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Housing Information

• Housing Units
• Median Housing Prices
• Housing Affordability
• Housing Affordability Regional Index
• Housing Opportunity Index First Quarter 2001
• Future Housing Needs for the San Diego Region
• Housing Stock Forecasts for San Diego County
• Occupied Housing Units By Jurisdiction

San Diego offers a large array of residential housing available at a wide range of prices. Single and multiple family homes can be found through out the area and garden style apartments are available in virtually every community. In addition, San Diego has many planned communities where new homes are in close proximity to shopping centers and schools. Custom homes range from hacienda style ranch houses in rural settings to high-rise luxury condominiums in the downtown area to ocean front houses on costal properties.

In 2002, the median home resale price of an existing single-family home in San Diego County was $339,000. The median resale price of an existing condominium in San Diego County was $237,500. In January 2002, the countywide vacancy rate for occupied housing units was 4.45 percent.

Rental units are available throughout the County and include condominiums, apartment buildings, cottages, and houses. The countywide average rental rate for a 2-bedroom apartment was $987 per month during Spring 2003.

The latest statistics from SANDAG show that as of the 2000 Census there are 1,040,149 in total housing stock in the County. These consist of:

• 628,652 single family units
• 364,636 multiple family units
• 46,861 mobile home units

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Housing Units

Total Housing Units January 1, 2003 San Diego County.

City	Total Housing Units	Occupied Housing Units	Vacancy Rate	# of Persons per Household
Carlsbad	90,271	35,810	6.74	2.496
Chula Vista	199,680	65,335	3.01	3.036
Coronado	26,353	7,803	18.54	2.305
Del Mar	4,503	2,201	14.79	2.045
El Cajon	96,664	34,323	2.82	2.744
Encinitas	61,153	23,705	4.25	2.556
Escondido	138,015	44,597	2.74	3.055
Imperial Beach	27,616	9,333	4.80	2.884
La Mesa	55,688	24,228	3.03	2.255
Lemon Grove	25,374	8,514	2.67	2.911
National City	59,774	15,046	2.62	3.444
Oceanside	169,805	58,668	5.19	2.873
Poway	49,833	15,799	1.58	3.127
San Diego	1,275,112	462,910	4.04	2.654
San Marcos	63,528	20,638	3.98	3.075
Santee	53,609	18,406	1.93	2.856
Solana Beach	13,329	5,819	10.86	2.285
Unincorporated Area	458,504	146,728	6.46	2.934
Vista	92,768	29,375	3.14	3.081
San Diego County	2,961,579	1,029,238	4.45	2.775

Source: California State Department of Finance
Last Modified: 05/03

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Median Housing Prices

San Diego vs. California

	April 2003	% Change in Price from April 2002	% Change in Price from March 2003
San Diego County	$394,990	14.3%	0.1%
California	$363,930	14.8%	3.2%

*Data not seasonally adjusted. Median Price is of an existing, single family detached home
Source: California Association of REALTORS
Last Modified: 05/03

Comparative Housing Prices for Selected U.S. Metropolitan Areas 2000-2002

Metropolitan Area	Median Price
	2000	2001	2002
Austin - San Marcos	$142,800	$152,000	$156,500
Boston	$314,200	$356,600	$405,000
Chicago	$171,800	$198,500	$220,900
Dallas	$122,500	$131,100	$135,200
Denver	$196,800	$218,300	$228,100
Hartford	$159,900	$167,300	$175,900
Honolulu	$295,000	$299,900	$335,000
Los Angeles Area	$215,900	$241,400	$286,000
Newark, NJ	$242,400	$263,100	$300,500
Orlando	$111,200	$124,100	$136,600
Phoenix	$134,400	$139,400	$143,800
San Diego	$269,400	$298,600	$364,200
San Francisco Bay Area	$454,600	$475,900	$517,100
Seattle - Bellevue-Everett	$230,100	$245,400	$254,000
Washington DC - Maryland-Virginia	$182,600	$213,900	$250,200

Source: National Association of REALTORS® Last Modified: 05/0

Average Yearly Median Price (2002 and 2003)

	Median Price April 2003	Median Price April 2002	% Change in Price 2002-2003	% Change in sales from April 2002
California	$363,930	$317,120	14.8%	-9.3%
Central Valley	$213,550	$176,930	20.7%	-0.6%
High Desert	$148,470	$122,920	20.8%	9.1%
Los Angeles	$320,720	$274,460	16.9%	-2.0%
Monterey	$491,020	$431,550	13.8%	-11.7%
Northern California	$276,230	$227,600	21.4%	-6.9%
Wine Country (Napa/Sonoma)	$410,430	$368,350	11.4%	-11.8%
Orange County	$464,120	$392,610	18.2%	-4.8%
Palm Springs/ Lower Desert	$267,010	$238,390	12.0%	18.8%
Riverside/San Bernardino	$207,540	$165,710	25.2%	11.4%
Sacramento	$238,820	$195,950	21.9%	-3.7%
San Diego County	$394,990	$345,540	14.3%	-1.1%
San Francisco Bay	$554,560	$529,940	4.6%	-16.2%
San Luis Obispo	$388,360	$306,920	26.5%	-0.9%
Santa Barbara County	$495,000	$483,330	2.4%	-5.0%
So. Santa Barbara County	$825,000	$800,000	3.1%	-12.2%
Santa Clara	$542,500	$552,250	-1.8%	-27.3%
Ventura	N/A	$355,080	N/A	N/A

*Data not seasonally adjusted. Median Price is of an existing, single family detached home.
Source: California Association of REALTORS®
Last Modified: 05/03

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Housing Affordability

This monthly housing affordability index measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase a median-priced home in California. The California Association of Realtors also reports housing affordability indexes for regions and select counties within the state. The index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being in the state.

The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $363,930 in California in April was $84,480, based on a typical 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 5.72 percent and assuming a 20 percent downpayment. The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home was up from $81,760 in April 2002, when the median price of a home was $317,120 and the prevailing interest rate was 6.95 percent.

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Housing Affordability Regional Index*

	March '03	March '02
San Diego	21%	23%
California	28%	29%
United States	59%	57%

*Percent of households that can afford to purchase a median-priced home

(Percent of households who can afford to purchase a median priced home)

Source: California Association of REALTORS®
Last Modified: 05/03

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Housing Opportunity Index First Quarter 2001

The Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) for a given area is defined as the share of homes sold in that area that would have been affordable to a family earning the median income. Therefore, there are really two major components - income and housing cost.

National Rank	Metro Area	Share of Homes Affordable for Median Income	Median Family Income	Median Sales Price
34	Atlanta, GA	81.8%	71,200	146,000
62	Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV	78.3%	91,500	200,000
84	Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	75.6%	71,300	162,000
89	Phoenix-Mesa, AZ	75.4%	57,900	146,000
103	Las Vegas, NV-AZ	70.2%	54,300	153,000
118	Austin-San Marcos, TX	67.9%	71,100	178,000
133	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA	63.1%	77,900	234,000
139	Newark, NJ	62.1%	78,700	204,000
159	New York, NY	49.9%	62,800	217,000
161	Boston, MA-NH	48.2%	74,200	257,000
183	San Diego, CA	21.6%	60,100	290,000
185	San Jose, CA	20.1%	96,000	451,000

Source: National Association of Home Builders
Last Modified: 05/03

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Future Housing Needs for the San Diego Region

Total number of housing units needed in the region based on varying income levels.

* Defined as new construction
^1. Households whose income is not more than 50% of the region's median income (up to $26,250 for a family of four)
^2. Households whose income is between 50% and 80% of median income (up to $42,000 for a family of four)
^3. Households whose income is between 80% and 120% of median income (up to $63,000 for a family of four)
^4. Households whose income is more than 120% of median income ($63,000 of more for a family of four)
Source: SANDAG
Last Modified: 05/01

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Housing Stock Forecasts for San Diego County

Source: SANDAG Data Warehouse
Last Modified: 05/03

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Occupied Housing Units By Jurisdiction

Source: SANDAG
Last Modified: 05/03