“How expensive?” tracks measurements of California’s totally unaffordable housing market.

The cost of homebuying is so insane that San Diego County’s sales are running at the slowest pace in records dating back 37 years.

Source: My trusty spreadsheet looked at two-year periods of sales from CoreLogic stats stretching back to 1988 to measure how much the local housing market has chilled. Remember that in March 2022, the Federal Reserve began its war on inflation using higher interest rates. Those moves essentially doubled mortgage rates to the 7% range.

The pinch

Only 59,146 San Diego County residences were sold in 24 months ended in April 2024, the slowest two years on record. This was fifth-straight month an all-time sales low was hit.

• HOW NIMBY ARE YOU? Ponder common objections to new housing. TAKE OUR QUIZ!

April’s homebuying pace is 34% below the 37-year average. It’s also 12% less than the pre-pandemic sales low of 66,845 in September 1996 – amid the region’s mid-1990s housing slump.

Affordability is the current culprit. Only 11% of San Diego County households have the financial strength to qualify to buy, according to California Association of Realtors’ estimates.

Mortgage rates at 20-year highs plus stubbornly high prices killed many house hunter dreams. CoreLogic’s April 2024 median of $880,000 is up 7% in the past 2 years after 38% gains in 2020-22.

Regionally speaking

It’s equally slow across the six-county region.

Only 357,486 Southern California residences were sold in 24 months ended April 2024, the slowest two years on record and the sixth-consecutive all-time low.

• REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER: Get our free ‘Home Stretch’ by email. SUBSCRIBE HERE!!

Sales run 33% below the 37-year average and 10% less than the pre-pandemic sales low of 399,178 in March 2009.

It’s no help that April’s median of $760,000 was up 1% in the past two years after 38% gains in 2020-22. Thus, more affordability headaches: just 15% of Southern California households can qualify to buy, according to Realtors’ math.

Postscript

How can some observers call this a hot market? Well, while a slim number of houses sell, the ones that do sell seem to go quickly.

San Diego County’s single-family houses lasted only 15 days on the market in 2024’s first four months, California Realtor stats show – that’s 16 days faster than the average sales speed since 2000.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]