The California Association of Realtors has some good news and some bad news for housing affordability in San Diego.
The bad? According to its most recent report, San Diego’s affordability index was 11% in the fourth quarter of 2023. In other words, only 11% of buyers could afford to purchase a median-priced home in the region.
This was down 2 percentage points from 13% in the same quarter for 2022.
And the good?
That 11% number remained stable compared to the second quarter of 2023.
The CAR study found that the median price of a home in San Diego for the final three months of 2023 was $831,500.
Local buyers need a minimum income of $248,200 to qualify for a mortgage to purchase that median-priced home.
The average monthly mortgage payment would total more than $6,000 with 20% down and an interest rate of 7.39%.
Overall, high mortgage rates and the inventory shortage are keeping California’s housing affordability at a 16-year low, the association report said.
A minimum annual income of $222,800 was needed to qualify for a $833,170 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Twenty-two percent of home buyers were able to purchase the $650,000 median-priced condo or townhome. A minimum annual income of $174,000 was required to make a monthly payment of $4,350.
For a deeper dive, click here.
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In related, somewhat brighter news…residential real estate web platform Redfin reports that the number of home sale listings in San Diego increased 22% for the four weeks ending Feb. 4.
This data was based on a review of data gleaned from the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S.
The area, like many other parts of the country, is experiencing a shortage of homes coming to market.
As a result, pending sales are down 8%, the biggest decline in four months, according to the new report from Redfin.
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Carlsbad’s fifty-five-year-old personal fitness company Jazzercise has appointed Bobbi Quick as its new president to work with CEO Shanna Missett Nelson, aiming to “navigate the competitive fitness and wellness sector and foster growth.”
According to a news release, Quick, with three decades of working experience in the personal fitness sector, will use her background in operations and sales to execute Jazzercise’s future growth, drawing from leadership roles at other fitness businesses like 24-Hour Fitness and EōS Fitness.
Quick was previously the company’s chief revenue officer. Missett founded the company in 1969.
According to credit rating agency Dun & Bradstreet, the privately held dance fitness operator has more than 7,800 franchised instructors.
Jazzercise generates revenue through franchise fees, as well as the sale of clothing, books, and other merchandise.
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The San Diego Tourism Authority, the independent agency responsible for promoting the region as a vacation destination, said it is seeking San Diegans who want to offer their ideas about the future of tourism.
The ideas will be used to help the agency shape its look-ahead 10-Year Tourism Stewardship Planning Process.
Everyone who takes the survey will have a chance to win a “Taste of San Diego” staycation prize estimated at over $1,500.
Responses to the survey, which can be accessed here, must be completed by Feb. 29.
Participants will be entered to win a “Taste of San Diego” staycation prize package valued at $1,500, which includes two nights at the Catamaran Hotel, four tickets to the San Diego Zoo, and a $100 restaurant gift card.
The authority said it wants to find how what locals think in terms of making San Diego a more attractive area to visit for out-of-town tourists.
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Encinitas resident Lauren Stohlman has helped to launch San Diego-based Rally Republic, which claims to be the first pickleball business to help college and university players showcase their teams.
The company makes pickleball paddles branded with collegiate logos.
Lauren spent 12 years as a professional photographer before starting her new venture. The other company co-founder is Chad Phillips, a 25-year industry executive in sports merchandising.
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Ben Moraga, former president of the Sharp HealthCare Foundation, has been named president and CEO of the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation.
Before coming to the foundation, Moraga was the associate vice president of university relations and development at San Diego State University.
According to the foundation’s website, the nonprofit holds and invests donor-advised and nonprofit agency funds and facilitates grantmaking in our local community. Learn more at rsffoundation.org.
Moraga previously was a board member of the Monarch School, which educates homeless youth in San Diego, and a commissioner for both the San Diego Housing Commission and the San Diego Library Commission.
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TV financial news broadcaster CNBC and non-profit research organization Just Capital has added local energy infrastructure company Sempra to the JUST 100 list. The list honors those companies “with a strong commitment to serving their workers, customers, communities, the environment and shareholders.”
According to a news release from the two, Sempra ranked first amongst its peers in health and safety policies, customer treatment, opportunities for local businesses, and employee-led giving and volunteering.
Just Capital evaluated the 1,000 largest public U.S. companies across 20 issues identified through comprehensive, ongoing public opinion research on Americans’ attitudes toward responsible corporate behavior.
The LinkedIn profile for Just Capital says it is an independent nonprofit measuring and improving stakeholder performance at America’s largest companies.
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Finally, this bit of news from San Diego’s legal sector…two San Diego attorneys are behind the dismissal of a high-profile premises liability case against retail giant Walmart in a Superior Court case in San Bernardo.
The judge dismissed the case in favor of national insurance and civil litigation law firm Tyson & Mendes LLP.
The plaintiff said he received a brain injury while shopping at a Walmart store in Rialto. He said merchandise fell on him in the fruit section.
He sued the retailer for $396,000, but the judge recently dismissed the case after the plaintiff failed to respond to discovery or appear for depositions.
San Diego-based attorneys Christopher Schon and Anthony Puzo successfully handled the case, securing the dismissal after the plaintiff missed the deadline to refile.
“The plaintiff had failed to respond to written discovery or appear for two properly noticed depositions when we filed a motion for terminating sanctions or in the alternative to compel plaintiff’s deposition, which was granted,” said Schon. “The court ordered the plaintiff to appear for a third deposition, stipulating that if the plaintiff did not appear, the case would be dismissed without prejudice. When the plaintiff still didn’t appear, the court dismissed the plaintiff’s case.”
Since nearly three and a half years had passed since the incident occurred, the plaintiff missed his deadline to refile.
According to a news release issued by the attorneys, the dismissal “underscores the importance of diligent participation in the discovery process, signaling to plaintiffs and their counsel that courts will favor the defense when they demonstrate responsible preparation.”
The winning law firm, Tyson & Mendes, claims to be one of the fastest-growing civil defense firms in the U.S.
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.
