I thought since I’ve been on a road trip in California the last week or so, it would be appropriate to post a quick update on the San Diego / King County median price comparison I originally posted back in March.
Here’s where King and San Diego counties stand as of August:
Back in March (February’s data), San Diego was still about 5% more expensive than King, but if our two assumptions (King prices stay flat, San Diego’s declines slow) were to have held, San Diego would have been 7% cheaper by December.
Well, neither assumption has held true. King has declined 4% in the last six months, and San Diego’s price declines have accelerated. However, since San Diego’s price drops have actually increased their pace, San Diego County is now nearly 10% cheaper than King County.
Will the Seattle area continue to command a premium over sunny, tech-heavy, defense-industry, world-class Southern California? Time will tell, but I’m predicting that this particular situation won’t last much more than a year, maybe two.