Difference in S.D. data linked to foreclosures
By Roger Showley
STAFF WRITER
November 12, 2008
San Diego home prices have been falling for three years as sellers facing financial distress accept lower offers from bargain-hunting buyers. But the course of home values tells a slightly different story.
Zillow.com, a Seattle-based Web site that follows the housing market nationally, released figures yesterday that illustrate the gap between prices and what it estimates as the true value of homes.
The company found that values have fallen 17.9 percent in the past year in San Diego County, while the median price was off 27.2 percent over the same period, as measured by San Diego-based MDA DataQuick.
Falling values
Nationally: Zillow estimated the average home value at $202,966 in the third quarter, down 9.7 percent from the previous year and down 12.8 percent from the peak in the fourth quarter of 2004.
San Diego County: The average home value was estimated at $391,565, down 17.9 percent from the previous year and down 28.3 percent from the peak in the third quarter of 2005.
Greater declines: Cities with larger declines from the market peak include Stockton, 49 percent; Las Vegas, 36.1 percent; Phoenix, 32.1 percent; and Miami-Fort Lauderdale, 31 percent.
