July 2026
Market Report
A two-speed market. Detached inventory tightened sharply while condos and townhomes stayed well supplied — which means the right strategy now depends heavily on which side of the market you are standing on.
One county, two very different markets
July gave San Diego County a market that does not summarize neatly in a single headline. On the detached side, supply contracted hard: active listings fell 24.7% from last July, months supply dropped to 2.5, and the median sales price climbed to $1,150,000 — the highest monthly figure in the six years of MLS data behind this report.
On the attached side — condominiums and townhomes — the picture is almost the opposite. Inventory rose slightly (+1.1%), months supply sits at 4.1, and homes are taking 43 days to go under contract. Year to date, the attached median is actually down 0.7% and the average sale price is down 1.4%.
What both halves share is demand. Countywide closings rose 6.0% to 2,142, and total dollar volume jumped 12.3% to $2.62 billion. Buyers are transacting. The constraint is not appetite — it is that fewer owners are choosing to list. New listings fell 12.2% countywide and 17.6% among detached homes.
The practical consequence: a well-prepared detached listing is meeting a deep, competitive buyer pool with fewer alternatives than at any point in the past year. Meanwhile a condo or townhome buyer is shopping a market with real choice, real time to think, and real room to negotiate. Both of those are genuine opportunities — they simply belong to different people.
How we got here
Monthly figures, August 2025 through July 2026. The divergence between detached and attached becomes obvious once you look past a single month.
Charts plotted from monthly San Diego MLS figures. Detached inventory bottomed in December 2025 and has climbed seasonally since, but remains roughly a quarter below the same month last year.
Detached homes — supply-constrained and pricing up
The detached market is the tighter of the two by a wide margin. At 2.5 months of supply, it sits well below the four-to-six-month range generally considered balanced. Sellers received 98.6% of original list price on average, up from 97.4% a year ago, and homes went under contract in 33 days — three days faster than last July.
Prices are following supply. The July median of $1,150,000 is up 4.6% year over year, and the year-to-date median of $1,100,000 is up 2.4%. Total detached dollar volume for the month reached $1.98 billion, a 9.8% increase.
Detached — July and Year to Date
| Key Metric | July 2026 | vs. July 2025 | YTD 2026 | vs. YTD 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Listings | 1,804 | −17.6% | 13,314 | −11.2% |
| Pending Sales | 1,318 | −2.5% | 9,148 | +3.0% |
| Closed Sales | 1,349 | +2.4% | 8,710 | +2.9% |
| Median Sales Price | $1,150,000 | +4.6% | $1,100,000 | +2.4% |
| Average Sales Price | $1,471,190 | +3.9% | $1,452,587 | +3.8% |
| Dollar Volume (millions) | $1,980 | +9.8% | $12,632 | +7.4% |
| Pct. of Original List Received | 98.6% | +1.2% | 98.7% | +0.4% |
| Days on Market Until Sale | 33 | −8.3% | 35 | 0.0% |
| Homes for Sale | 3,097 | −24.7% | — | — |
| Months Supply of Inventory | 2.5 | −26.5% | — | — |
Condos & townhomes — the balanced half of the market
Attached housing is where San Diego looks closest to normal. Inventory is up slightly, months supply of 4.1 sits inside the balanced range, and days on market lengthened to 43. Year-to-date pricing has drifted modestly lower: the median is down 0.7% and the average is down 1.4%.
That softness has not scared buyers off — quite the opposite. July closings rose 12.8%, the strongest year-over-year gain of any segment in this report, and dollar volume climbed 20.4%. Buyers appear to be responding to the value gap: the attached median of $659,000 is roughly 43% below the detached median.
Attached — July and Year to Date
| Key Metric | July 2026 | vs. July 2025 | YTD 2026 | vs. YTD 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Listings | 1,331 | −3.7% | 9,532 | +1.5% |
| Pending Sales | 702 | −5.0% | 5,174 | +6.6% |
| Closed Sales | 793 | +12.8% | 4,932 | +5.6% |
| Median Sales Price | $659,000 | +1.4% | $665,000 | −0.7% |
| Average Sales Price | $820,685 | +4.1% | $804,484 | −1.4% |
| Dollar Volume (millions) | $643 | +20.4% | $3,950 | +4.6% |
| Pct. of Original List Received | 97.5% | +0.1% | 97.7% | −0.3% |
| Days on Market Until Sale | 43 | +2.4% | 44 | +12.8% |
| Homes for Sale | 2,884 | +1.1% | — | — |
| Months Supply of Inventory | 4.1 | −4.7% | — | — |
Opportunity on both sides of the table
A market this uneven creates advantages for buyers and sellers simultaneously — they just show up in different segments and require different tactics.
If you're selling
- Competition has thinned dramatically. Detached active listings are down 24.7% year over year — roughly 1,000 fewer homes competing for the same buyers.
- Pricing power improved. Detached sellers netted 98.6% of original list price, up from 97.4% last July. The gap between ask and close is narrowing.
- Homes are moving faster. 33 days to contract on detached, down from 36. Countywide days on market fell despite more homes trading.
- Condo demand rebounded. Attached closings jumped 12.8% and dollar volume rose 20.4% — if you have been holding a condo waiting for buyers to return, they have.
- The buyer pool is deep. 2,142 closings countywide, up 6.0%, and $2.62 billion in volume. This is not a market short on qualified buyers.
- Fewer sellers are listing. With new listings down 12.2%, a well-prepared, correctly priced home has an unusually clear runway right now.
If you're buying
- Real choice is back. 5,981 homes are actively for sale countywide — far above the razor-thin supply buyers faced from 2021 through 2023.
- Condos and townhomes favor you. 4.1 months of supply, 43 days on market, and a year-to-date median down 0.7%. That combination gives you time and leverage.
- Negotiation still works. The average buyer closed about 1.8% below original list price — roughly $17,000 on a median-priced home, and more where a listing has aged.
- No rate shock. At 6.69%, the 30-year fixed is within six basis points of where it sat a year ago. You can plan against a stable number instead of a moving one.
- Financing goes further here. San Diego's high-balance conforming limit of $1,104,000 means even a $1.15M purchase can avoid jumbo underwriting with 4% down.
- You are not bidding against 2021. Homes are averaging over five weeks on market. Inspections, appraisals and considered decisions are normal again.
What the money costs right now
Rates have been remarkably stable year over year, which is genuinely useful for planning — the payment math you ran three months ago still roughly holds. The affordability spread between property types is the number worth internalizing: at an index of 65 versus 37, attached housing is dramatically more attainable for the median San Diego household, which is a large part of why condo closings outpaced detached this month.
Estimated Monthly Payment at 6.69%
| Purchase Price | 20% Down — Loan | Principal & Interest | Loan Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| $659,000 attached median | $527,200 | $3,398 | Conforming |
| $750,000 | $600,000 | $3,868 | Conforming |
| $940,000 county median | $752,000 | $4,848 | Conforming |
| $1,150,000 detached median | $920,000 | $5,930 | High-balance conforming |
| $1,400,000 | $1,120,000 | $7,220 | Jumbo |
Principal and interest only. Excludes property taxes, insurance, HOA dues, Mello-Roos and mortgage insurance, which together typically add meaningfully to the total payment. Illustrative only — not a rate quote or commitment to lend. Your actual rate depends on credit, down payment, loan type, occupancy and lender.
Common questions about this report
Does the countywide median tell me what my home is worth?
What is "months supply of inventory" and why does it matter?
Why are closed sales up while pending sales are down?
Percent of original list price is 98.2%. Doesn't that mean I should overprice?
Is now a better time to buy or to sell?
What does this mean for your address?
County numbers set the context. Your neighborhood, price band and property type set the strategy. Let's talk through where your home — or your search — actually sits in this market.
Call (619) 417-6764 Request a Home Valuation