I've been following various learned discussions of housing prices and thought I'd add my own mini-view on the San Diego market.
In my neighbourhood there is a significant decline in housing prices (probably about 15% off the peak), and the number of houses for sale is significantly higher than it's ever been (it's a new neighbourhood). Houses are on the market for much longer than they used to be - a year ago they'd sell in a week, now it's a matter of months.
The number of flyers I get from real estate agents has decreased significantly.
A friend who's in the mortgage and loan business tells me business was quite slow but has picked up recently, mostly with adjustable rate folks refinancing to fixed to take advantage of the low rates.
Another friend who's in the furniture business (which closely tracks the housing market) tells me the retail side is very very slow.
Yet another friend who's in the construction business (windows) tells me the consumer market is so slow he's had to lay off several workers that he wanted to keep. The commercial side seems to be doing ok.
New home builders, of which there are plenty within striking distance of where I live, have started offering significant incentives to buyers. I heard one builder is offering 4% commission to real estate agents, where a year ago they had zero commission.
And then there's the historical housing prices graph…
