The shortage of reasonable-priced homes?  See below.

From HW:

Annual San Diego home sales hit a four-year low in September, Fidelity Pacific Real Estate said Monday.

Sales declined 4.6% year-over-year for the month and were also down 5% from August. That’s somewhat typical of a slowed demand moving into winter, though a larger increase than expected according to the report.

Home prices continued to decline, down 4.5% year-over-year.

Distress sales, which include foreclosures and short sales, made up about 44% of total sales in the area, and will likely cause prices to remain stagnant.

Housing inventory declined 9%, also relatively normal for the season, though this could be attributed to homeowners reacting to current price trends. Distress sales make up about 35% of active inventory.

Southern California home sales went up a slight 0.3% year-over-year in September, according to a report Thursday from DataQuick.