A global pandemic has not stopped people from buying houses in San Diego, but it has reduced the number of properties available.

There were 31 percent fewer homes for sale in San Diego County from April 6 to May 3, as skittish sellers took houses and condos off the market to wait out the COVID-19 crisis.

Homes for sale in the San Diego region, called “housing inventory” have been low for more than a decade by most standards. But the latest figures illustrate just how difficult it could be to buy a home right now in the fifth-most populated county in the United States.

As of May 3, there were 5,166 active listings in San Diego County, down from around 7,250 at the same time last year. Real estate agents have reported for nearly two months now about sellers wanting to take homes off the market to wait out the crisis — making a home search now more difficult.

Despite the Covid-19 crisis, data shows very few price reductions, and high-priced homes still selling.

The cost of a San Diego County house hasn’t changed, with the median price county price — including resale single-family homes, condos and newly built homes — still around $590,000. It is the same phenomenon happening nationwide with the median sales price still sticking around $290,000 into late April.

Also, early data shows the number of pending sales the last few weeks is on the upswing.

San Diego isn’t alone with sellers deciding to take homes off the market. From April 6 to May 3, the nationwide average of de-listing, or homes removed from being for sale, made up 6.7 percent of the market. It was 9.6 percent in San Diego County, with about 700 homes removed.

Source: SDuniontribune by Phillip Molnar