The La Mesa real estate market, a subsidiary of the San Diego real estate market, continued to show signs of strength and recovery throughout April and March 2010. According to a May 19, 2010 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, “San Diego County may have passed the peak in the distressed housing market, as the mortgage delinquency rate dropped for the first time in four years, new reports showed Wednesday.” The article, written by Roger Showley, continued to note that “The Mortgage Bankers Association said mortgage payments at least 30 days late nationally dropped one percentage point to 9.4 percent from the first quarter, while still leaving 4.4 million mortgages in technical default. California’s rate dropped from 11.3 percent to 10.9 percent and 629,000 owners late. TransUnion, a credit-reporting agency, reported a similar dip, adding that California and San Diego were off the peak at the end of last year.”

The average price of a La Mesa or San Diego home for sale is one of the strongest indicators of the overall health of the region’s real estate market. According to a May 27, 2010 article from SDNN, “In this volatile – and frequently gloomy – housing market, San Diego stands out as a metropolitan city with continued growth in home prices, says a Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday.” The piece by Annu Subramanian went on to say that “The study highlighted that despite many metropolitan cities reporting new index lows, San Diego boats an eleven-month streak of increasing home prices. Of the 20 national metropolitan cities studied, San Diego’s 10.8 percent increase in home prices since March 2009 is only surpassed by San Francisco’s 16.2 percent increase.”

This overall health of the La Mesa real estate market was reflected by the general strength of the San Diego economy. According to a May 27, 2010 article from the San Diego Union-Tribune found that “A strengthening market pushed San Diego County’s leading economic indicators higher for the 13^th month in a row, indicating that the county will continue to grow moderately through the end of the year, according to a report released Thursday by the University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate.”

The Orange County real estate market continued to recover throughout the most recent tracking periods, although it also showed some possible signs of weakness. According to a May 18, 2010 article in the OC Metro, “Orange County saw gains in its median home price and sales activity in April, compared to the same time last year, according to a new report from MDA DataQuick. The county’s median home price hit $430,000 last month, up 13 percent from $380,000 in April 2009.” The article by Kristen Schott continued to say that “But, the price dipped slightly from March, when the median reached $432,000. For the six-county Southern California region, which includes Orange, L.A., San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura, the median rose 15 percent to $285,000 in the period, compared to April 2009. The number was unchanged from March.”

Despite remaining much higher than a year ago, the average price of an Orange County home for sale declined slightly compared to the month of March. According to a May 18, 2010 article in the Orange County Business Journal, “Orange County’s median home price edged down $2,000 in April from March, but still stands $50,000 higher than the prices seen here a year ago. The median price of a home sold here in April was $430,000, a less than 1% drop from a month earlier, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick, a unit of Canada’s MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates.” The piece by Mark Mueller went on to say that “Median home prices are now about 13% higher than they were a year ago, but still are off nearly 33% from their highest level, seen in mid-2007.”

Comparatively speaking, the Orange County real estate market remained much stronger than the rest of the other parts of Southern California. According to a May 18, 2010 article from OCLNN, “Orange County saw stronger gains in home sales and price compared to all other Southern California counties during April. The median home price in Orange County jumped 13.2 percent since April 2009, to $430,000, according to DataQuick, a San Diego-based real estate information service.”

A community in the northeastern area of San Diego, Scripps Ranch, California, is a smaller community with over 30,000 residents. The community is a highly desirable neighborhood and its residents tend to be mostly affluent — its median household income was estimated at nearly $123,000, with nearly half of the city’s households bringing in $100,000 or more annually, with only 7% of the population making less than $30,000. Thus, Scripps Ranch real estate tends to be quite high-priced, and has therefore suffered some large drops and setbacks since the economy began to slide in the U.S.

According to the San Diego Union Tribune‘s zip code chart for the month of March, Scripps Ranch saw 26 single-family homes sold in March at a median price of $287 per square foot, an increase of 6% year-over-year. In March, there were also 29 condos sold in Scripps Ranch at a median price per square foot of $291, up more than 20% annually. The year-end totals for 2009 saw Scripps Ranch homes for sale saw 288 single-family homes sold for a median price per square foot of $282, down 3% annually, according to the San Diego Union Tribune Annual Chart. Meanwhile, there were 168 Scripps Ranch condos sold in 2009 at a median price of $252, down almost 9% year-over-year.

Over the past year, the median price for single-family homes for sale has not shifted too dramatically, seeing only slight rises and falls off and on throughout the 18 months. In September 2009, the median was around $725,000, and it took a gradual downslide , hitting a low of around $660,000 in May 2009 before picking back up again. As of February, the median was around $675,000. Sales of single-family homes have taken a mostly upward-trending slope through the past 18 months, picking up around May 2009 and rising thereafter.

The median price for condos in Scripps Ranch have fluctuated a bit more than home prices over the past 18 months. In September of 2009, the median was over $350,000, and since then, the prices began to fall, hitting a low of around $300,000 in August before slowly picking back up again. As of February, the median price for condos was in the $320,000 range. Condo sales have remained at between 10 and 15 per month for most of the 18 months, and just recently hit their highest point in February.

Houses in La Jolla are in fact considered to be near the top of the real estate market recovery, at least according to an August 19, 2009 article in the San Diego Union Tribune. The article, written by Roger Showley, stated that “The chief economist for the National Association of Realtors predicted yesterday that mortgage interest rates will rise to 6 percent next year but saw no evidence of a “double dip” in housing price declines…He noted that demand locally is strong enough that there is just a 2 1/2 month inventory of homes for sale. With construction running at a sluggish pace, he said a shortage could develop next year as buying interest picks up.”

The Voice of San Diego published a similar piece on August 25, 2009, which found that “a hint came Tuesday that the local housing market is firming.” The author of the piece, Kelly Bennett, noted that “Local home prices rose in June, the first month-to-month increase in more than two and a half years, according to the newest Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller index.” Further hope for real estate in La Jolla is found in an August 21, 2009 article in the online edition of the San Diego News Network, which reported that “An expert economist sees good things for the San Diego housing market. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said the local market is buoyed by a tight housing inventory and federal tax incentives.”

According to an August 25, 2009 article in the North County Times, “A report released Tuesday showed local home prices surging in June, the second straight monthly gain after a breathtaking three-year fall. Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index for San Diego County rose 1.6 percent in June after a smaller increase in May. Taking the index’s tiny drop from March to April into account, the index rose at an 8 percent annual rate over the three months.” An article by Union-Tribune staff writer Dean Calbreath, stated that “Rebounding stock prices, a more positive outlook for the national economy and cautious optimism among local consumers provide growing evidence that San Diego’s economy is on the way to recovery…”

An August 18, 2009 article in the San Diego News Network noted the opinion of a prominent economist, saying that “An expert economist sees good things for the San Diego real estate market. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said the local market is buoyed by a tight housing inventory and federal tax incentives.” This is a positive indication for houses in San Diego, which can expect additional offers and sales in the future. An August 26, 2009 article in the Union-Tribune indicated that “In a further sign that the housing slump may be ending, a closely watched national pricing index said San Diego County values were up for the second straight month.”