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San Diego County: Asking prices are down 6% from a year ago, but the monthly payment is up

By Dr. Hamid Rowshan, Choice of America

San Diego County asking prices are lower than a year ago, but the monthly payment on a median-priced home is higher, so buyers should compare homes by the full monthly cost.

San Diego County homes are listed for less than they were a year ago. Realtor.com's September 2026 data put the county's median listing price at $888,450 (FRED MEDLISPRI6073), down about 6.3% from $947,975 in September 2025 and down from this year's high of $939,000 in May. It is the lowest September median since 2021, a hair under September 2022's $888,699, and just below the $899,000 the county started the year with.

Lower asking prices have not made homes cheaper to buy each month. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.40% in the week of October 8, 2026, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey on FRED (MORTGAGE30US). That is the highest weekly average since November 2023, up from 6.71% at the start of September and 6.30% in the same week a year ago. This year's low was 5.98% in late February.

What that does to a payment: as an illustration, a buyer putting 20% down on a home at September's median asking price of $888,450 would borrow about $710,760. At 7.40%, principal and interest on a 30-year loan comes to about $4,921 a month. A year ago, the same 20% down on September 2025's median of $947,975 at 6.30% would have meant a loan of about $758,380 and a payment of about $4,694. So even though the median asking price is almost $60,000 lower, the monthly principal and interest is about $227 higher. Had rates stayed at February's 5.98%, today's median would cost about $4,252 a month, roughly $670 less than now. All of these figures are before property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, and any Mello-Roos assessments.

Set against local incomes, the gap is wide. The U.S. Census Bureau's QuickFacts puts San Diego County's median household income at $106,268 (2020-2024 American Community Survey, in 2024 dollars), or about $8,856 a month before taxes. Principal and interest alone on the example loan would take about 56% of that. QuickFacts also reports that the median homeowner with a mortgage in the county pays $3,184 a month in total owner costs, which include the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and utilities, so a new buyer's principal and interest alone at today's rate would be about $1,740 more than that. The median gross rent is $2,246 a month, and 54.6% of occupied homes in the county are owner-occupied.

The market is still the quickest-moving of the five counties. The median San Diego County listing spent 46 days on the market in September (FRED MEDDAYONMAR6073), faster than Orange (53), Los Angeles (56), Riverside (62), and San Bernardino (65), and faster than 49 days a year ago. There were 5,749 active listings (FRED ACTLISCOU6073), 2,326 new listings (FRED NEWLISCOU6073), and 2,137 pending listings (FRED PENLISCOU6073), down about 10% from 2,365 a year earlier. That is about 37 homes in escrow for every 100 for sale, still the highest pending ratio of the five counties, but down from about 41 a year ago and 48 in September 2024.

Sellers are adjusting. Realtor.com reports that 20.4% of San Diego County listings had a price reduction in September, up from 20.0% in August and 19.8% a year earlier, and the highest September share since 2022 (23.9%). Only Orange County, at 21.1%, had a higher share among the five counties. Just 1.0% of listings had a price increase.

Homes on the market are also smaller and cheaper per foot. The median listing had 1,507 square feet (FRED MEDSQUFEE6073), down from 1,618 a year earlier, and the median asking price per square foot was $587 (FRED MEDLISPRIPERSQUFEE6073), down from $608 a year earlier and the lowest since March 2023.

What this means day to day: from Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido to Encinitas, Del Mar, Poway, Ramona, and Rancho Bernardo, and from Clairemont, North Park, Point Loma, and Mission Valley to La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, Chula Vista, National City, and Imperial Beach, a lower sticker price can hide a higher monthly cost. Buyers should get a fresh rate quote and pre-approval rather than relying on one from the summer, and should compare homes by the full monthly payment, including taxes, insurance, HOA dues, and Mello-Roos. With one in five listings showing a price cut, asking for a seller credit toward a rate buydown or closing costs can sometimes lower the payment more than a similar cut to the price. Commutes are part of the budget too: the county's mean travel time to work is 25.5 minutes, so test the drive at rush hour, whether that means the 5, the 15, the 805, or the 8. Sellers still have the fastest market in the region, but buyers are more payment-sensitive than they were in the spring, so pricing close to recent comparable sales from the first day matters.

At Choice of America, we help buyers and sellers across San Diego County compare payments, neighborhoods, and trade-offs. Visit our San Diego County page for local guidance, or call or text us to talk through your plans.

Choice of America · San Diego County real estate

Dr. Hamid Rowshan, DRE #02004794, company DRE #02240008. Choice of America, serving Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. Call or text 833-THIS-BROKER, (833) 842-7465.

Payment figures are an illustration based on the median asking price, a 20% down payment, and Freddie Mac's average rates; they are not a loan quote. Census income, owner-cost, and rent figures are 2020-2024 five-year averages and are not directly comparable to current listing data; the comparison is for context only.

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