Apt. Development Could Dampen SD Condo Sales

Kennelly: “I think we will see average prices for Downtown San Diego increase, despite the additional supply.”

SAN DIEGO—With more options available for folks looking for housing in Downtown San Diego, some potential buyers are taken out of the market for condominiums, the Mark Co.’s director of research Erin Kennelly tells GlobeSt.com. A recent report from the firm revealed that Downtown San Diego condominium pricing index stood 21% higher in January than it did a year earlier, a surprising finding since January is typically a weak month for condominium pricing, and the firm’s February report revealed that Downtown San Diego condominium prices increased 2% in February to $702 per square foot, up from $691 per square foot in January and 22% higher than February 2015. The February increase comes on the heels of three successive monthly increases.

Lack of supply may be one reason for the uptick; Kennelly says, “There are no new condominiums currently available for sale in Downtown San Diego—although units at Aloft in Cortez Hill, which had previously been converted from rental apartments, are now being offered for sale as they become available. Bosa’s Pacific Gate, with 216 units, remains the only condominium development currently under construction and is the first new condominium development in Downtown San Diego since 2009.”