San Diego County Property Drops in Value (and What That Could Mean for You)

If you’re looking for information on San Diego property, you may be interested to know that home values have been dropping, making it a good time to buy. It won’t last forever, so it may be the right moment to act if you’ve been thinking of taking the plunge and buying a home. Of course, current homeowners in San Diego are also paying attention to the declining home values, but for different reasons. They are wondering when values will increase again so they can feel confident in their investment and financial future. The following is some general information about the dropping property values in San Diego, and what this could mean for you.

Drops in Assessed Real Estate Values in San Diego County

As reported by the North County Times, the assessed value of all San Diego County taxable property fell by 0.14% in 2011.* Experts blame this on the soft state of the local real estate market at the moment. The market has been especially tough for owner-occupied, residential homes. These types of properties are remaining vacant in many neighborhoods. The drop in assessed real estate values may also be the result of recent transfers of some properties to the government, an increase in the value of tax-exempt properties and a large number of properties being reassessed at lower rates than they were assessed at before. 

*It’s important to note that the “assessed value” of a home is a different figure than the “market value” of a home in California, thanks to the passage of Proposition 13, which limits the rate at which property values can increase.

What This Could Mean for You

If you own property in San Diego, the current reduction in assessed real estate values should be of some concern to you, but not too much. The drop is still fairly small, and ups and downs like this are to be expected over the years in the housing market. If you’re planning on selling soon, however, you may want to wait it out to see if values increase again.

If you are looking to buy property in San Diego, it is probably a good time to get underway. Prices may continue to drop, but it’s inevitable that they will increase again someday. If you’re serious about owning a home, the opportunity to purchase at a low cost will be worth several years of waiting for the property values to increase again.