All Forum Posts by: Gregg Watkins

Median home prices often to not move in a straight line during the year. In one month, the median single family home price in San Diego may be $1,050,000. The next month it may drop to $1,040,000. But then a few months after that, it bounces back to $1,049,000. There are many moving factors here including supply, demand, interest rates, etc.

In March the median home price for a single family home was $1,080,000. In April it was $1,075,000. So technically there was a $5,000 drop. But this is not unusual as prices don't always move in a straight line over the year.

In December 2024, the median home price was $1,000,000, so San Diego is UP by $75,000 for 2025.

So for San Diego at least, I don't think the "Home Prices are Falling" headline applies.

Hey Gash,

I agree with the prior posts that The California Apartment Association is a good resource to learn about CA landlord-tenant laws.

I would also recommend checking out our local Association of Realtors (SDAR). I recently took a good class there on Property Management. It was taught by a veteran property manager and covered local laws, contracts, disclosures, etc.

The state and local laws are always changing, so it's good to get some current information on this.

Good luck.

Hi Mark,
I recommend you attend some of the local REI meetups. You'll find agents, lenders and other potential teammates there.

Gregory - Keep in mind that this is only an NAR "proposed" settlement. We don't know what the response of the court / DOJ will be. The way we do business WILL change, but for now, it's business as usual. I put a property on the market in San Diego 2 days ago and offered the Buyer Broker 2.5% commission via the MLS. I also looked around at other nearby listings to see if there were any changes. I didn't see any - at least not yet.

I think we'll immediately see an increase in the use of Buyer Broker Agreements, and we'll slowly start to see more off-mls negotiating. This may include sellers offering off-mls Buyer Broker compensation, similar to commercial experiences I've had. I'm sure your agent will stay on top of things as the market evolves.

Good luck with the move!

I agree that between Oceanside, Carlsbad, Bay Park and Clairemont, Oceanside will be the most reasonable market. I was in Bay Park / Clairemont a few days ago to look at a trust sale fixer. There were about 25 people there. We made an offer 50K above list price but still didn't get it. Keep looking, and Good Luck!

FYI, I believe AB 1771 – which would have created a 25% tax on the capital gain produced by selling a residential property within three years of buying it – failed to pass.

They initiated the effort back in 3/22, and the current status of the bill is Inactive / Dead.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1771

My ideal market is California, specifically San Diego.

The main negative changes have to do with increased regulation over the past few decades.

On the positive side, California and San Diego have continued to grow.

If it were a country, California’s $3.1 trillion economy would now be the fifth largest in the world. And it’s close to surpassing Germany for the fourth spot. That’s an incredible fact.

That economic power translates to ongoing job opportunities AND real estate opportunities.

There are challenges here – including a higher cost of living and higher income taxes. But our property taxes are on the lower side when compared to other states, and the overall total return on real estate investing remains strong.

Short term initial cash flow here is generally poor due to the high cost of entry. But long-term total return is strong. And shorter-term strategies are viable as well.

In my opinion, San Diego continues to be a beautiful place to live and is an attractive location to invest in real estate.

Hi Kit,

Many different strategies can work for investing in California. It depends on your location, experience, and your cash situation.

I've seen numerous strategies be successful, including BRRR, housing hacking, STRs, fix and flips, multifamily value-adds, appreciation plays, ground-up construction, etc.

Good luck!

I agree with Greg. Restaurants are a tough business with high rates of failure. I've known many restaurateurs over the years. Boutique retail is also challenging. This is doubly true for both in today's economic environment.

There are many other business opportunities in San Diego - including real estate - that I would recommend ahead of those two.

I would agree with Emy.

The market is still hot, but slowing down a bit. We’re seeing a modest increase in days on market, fewer active buyers, not as many offers on a listing, etc.

We just put a property in escrow while representing the buyer, and the seller sent us a counter offer – not a multiple counter offer. This is another small example of having fewer buyers in the market.

But overall, there are still more buyers than sellers, and prices continue to go up.

In March, San Diego County’s median home price (combination of resale condos and single-family homes) hit a new high of $805,000.

Single-family homes in San Diego County reached a new high of $925,000.

And resale condos saw a significant rise, as the median hit a record high of $640,000, up from February’s peak of $612,250.

These aggressive upward price trends will likely slow in the coming months as interest rates continue to go higher.

Good luck!