From the San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego County home prices dropped 29.6 percent over the last year, twice the national rate, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.

The resale median price for single-family homes was pegged at $323,200, down from $459,000 in the first quarter of last year. The rate of decline ranked 17th nationally and compared with a 13.8 percent drop experienced by all metro areas as whole.

The first quarter report on 152 metro areas also found that San Diego's median price now ranks 11th in the country, the lowest in years, making the area relatively more affordable than other high-priced markets.

Cape Coral-Ft. Myers, Fla., ranked first in year-over-year price drop, down 59.1 percent to $87,300. Twenty-three metro areas experienced an increase over the same period with the Cumberland, Md., area stretching into West Virginia up the most, 21.1 percent to $114,900.

In terms of prices, San Diego's median – the midway point of all prices with half above and half below that figure – was down from $601,800 in 2006, when the area ranked as the fifth-most-expensive market nationally.

With much of California prices down from their 2005-06 peaks, there are only three metro areas in the state among the top 10 – San Jose at second with $450,000; Orange County at third with $435,800; and San Francisco at fifth with $402,000.

Honolulu, Hawaii, ranked first with $570,000, a figure that was down 8.1 percent from a year earlier. Akron, Ohio, was the least expensive at $50,100, 48 percent down from a year ago.

According to the association's figures, San Diego is down 46.3 percent from 2006, compared with a national decline of 23.8 percent to $169,000 over the same period.

 

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