If you own a home in the San Diego area, you might be happy to know that your home appreciated last year and a rate that was 50% faster than the national average. Just today, an article reported that the median price of a home in San Diego jumped to $495,000 by the end of last year and the median price of condos came in at $325,000.
That’s a 9% improvement over the last 12 months. Nationally, appreciation was strong but trailed San Diego at 6%.
What if you’re renting in San Diego?
That’s an excellent question! What makes it more urgent is that rents are climbing in our beautiful city at an amazing pace as well. Interestingly, most renters don’t think of renting as extravagant even though, in many cases owning a home is a much better situation for them to be in. Just think, if you’re renting now but you have been thinking about buying just a couple of years ago, you would have likely seen a 25-30% increase in value. To be sure, these were extreme gains made as many people came to the conclusion that the market had officially bottomed out and would almost certainly go nowhere but up! That kind of confidence pushed prices up quickly.
Many people believe home values will continue to rise into 2015 and beyond.
In fact, Chris Anderson, Board President for San Diego Association of Realtors was quoted as saying “Interest rates are expected to increase slightly this year,” and “That should boost inventory levels and drive sales.”
Perhaps the most important point to make to renters is that, over time the price of homes and rents both go up. Yes, they dip every so often but the overall trend is up!
Even more importantly, you can’t protect yourself from rent increases but you can essentially freeze your housing cost in time by buying your own home. Once you buy, you’re mortgage payment (assuming you don’t change your loan) never changes.
But, it’s too expensive to own a home in San Diego!
Without a doubt, this is a beautiful city and part of the world. In fact, it’s no secret that people from around the world want to live here. Can you blame them?? If you are looking for more affordable housing you can definitely find less expensive cities to live in but it might surprise you to know that in many situations and for many people, owning a home is actually a more affordable and better choice.
There are so many reasons why. Call us and we’ll explain them to you as well as help you understand what you might want to do if owning a home is your dream. Call us today! 888-333-0075
