The price dip here is a mix story, not a market drop. Median price is down 3.7% from a year ago, but sellers pushed their list-price ratio up sharply to 99.6% from 89.6%, a full 11-point jump. With only 14 sales, a shift toward smaller or lower-priced homes in the mix that closed can move the median while the far more telling number, how close to full ask sellers are getting, is climbing.

Speed backs up that read. Average days on market fell to 32 from 48 a year ago, and pending sales rose 28.6% to 9. Active inventory fell 12.2% to 43 homes and months supply eased to 3.5, both signs of a market absorbing what comes to it more efficiently than a year ago.

Read the list-price ratio and pace ahead of the headline median in this zip code this month. Both are telling a story of firming demand, even as the price figure moved in the opposite direction on a modest sample.

The attached market in 92103 had a strong month. Closed sales doubled to 30 from 15, and pending sales rose 28.6% to 18, both genuine increases in a segment with enough volume that the numbers are not being driven by a handful of transactions. Median price rose 5.2% to $867,500, and sellers collected 97.8% of original list, up from 94.7%.

Pace improved alongside the volume gain. Average days on market fell to 39 from 46. Active inventory rose modestly to 78 units and months supply ticked up to 4.4, so buyers still have real selection even as demand strengthened.

This is a segment where rising volume, rising price, and a firmer list-price ratio are all pointing the same direction, a more convincing signal than any single metric would offer on its own.