Home prices continue their upward rise in San Diego, growing by 0.4 percent on average between December and January, according to the widely followed S&P/Case-Shiller report released Tuesday.
Local home prices have grown by 6.9 percent over the past 12 months. That’s less than in markets like Denver, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle, which saw increases over 10 percent, but above the national average of 5.4 percent.
The latest increase was a little less than the 0.6 percent recorded between November and December.
“Home prices continue to climb at more than twice the rate of inflation,” said David M. Blitzer, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The low inventory of homes for sale — currently about a five month supply — means that would-be sellers seeking to trade-up are having a hard time finding a new, larger home.”
He said price growth could slow as housing construction accelerates, noting that starts of single-family homes in February were the highest since November 2007.
“While low inventories and short supply are boosting prices, financing continues to be a concern for some potential purchasers, particularly young adults and first time home buyers,” he added. “The issue is availability of credit for people with substantial student or credit card debt. “
