San Diego new home median prices down 19.5% in January

[Zorro]

If San Diego real estate prices are "the canary in the coal mine" regarding national real estate trends, then 2006 may be a very rocky year for builders and homesellers.

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Home prices in San Diego County continued to cool off last month with a gain of 2.5 percent over January 2005 levels, DataQuick Information Systems reported yesterday.

But new-home prices took the sharpest month-to-month dive ever recorded by DataQuick for the San Diego market, a loss that was not so much good news for homebuyers as it was a reflection of building-industry marketing practices.

Sales activity also slowed in January by nearly 17 percent as inventories rose and buyers sat on the sidelines wondering about the market's direction. Total sales amounted to 2,763.

The big drop in the new-home category pulled down the overall county median price to $490,000. That was $26,000 lower than December and $28,000 below the all-time high in November.

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More at:http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20060214-9999-1b14housing.html