The median San Diego home now sells for $934K, up 6% from last year—but here's what Zillow's Zestimate won't tell you about actually getting full price.
You've probably done the dance. Checked Zillow… again. Refreshed the Redfin estimate… twice. Maybe even peeked at that neighbor's recent sale and did some "creative" math based on square footage.
But here's the thing about selling in San Diego's current marketplace pulse: detached home sales fell 5.2% year-over-year while attached home sales declined 14%. Yet prices? They're still climbing in most neighborhoods.
That's not a contradiction—it's an opportunity.
"San Diego's market rewards sellers who understand timing over guessing." - The Cassity Team
The gap between "list price" and "life-changing money"
Normal market behavior: You price your home, cross your fingers, and hope for the best.
âžœ Explosion moment: Your neighbor lists theirs $50K higher than yours… and gets multiple offers in 5 days.
New normal: You realize the difference between getting market value and getting maximum value isn't luck—it's strategy.
Here's what's really happening in our marketplace right now. Homes receive 3 offers on average and sell in around 32 days, compared to 18 days last year. That extra time? It's not a weakness—it's wiggle room for strategic positioning.
The Cassity Team has navigated exactly this type of shift before. When inventory started building in Q2 2025, we didn't panic. We adapted our go-to-market playbook.
Three moves that separate full-price sellers from "close enough" sellers
Move #1: Master the micro-markets
The top zip codes with most home sales include Fallbrook (92028) with 49 sales, Carlsbad SE (92009) with 41, and Escondido North (92026) with 38. But raw sales volume doesn't tell the pricing story.
Your Zestimate doesn't know that homes in Poway's luxury tier (median prices surged to $1.79 million, up from $1.35M a year prior—a +32% jump) are pulling different buyer psychology than National City's more affordable segment.
â–¶ Action step: Get hyper-local. The Cassity Team analyzes not just your zip code, but your specific micro-market within it. Street by street. School district by school district.
Move #2: Time the inventory wave
Detached home listings rose 27.1% year-over-year, while attached listings increased 37.3%. More inventory typically means more competition for sellers, right?
Wrong.
Smart sellers see this as the perfect setup for strategic differentiation. When there are more choices, the homes that stand out win bigger.
â– Data point: 47.8% of homes sold below asking price, but 34% still sold over asking. The winners and losers are becoming more defined.
The Cassity Team's network of 28,000+ agents across Real Brokerage gives us early signals on buyer sentiment shifts. We're seeing which presentation strategies consistently push homes into that "over asking" category.
Move #3: Price for negotiation power
Here's where most sellers get it backwards. They think aggressive pricing means starting high and hoping.
Actually? Homes are selling at nearly their listed prices, with a median sale-to-list ratio of 0.999, indicating a balanced market where buyers and sellers are closely aligned on pricing.
That balance is your advantage if you know how to use it.
The psychology shift: Instead of "How high can I go?"—ask "What price creates the most negotiating leverage?"
➜ Strategic pricing creates multiple offers ➜ Multiple offers create upward pressure
➜ Upward pressure gets you full price (or better)
I've seen this pattern dozens of times this year. The seller who lists strategically often outperforms the seller who lists optimistically.
Your marketplace pulse reality check
Let's get specific about what you're working with:
The median sale price for detached homes reached $1,100,000 (up 0.9% year-over-year), while attached homes hit $690,000 (up 1.1%). But medians don't tell your story.
Homes are spending 18 days on market on average—but that's across all price ranges and conditions. Well-positioned homes in the right micro-markets? Still moving in under two weeks.
The opportunity: While other sellers wonder why their home isn't getting the attention they expected, you can be the one getting multiple offers by understanding what buyers actually want right now.
The Cassity Team advantage
Here's what I've learned after helping hundreds of San Diego families navigate exactly this type of market shift:
The difference between a good sale and a great sale isn't the market conditions—it's having someone who understands how to work within those conditions.
â–¶ Strategic negotiations that protect your interests
â–¶ Multi-platform marketing that reaches serious buyers
â–¶ Off-market opportunities through our 28,000+ agent network
â–¶ Hyper-local expertise in San Diego's unique micro-markets
When inventory is building and buyers have more choices, presentation becomes everything. The homes that stand out don't just sell—they sell for more.
Ready to move from Zestimate to full price?
Stop wondering what your home might sell for. Let's talk about what it will sell for when positioned strategically in today's marketplace.
Schedule your complimentary market analysis with The Cassity Team today. We'll show you exactly how to price, position, and present your home for maximum return in this shifting market.
Because in San Diego's current marketplace pulse, the difference between hoping for full price and getting it is having the right strategy from day one.
Contact Jason Cassity and The Cassity Team at thecassityteam.com—your strategic partners for selling smart in San Diego.
