06/05/2026
BUYERS SNAPPING UP LUXURY HOMES IN SAN DIEGO MORE QUICKLY
Number of properties selling for $2 million and up reached a new high in May
More multimillion-dollar San Diego homes sold in May than ever before.
There were 232 pending sales for San Diego County homes listed above $2 million, said real estate firm Reports on Housing. That’s up from the previous record of 225 in March 2022 when sales were supercharged before mortgage rates rose. When the firm started tracking sales of $2 million and up, in March 2019, there were 74.
Some luxury homes have been selling more quickly than the lowest end of the market.
Homes from $2 million to $4 million were selling in an average of 87 days, said Reports on Housing, down from 133 days at the same time last year. Homes between $4 million and $6 million sold in an average of 178 days, down from 308 days; and homes more than $6 million were down to 379 days from 633 days last year.
At the same time, the lowest priced San Diego County homes — $750,000 and less — were taking longer to sell: 97 days compared with 86 days last year.
Real estate experts said at least some of what was happening could be tied to a “K-shaped” economy. It refers to the gap between affluent consumers who are seeing their wealth increase — the upward-slanted stroke of a “K” — compared to low- and middle-income consumers who are struggling financially — the letter’s lower-slanted stroke.
Reports on Housing calculates market sales times by looking at how fast homes are selling in a 30-day period based on how many houses are listed for sale. That’s different than traditional days on market, which looks at how fast homes sell and calculates an average without considering the number of listings. It basically looks at the number of days it would take to sell all the homes at a certain price at the current buying pace.
It doesn’t seem to make sense that the lowest priced homes would take longer to sell than, say, San Diego County homes $2 million and up. Yet Steven Thomas, of Reports on Housing, said many of the most affluent buyers have experienced major stock market gains in the past year. Similar to a middle class investor that may try to have a mix of stocks and bonds, he said the richest Americans are trying to diversify — and many are choosing real estate.
Thomas said San Diego County still represents value to wealthier buyers who may have previously chosen Orange or Los Angeles counties.
“It’s still a filet mignon,” he said, “but you get more for your money.”
The luxury market faces a lot of the same headwinds as the rest of the market, like rising inflation, but it’s hard to argue that it’s not seeing a bit of a boost.
There were 14 homes at $6 million and up in escrow in the past 30 days, said Reports on Housing, compared with nine at the same time last year. Could it just be there are more homes at that price listed for sale? No, Thomas said, because there were 177 homes at $6 million and up listed in the last 30 days, and there were 190 homes at that price listed at the same time last year.
The lower end of the market is at more of a standstill, even with more homes to choose from. There were 2,037 homes in May for sale in San Diego County for $750,000 and less, compared with 1,805 at the same time last year. That compares with 550 homes priced $2 million to $4 million, down from 688 last year.
“There’s no question that there are a lot of high-net-worth people looking to relocate to San Diego,” said real estate agent Craig Lotzof, who sold a La Jolla mansion for $14.5 million in March.
He said some of the top buyers lately have been businesspeople from Mexico who look at La Jolla and other oceanfront areas as a more stable place to live and are close to the border. Lotzof said he has also seen many affluent people who left San Diego but are now looking to return.
Luxury gains are outside the market as a whole because San Diego County’s median home price hasn’t kept up with inflation, which has jumped. The median was $900,000 in March, said Attom Data Solutions, the same as it was in March last year. The median is the point where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
Here are some of the biggest home sales so far:
1063 Ocean Blvd., Coronado: $28M
This 6,315-square-foot home that sold in May is a stone’s throw from Hotel del Coronado. It was built in 2008 and comes with a four-car garage, four bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms. The home was sold off-market.
6283 La Jolla Scenic Drive, La Jolla: $17M
This newly built mansion sold in May comes with 19-foot ceilings, a special quarters for a housekeeper, three guestrooms, a 12-seat movie theater, a new golf simulator, a dry sauna, a steam room and a 60-foot pool. It sold for $1.5 million less than its original listing price in January.
210 Palomar Ave., La Jolla: $14.5M
This 3,614-square-foot mansion comes with ocean views, a gourmet kitchen, five bedrooms and five bathrooms. It is between two popular beaches, Windansea and Mushroom. It was listed for $14.9 million in early March and stayed on the market just four days.
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