SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Real estate experts gathered virtually Wednesday for the annual Residential Real Estate Conference to discuss the latest housing market trends across the nation and the housing outlook in San Diego.
In the virtual conference, industry professionals touched on hot topics such as the lack of housing inventory and labor shortages that are putting a dent in home construction.
Norm Miller, PhD, with the Hahn Chair of Real Estate Finance at the University of San Diego’s School of Business, said, “Unless we have some miracle way to increase the supply, it's going to be a long-term problem, unfortunately. We can build smaller units if we can get them approved, that may help a little bit. But it's going to be a difficult market.”
Data from the past year shows the cost of a house nationally was at its highest pricepoint in the last 45 years.
In San Diego, the cost of a home was up 22.6 percent compared to previous years, falling behind Las Vegas and Phoenix, which have both seen a boost in housing costs.
CoreLogic chief economist Frank Nothaft, PhD, said, “Multiple bids are coming in for that home that's for sale because inventory is so limited. And buyers are competing against each other. It's almost like an auction, market buyers competing against each other to get the winning bid.”
“San Diego is one of the more expensive markets that may seem above the us norm in terms of price growth,” Nothaft added.
Another subject discussed was the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the real estate industry and how many in the business have adapted.
Miller, among the speakers at the conference, added, “COVID is not going to have as large of an impact as it has had in the past because we've learned how to get around it. We can do virtual touring; we can do things better than what we did a couple of years ago. So, the marketing of the homes is not impeded nor the closing.”
With the current market favoring sellers, real estate experts believe the housing supply issues will affect the renter’s market, as many expect rent to go up in the next year.
