The rising cost of residential real estate has been making a lot of news of late, almost every week. This past week was no exception, so let’s get right to it.
San Diego is among the nation’s five metro areas where residential real estate prices have recorded the highest year-over-year gains. That’s according to a new report from web-based broker Redfin.
Prices here jumped 11.8% over the past year to rank No. 4 on the list.
The metro area with the highest price increase was Miami, which posted a 16.4% jump. Anaheim saw a 12.6% increase while Newark had a 14.9% bump.
Interestingly, Austin, which was a magnet for homebuyers moving from California during the COVID-19 pandemic, posted the largest decline in home prices at a negative 5.2%. Fort Worth, another Texas city, had a 2.6% decline.
The report found that the median monthly U.S. mortgage payment hit an all-time high of $2,632 in the four weeks ending Sept. 10.
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In related news, the California Association of Realtors reports that rising mortgage rates and a continued shortage of homes for sale hampered the market for the third straight month in August. The median home price across the state registered its biggest year-over-year gain in 14 months.
In San Diego, year-over-year sales were down 18% but the average sales price jumped to $1 million in August compared to $886,000 a year ago.
“Despite persistently high mortgage rates and availability of homes remaining extremely tight, there’s still solid interest from prospective buyers,” said Jennifer Branchini, a Bay Area real estate broker in a prepared statement. “The highly competitive housing market continued to provide support to home prices, with the statewide median price steadily improving since early 2023.
California’s statewide median price climbed 3.0% from July’s revised $832,400 to $859,800 in August.
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Finally, speaking of things real estate, real estate internet platform Homebay reports that San Diego is one of the top five most expensive residential real estate markets on a square-foot basis.
The top five per square foot are San Jose ($845), San Francisco ($705), Los Angeles, ($641), San Diego ($587) and New York, ($490).
San Diego quantum computing startup MemComputing, launched by two UCSD physicists, says it has demonstrated the potential for prime factorization at scale.
The company recently released results from a study on computing prime factorization which led to the discovery.
According to a news release, the analysis was solicited as part of a Small Business Innovation Research contract with the U.S. Air Force.
The study assessed the potential to factorize large numbers using MemComputing’s patented circuit architecture, proving the feasibility of solving prime factorization at scale.
The company “is developing a range of hardware solutions designed for many edge-processing applications for industries such as energy, transportation, organization, and the Defense Department.”
According to the online publication TechCompanyNews.com, the company’s “first product solves intractable optimization problems faced by industry and the military.”
“These optimization problems, often found in transportation logistics applications, are extremely complex and take years for current supercomputers to solve at scale.”
“MemComputing provides the power and performance expected of quantum computing but is non-quantum and realized in silicon using traditional transistors,” the article in the publication said.
A company spokesman also noted, “The capacity to efficiently solve prime factorization on a large scale carries significant national security considerations, as it can potentially impact existing encryption methods, including RSA.”
RSA is a public-key cryptosystem that is used to secure data transmission.
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Popular internet and TV-based shopping site HSN says it has helped the San Diego-based nonprofit Foundation for Women Warriors with a fundraising effort totaling $239,985.
HSN customers donated more than $139,000 and HSN matched the first $100,000 donated, according to a spokeswoman.
HSN customers donated via the HSN website and through their call center choosing to add donations to their purchases to support the Foundation.
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The San Diego office of Houston, TX-based Element Resources, which bills itself as “a green hydrogen company, is expanding its partnership with the city of Lancaster.
According to a news release, the two will collaborate on developing hydrogen economy infrastructure, such as fueling stations.
The hydrogen generated at Element’s Lancaster Clean Energy Center “will be used to decarbonize regional transportation and industrial markets.”
Other recent hydrogen developments in the city include transitioning the City Hall to hydrogen power and building a $100 million anaerobic digestion plant to generate natural gas from organic waste.
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The Cottage, a favorite brunching spot here in San Diego, is adding a third location, preparing to launch in Del Mar Plaza next spring.
The Cottage La Jolla celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. It also runs a location in Encinitas.
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New York City fitness studio chain Pvolve has opened a franchise in Carlsbad.
Kristin and Jeff Springborn are the owners of the new studio located on Avenida Encinas.
According to a news release, the studio will “bring Pvolve’s science-led, low-impact fitness method to the Carlsbad community, offering a hands-on experience for members.”
Kristin, formerly in the technology sector, said in the release that she was drawn to Pvolve’s brand and seized the opportunity to join the growing business through franchising.
Customers who sign up for a founding membership before the grand opening event on Sept. 23, lock in a lifetime discounted rate.
Membership information can be found here.
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New York private investment firm Goldberg Group says it has bought high-profile San Diego-based engineering and construction management firm The Kleinfelder Group.
According to the news release, financial details were not disclosed.
Kleinfelder employs more than 3,100 professionals and runs over 105 office locations in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
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Finally, this South Bay item of note: Los Angeles-based nonprofit retail store operator Curacao, the biggest Hispanic-focused department store in the Southwest, says it will open a store in the Chula Vista Center next month.
This store expansion brings the total number of Curacao big box stores to 14 in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.
According to a news release, the 60,000-square-foot retail store will continue “the retailer’s continuing commitment to ensure its customers are economically empowered and offer a pipeline for building financial credit among a score of diverse offerings.”
The stores are run by the Curacao Foundation.
Tom York is a Carlsbad-based independent journalist who specializes in writing about business and the economy. If you have news tips you’d like to share, send them to tom.york@gmail.com.