Here’s an interesting comparison.
As of December’s Case-Shiller data, prices in San Diego County have fallen nearly 20% from their November 2005 peak. As of last month, their median price for all homes sold (single-family and condos) was $415,000 (source: San Diego Union-Tribune).
In the Seattle area, December’s Case-Shiller put prices off 4% from their July 2007 peak. Last month the median price for all homes sold in King County was $395,000 (source: NWMLS).
Now, if you listen to the so-called real estate “experts” around here, they will tell you that prices here in Seattle are just going to “plateau” and stay flat for a while, before continuing their ever-upward journey to the stars. On the other hand, no one in their right mind believes that San Diego’s price drops are over yet, given the continued severity of the foreclosure problem down there.
So let’s project the rest of this year for King County and San Diego County based on two allegedly reasonable assumptions:
- King County home prices will remain flat through December.
- San Diego County home prices will continue to decline, at roughly half the rate they have dropped in the last six months.
Here’s what that would look like:
If those two predictions were to hold true, homes in sunny San Diego will be seven percent cheaper than here in King County by the end of the year. I’m probably just ignorant of how super-great-awesome the Seattle area truly is, but to me, that doesn’t seem very likely. I predict that if such a turnaround does take place, it won’t last long once people realize that they can move back to California and buy a home for less money than in Seattle.