Andrew Bloom says San Diego housing is splitting into multiple markets

San Diego home prices are rising and listings are moving faster, but buyers are still selective, creating a market where conditions vary sharply by price, neighborhood and property type. Realtor Andrew Bloom says that split matters for both buyers and sellers trying to decide when and how to act.

Why it matters: - San Diego buyers and sellers are no longer facing one uniform housing market. - Local conditions now depend heavily on price, condition, property type and neighborhood. - That means a home’s outcome can differ dramatically from another property just minutes away.

What happened: - San Diego County’s median sale price reached $961,781 in August, up 5.7% year over year. - Homes sold in a median 28 days. - 35.4% of homes closed above asking price. - 22.3% of listings had price reductions. - Pending sales fell 13% year over year, according to Redfin. - Andrew Bloom, a longtime San Diego Realtor and team lead with Velocity Realty, says those numbers show a market that is increasingly selective rather than uniformly strong or weak.

The details: - The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.76% as of September 10. - Bloom said buyers should not focus only on waiting for lower rates. - Lower rates could bring more buyers back and increase competition. - Buyers may find leverage in homes that have sat on the market longer. - Price reductions can also create negotiating opportunities. - Homes that returned to market may offer openings for buyers. - Bloom said the best opportunity is not always the cheapest home. - Some buyers can gain leverage by solving a seller’s problem. - More than one-third of county homes sold above asking in August, but more than one in five listings still recorded a price cut. - Bloom said that gap shows why sellers should think carefully before starting with an aggressive asking price. - Bloom said buyers have become more selective. - A well-positioned property can still draw strong competition. - A property that does not match its price can lose buyer interest quickly.

Between the lines: - The countywide headline can hide major differences within individual ZIP codes. - In August, Santee had a median sale price of $786,979 and 52.1% of homes sold above list. - Coronado’s median sale price reached $2.89 million, and 17.6% sold above list. - El Cajon recorded a median sale price of $755,000, with 39.5% selling above asking. - Bloom said buyers do not buy the county median; they buy one house on one street at one price. - Bloom’s message is that timing the market perfectly matters less than making a decision that holds up over time.

What's next: - Buyers are likely to keep weighing affordability against competition if mortgage rates remain elevated. - Sellers will need to price carefully from the start if they want to capture early demand. - Local market conditions will continue to matter more than countywide averages for pricing and strategy.

The bottom line: - San Diego is still competitive, but the advantage shifts by neighborhood, price point and property condition. Buyers and sellers who read their specific submarket stand to make better decisions than those who rely on the broad headline.