Real Estate Market Slowdown in the Numbers?
We have all heard talk these days about a slowdown in the San Diego real estate market. And, to be honest if you say there has not been, then you don’t know what you are talking about. Using numbers from La Jolla based Dataquick or from other sources like Sandicor it is simple to see that there has been a general slowdown in the real estate market in San Diego county. This does not mean that the real estate market is not still going at a pretty strong rate, it is to say that it is not necessarily at the feverish pace that it once was. Looking into what might be behind this slowdown, can shed some light on wether or not this trend is likely to continue or not. According to a recent Union Tribune article, the unemployment rate edged higher in San Diego County, and statewide, last month as the pace of job growth slowed. For those of you who are not really familiar with the economics of real estate, job growth is probably the strongest determinant of real estate growth. If you have a good jobs market, then the housing market is likely to follow. This places the unemployment rate at 4.4%, up from 4.2%, while the state saw a jump from 5.1% to 5.2%.
Rising interest rates are also likely to be a factor in any kind of slowdown in the real estate market over time. While a rise can bring some people into the market at first, this boost is likely to fall off quickly as those buyers find homes or other property to buy.