Most San Diego County families can't afford to buy a starter home in the area. 

Why it matters: Low supply and high housing costs make it difficult for this generation of potential homeowners to get their foot in the door and build wealth through real estate. 

Driving the news: Less than 1% of San Diego starter-home listings are affordable for middle-income households, according to Redfin's latest analysis.

Zoom in: House shoppers in August needed a $192,207 annual income, up 0.8% from a year earlier, to afford the metro area's typical starter home — which cost $653,000, per Redfin.

• San Diego County's median household income is $108,206 this year, researchers estimate.

State of play: Local inventory continues to rise. Home sales dropped in September as prices fluctuated some but stayed elevated overall, according to a report by the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors.

• Resale properties are sitting on the market longer than last year, closing escrow in an average of 34 days compared to 25 days in 2023. 

Follow the money: The median sales price for a single-family home was just over $1 million in September, a nearly 6% increase from 2023 and 0.1% drop from August.

• Median prices for condos and townhomes were $646,000, a decline of 4.4% month over month and 2% year over year.
• Collectively, home prices were about 5% higher than last September, per SDAR.

The big picture: Nationally, buying a starter home is now cheaper than it was a year ago — the first annual decline since 2020 — as mortgage rates are falling.

Reality check: "A decade ago, a turnkey four-bedroom house in a nice neighborhood was often considered a starter home, but today, a small fixer-upper condo is often all a first-time homebuyer can afford," Redfin senior economist Elijah de la Campa said in the analysis. 

What we're watching

Two city council districts are up for grabs in Escondido, and voters will decide whether to impose a one-cent sales tax for city services.

State of play: Measure I, the proposed sales tax, would raise an estimated $28 million per year for 20 years to address homelessness, road repairs, police and fire staffing and parks maintenance.

• Two years ago, Escondido voters rejected a ¾ cent tax increase, and in 2020 the city council rejected a proposal to put a similar measure on the ballot.
• All of those efforts were aimed at eliminating the city's annual $11 million structural budget deficit that leaders have instead addressed with short-term fixes.

Zoom in: District 3 appointed council member Christian Garcia, a high school teacher and former trustee for Palomar College, is seeking a full term, and has the endorsement of the local Republican Party.

• He's running against Veronica Cigarroa, a mental health professional backed by the San Diego County Democratic Party, and Christine Spencer, who has worked in fundraising for Coastal Roots Farm in Encinitas and serves on nonprofit boards in Escondido.

More about the candidates

⚽ The Levine Leichtman family is officially the new owner of San Diego Wave FC, completing the purchase of the club at a total valuation of $120 million and a cash outlay of $113 million – an NWSL record. (The Athletic)

🦭💨 Other California towns are worried their beaches could soon, like La Jolla, be overtaken by sea lions, whose list of offenses, according to the article, includes flatulence. (Los Angeles Times)

🪖 Increased defense spending added 20,000 jobs to San Diego's regional economy this year, according to an annual economic impact report by the San Diego Military Advisory Council. (KPBS)

Last weekend, the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center opened its new exhibit, due here through next spring.

• Chicanismo and the Art of Resistance: The Legacy of Ricardo Favela and the Royal Chicano Air Force celebrates the work of Sacramento-based artist, activist and professor Ricardo Favela and the artist collective he co-founded in the 1970s.

The Royal Chicano Air Force sought to make cultural arts accessible to the working-class Chicano community while supporting its broader civil rights activism

• The collective led the creation of some murals within Chicano Park, and worked directly with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers.
• Its work created "a visual language for resistance and solidarity" of the movement, the Chicano Park Museum wrote.

The museum, at 1960 National Ave., is open Thursday-Sunday from 10am-4pm.

• Admission is $3-$8.

4 more things to do this weekend

🎉 Congrats to Hank R. for identifying Casa Guadalajara in Old Town. 

The Mexican restaurant turned its fountain into an ofrenda honoring the late Padres' owner Peter Seidler.

Zoom in: The Día de los Muertos altar is decorated with marigold flowers, sugar skulls, candles, Padres memorabilia and photos of Seidler from his family.

• It's on display through Nov. 2.

The big picture: Día de los Muertos is a holiday celebrated around Nov. 1, particularly in Mexico and Latin American countries, to remember loved ones who have died. 

• The ofrenda or "offering" is meant to welcome the souls of relatives returning to their families once a year for a celebration of life.

Tell us: Does your family make an ofrenda? If so, share your tradition and send us photos.

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