist would call a balanced market one in which there is a 6 month supply of homes; this would be the situation where neither the seller nor the buyer has any huge advantage meaning no shortage or surplus of inventory.  Today, there are currently 194 properties for sale in Downtown’s 92101 zip code.  There has been an average of 58 sales per month over the last 12 month period with the 3 month trend to 52 sales per month.  We are seeing inventory start to diminish from a 4.2 month supply of downtown properties to a 3.94 months supply which really indicates that we are heading  back towards a seller’s market in which buyers will have to compete for the limited number of properties that are on the market, however, I will make it clear that this market seem normal with interest rates working like a Red Bull energy drink for a little extra stimulation.

It’s funny, but we haven’t experienced “normal” for over a decade and a half so this is new to a lot of buyers and even their real estate agents.

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These are some current statistics about the downtown market place what will help you understand current trends:

• 39% of all sales in 92101 are cash sales
• only 2% or less of our market is made up of short sales or foreclosures – that market is gone
• There neighborhoods with the most sales for Q4 of 2014 are the following:
• Marina District – 44
• East Village – 43
• Columbia – 33
• Little Italy – 29
• Cortez Hill – 25
• Gaslamp – 8
• The median sales for 2014 was right around $469,500
• In Q4 there were 19 sales that sold over one million dollars
• The most expensive property to sell in Downtown in  2014 was Meridian 2405, which sold for $4,100,000
• The least expensive property to sell in 92101  in 2014 was a studio at Smart Corner that sold for $184,000

Chad Dannecker is a downtown San Diego real estate expert.  He is featured monthly on Channel 4 SD news and 1170 AM real estate radio to talk about the downtown real estate market.  Chad is the owner and broker of Welcome to San Diego Real Estate and runs a team of elite real estate agents that focus on the San Deigo metro markets and bayside communities.