Every summer, sellers ask the same question: is now still a good time to list? The honest answer, based on six months of San Diego MLS data, is "it depends which kind of home you're selling" — and the gap between detached homes and condos has widened all summer.
Detached sellers: you still have leverage, but the free ride on pricing is over
Detached homes remain firmly in seller's-market territory. Months of supply sat at 2.3 in August — well under the four-to-five-month range that typically favors buyers — and the countywide median for detached homes ($1,120,000 in August) is up 4.7% year-over-year.
But two numbers have moved in a direction worth noticing:
Days on market for detached homes crept from a low of 29 days in May up to 35 in August.
Percent of original list price received slid from 99.1% in June down to 98.0% in August.
Neither is alarming on its own. Together, they say the same thing: the market is still rewarding a well-priced listing, but it's punishing an over-ask one more than it did two months ago. If you priced aggressively in June because everything was moving in a week, that same strategy in September is more likely to cost you time and negotiating position than it would have in spring.
You have less competition than you did a year ago
Here's the part that should be genuinely encouraging: new detached listings have run 14–23% below year-ago levels in nearly every month from March through July. Fewer competing homes on the market means your listing has an easier time standing out to the buyers who are searching. That scarcity — not just price appreciation — is a real part of why detached homes kept moving quickly through most of the summer.
Condo and townhome sellers: this is where presentation and pricing earn their keep
The attached segment tells a different story. Inventory has run above year-ago levels every single month since March. Days on market climbed to 44 in August, the highest point of the summer. And percent of original list price received fell to 97.2% in August — the lowest reading of the window.
None of that means condos and townhomes aren't selling. It means buyers browsing that segment have real alternatives to compare your home against, and the sellers pulling ahead are the ones who price correctly at listing and invest in how the home shows. A property that's overpriced or under-prepared in this segment sits — the data backs that up plainly.
What the spring pattern suggests about timing
One more pattern worth knowing if you're weighing when to list: the gap between average and median sale price for detached homes — a rough signal of how much higher-end inventory is transacting — was widest in April and June. That suggests spring absorbed more of the premium end of the market than the current late-summer window has. If your home is likely to price meaningfully above the county median, the data suggests spring listing timing has captured more of that buyer activity in 2026 than late summer or early fall has.
Practical takeaways
Price to the current market, not to June's numbers. Percent of list price received has fallen for six straight weeks — buyers are negotiating harder than they were at the peak of summer.
Detached sellers still hold real leverage. Just don't confuse leverage with immunity from pricing discipline.
Condo and townhome sellers should lean into staging, photography, and realistic pricing. With more competing inventory and slower absorption, the details are what separate a listing that moves from one that lingers.
If a premium-priced detached listing is in your plans, spring is showing itself as the stronger window based on how much higher-end activity it's absorbed this year.
If you're thinking through timing for your own listing — in Encinitas, Carlsbad, Solana Beach, Leucadia, or Cardiff — we're glad to walk through how these countywide trends are actually playing out on your street.
You can reach Loren Sanders directly at 760-583-7100
Compass/ DRE 01139038
