San Diego home prices have stopped rising. The nation isn’t far behind

National home prices are rising at their slowest level in more than two years, and San Diego is one of the markets dragging the average down.

The San Diego metropolitan area’s home price decreased 0.66% annually in August, said the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Indices report Tuesday. That placed San Diego at No. 14 in the closely watched 20-city index.

San Diego metro, which includes all of San Diego County, had the first or second-fastest rising prices in the nation for much of 2024 but has been on a steady decline ever since. Many metro areas that saw surges in the post-pandemic housing boom have fallen sharply.

Tampa was at the bottom of the index with prices falling 3.31% annually. It was followed by Phoenix, down 1.68%, and Miami, down 1.66%.

Nationally, annual prices rose 1.5%, lifted up by New York and Rust Belt cities. The New York metro area saw prices rise 6.10%, followed by Chicago at 5.9% and Cleveland at 4.65%.

“For the fourth straight month, home values have lost ground to inflation,” said Nicholas Godec at the S&P Dow Jones Indices, “meaning homeowners are seeing their real wealth decline even as nominal prices inch higher.”

Nationwide price appreciation hasn’t been this low since July 2023. Experts have cited mortgage rates, still-high home prices and economic uncertainty as factors slowing the market.

Anthony Smith, senior economist at Realtor.com, said signs of the market slowing down continued in August with fewer homes being listed for sale and the overall inventory falling.

“These supply-side headwinds suggest that, even (if) conditions improve for some buyers,” he said, “limited turnover and cautious sentiment are keeping price appreciation in check.”

There were roughly 7,400 homes listed for sale in San Diego County in June but that has been steadily falling ever since, said the Redfin Data Center. There were about 7,000 listed in August, and recent numbers show listings closer to 6,000.

The Case-Shiller index tracks repeat sales of identical single-family houses — and are seasonally adjusted — as they turn over through the years. It is often seen as a bellwether of the economy as a whole.

San Diego County’s median home price for single-family homes in August was $997,250, said Attom Data Solutions, remaining one of the most expensive markets in the nation. The median is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

Mortgage rates are falling but seemingly not enough to increase sales. The average for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.56% in the last week of August, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate was 6.19% at the end of last week.

There were 2,439 home sales in San Diego County in August. It was the second-lowest sales for an August, typically a busier month, in records from Attom and Cotality going back to 1988.

Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, said there were many economic factors that could continue to affect the market, including the unemployment rate, job growth and large employer layoffs.

Annual price growth by metropolitan area

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, August 2025

New York: 6.10%Chicago: 5.90%Cleveland: 4.65%Boston: 4.08%Detroit: 3.53%Minneapolis: 2.55%Charlotte: 1.59%Washington, D.C.: 0.91%Las Vegas: 0.26%Portland: 0.23%Atlanta: 0.19%Los Angeles-Anaheim: -0.01%Seattle: -0.09%San Diego: -0.66%Denver: -0.72%Dallas: -1.19%San Francisco: -1.54%Miami: -1.66%Phoenix: -1.68%Tampa: -3.31%

National: 1.51%