San Diego County’s median home price fell from its record high in July. Experts pointed to higher mortgage rates as the main culprit.

The region’s median home price was $920,000, down from a revised $930,000 in June, said Attom Data Solutions, which was the highest ever recorded. The median price, which combines sales of single-family homes, townhouses and condos, was still up 2.2% annually.

Home sales fell in July, typically one of the year’s busiest months, to 2,210 — 62 fewer sales than the previous month. Mortgage rates climbed every week during July, said Freddie Mac, finishing the month at an average 6.66% for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

Mortgage rates continued to rise, hitting a high of 7.4% this month, but fell slightly Thursday to 7.32%, said Freddie Mac. Mark Goldman, a San Diego loan officer and real estate analyst, said mortgage rates are a huge factor if buyers are already stretching their budgets.

“A lot of people buy at the very edge of what they can afford,” he said.

Goldman said other factors also weigh on potential buyers, such as high gasoline prices, political uncertainty leading up to the Nov. 3 election and rising prices for consumer goods. San Diego County’s inflation rate was 4.7% in September, its highest in nearly three years and the second-highest rate in the nation behind urban Hawaii, at 5.2%. While fuel costs saw the biggest jump, prices were up across nearly every category, from food to medical care.

Regardless of whatever economic reason could be affecting buyers, San Diego County homes are taking considerably longer to sell than just a few years ago — and fewer are going for more than asking prices.

The Redfin Data Center said average days on market for a San Diego County home was 33 days in July, a far cry from the super-charged market of four years ago. In February 2022, the expected time on market was eight days. About 32% of homes in July sold above asking price, Redfin said, which sounds like a lot until you consider that number was around 80% in 2022.

A slowdown in home sales seems to have meant more for buyers to choose from. There were 8,074 homes for sale in San Diego County in July, Redfin said. That was down by 415 from the same time last year but still up from historic averages.

Jenna Hollander, a San Diego real estate agent who operates primarily in downtown and surrounding communities, said affordability concerns are the top issue she has heard from potential buyers for at least four months.

She said the higher interest rates might have had less of an impact if other costs had dropped. What she hears from buyers is that all of it put together makes it harder to pull the trigger on a purchase.

“Gas, groceries, things of that nature were more affordable” two years ago, Hollander said. “This time around, it’s a tougher pill to swallow because nothing has come down. If everything else came down, it would make more sense to have an expensive mortgage. It is tougher in this market for buyers.”

Despite affordability challenges with working- and middle-class buyers, San Diego County’s home price is still one of the highest in the nation. Orange County-based Reports on Housing has said some data shows affluent buyers are likely keeping prices elevated.

There were 232 pending sales for San Diego County homes listed above $2 million at the end of May, it said, which would likely cover mostly sales that closed in July. That was the most ever for that time period, only getting close in March 2022 (225 sales), when sales were supercharged before mortgage rates rose.

Home prices varied by type in July. The median single-family home price was $1.1 million, up 7.8% annually. The median townhouse and condo price was $643,000, down 1.5% annually.

Here’s a look at median prices — the point where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less — across Southern California:

Los Angeles County: Down 1.2% monthly to a median home price of $899,000; down 1.2% annually.

Orange County: Down 2.4% monthly to a median of $1.22 million; up 3.4% annually.

Riverside County: Up 1.7% monthly to a median of $605,000; up 0.8% annually.

San Bernardino County: Down 0.3% monthly to a median of $533,500; up 2.6% annually.

San Diego County: Down 1.1% monthly to a median of $920,000; up 2.2% annually.

Ventura County: Down 1.3% monthly to a median of $848,500; down 1.9% annually.