Median Home Prices Dropped in August
Well, that didn't take long. Assorted congresscritters are already asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to halt foreclosures. As I've previously noted, trying to fight the symptom (foreclosures) after having long ignored the disease (unsustainably high home prices) is both futile and rife with potential unintended consequences.
We will definitely keep an eye on what wacky antics ensue how that Fannie and Freddie are wholly-owned whipping boys of the U.S. government.
 Moving on to a more local topic, San Diego County resale home prices fell again in August, at least according to the median price per square foot.
Between July and August, the size-adjusted median price fell 2.9 percent for single family homes and a hefty 5.9 percent for condos. A volume weighted aggregate of the two property types fell 3.9 percent.
From the September 2005 peak of the series, the size-adjusted median is down 33.9 percent for single family homes, 38.7 percent for condos, and 35.6 percent overall.
Disclaimers apply, as usual. First, these figures lump together areas experiencing widely disparate price movements. Second, since there is a lot more activity in the lower-priced areas than in the higher-priced areas, these figures may overstate the price declines. If they do, however, it's not by much, as a comparison between the size-adjusted median and the Case-Shiller home price index (which compares same-home sales) has so shown the size-adjusted median to be fairly on the spot in recent months.
Bearing all that in mind, it appears that while there is a lot of variation from one area to another, San Diego prices on the whole are still heading down.
-- RICH TOSCANO
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