Is It Ever Too Late to Sell and Downsize as a Senior in San Diego?

Is it ever too late to sell and downsize in San Diego?
Usually, no. It’s “too late” only when you’re forced into a rushed decision by health, finances, or a sudden life change. If you plan early, you can downsize on your terms, protect your cash flow, and choose a home that fits how you live now.

If you’re asking this because you’re worried you waited too long, you’re not alone. In San Diego, the stakes feel higher because housing costs are high and moves can feel complicated. But that’s exactly why planning matters. A well-timed downsize can turn stress into options.

The San Diego Housing Costs

Downsizing decisions aren’t just emotional. They’re math.

San Diego’s median home sale price was about $917,000 in November 2025, according to Redfin. That doesn’t mean your home is worth that, but it’s a useful baseline for understanding why equity is often the biggest lever you have.

On the rental side, Zillow shows the average rent in San Diego around $3,000, with about $2,322 for a one-bedroom and $3,069 for a two-bedroom.

And if downsizing is connected to future care planning, San Diego County’s own cost brief is blunt about how expensive long-term care can get. It cites about $88,088/year for in-home homemaker services and about $84,420/year for assisted living (private one-bedroom) in 2024, with nursing care significantly higher.

So when you ask, “Is it too late?” what you’re really asking is, “Do I still have time to make a smart move before costs and complexity go up?” Most of the time, yes.

When It’s Not Too Late to Downsize in San Diego

It’s not too late to sell and downsize in San Diego if you still have choices about timing, showing prep, and where you land next.

You’re in a good planning window if you can still do the basics without a crisis driving the schedule: sorting, repairs, paperwork, and a realistic plan for what you’ll do after closing.

This is also where working with someone who does senior transitions matters. Melina can help you build a step-by-step plan that fits your timeline, not a generic “list it next week” push.

When It Might Be “Too Late” to Downsize in San Diego

This isn’t meant to scare you. It’s meant to help you spot risk early.

It becomes “too late” when you’re forced to make fast decisions because of one of these:

• You can’t safely maintain the home anymore, and a fall or health event would instantly change your options.

• Your monthly carrying costs are rising faster than your income and savings.

• The home has deferred maintenance that’s getting worse and will become a barrier during escrow.

• Your family is stepping in suddenly, and everyone is making decisions in a stressful moment.

Even then, it’s not hopeless. It just means you need a coordinated plan fast (agent, lender if needed, estate attorney if needed, and often a senior move manager).

The Biggest Fear San Diego Seniors Have When Downsizing

“If I Sell, I’ll Never Afford to Buy Back Into San Diego”

That fear is understandable in San Diego. Prices are high, and rent isn’t cheap either.

But here’s what most people miss: downsizing isn’t only about “owning versus renting.” It’s about reducing risk and right-sizing the home to your life.

For some people, the best downsize is a smaller owned home with a manageable HOA that covers exterior maintenance. For others, it’s renting for a year to reset and decide where you actually want to live. For others, it’s moving closer to support and trading a big yard for walkability and easy access.

Melina often frames it like this: you’re not “giving up the house.” You’re buying back time, simplicity, and options.

The Property-Tax Break Many San Diego Homeowners 55+ Miss When They Downsize

If you’re 55+ and worried that moving will blow up your property taxes, you should understand California’s Proposition 19 rules. Prop 19 allows eligible homeowners over 55 (and some other categories) to transfer their taxable value under certain conditions, and it can be used up to three times per person.

This is not DIY territory. The rules are technical and timing matters, and you’ll want your tax professional involved. But it’s one of the reasons downsizing may be more possible than you think.

Your 3 Downsizing Paths in San Diego: Stay, Rent, or Buy Smaller

Staying put (and making the home work for aging)
This can be a smart choice if the house is already safe, manageable, and affordable, and you have a plan for maintenance. The risk is that the home can quietly become harder and more expensive to keep up than you expect.

Selling and renting for flexibility
This is often the cleanest reset if you want fewer responsibilities right away and you’re not ready to commit to a new neighborhood or property type. The risk is rent increases and feeling in-between, especially in a high-cost market like San Diego.

Selling and buying smaller (right-sizing)
This is the best fit when you want long-term stability but without the burden of a larger property. The risk is overbuying your “next place” or ignoring HOA rules and costs.

Where to Look in San Diego When You Downsize

To stay fair-housing compliant and genuinely helpful, it’s better to think in terms of your daily life needs: single-level living, parking, medical access, walkability, quieter streets, and proximity to the people and places you already rely on.

Here are practical “landing zones” many downsizers consider, depending on what matters most to you:

• If you want lower-maintenance condos and central access, you’ll often look at pockets of Mission Valley and nearby areas where condo inventory is common and drive times are manageable.

• If you want walkability and “do life without getting on the freeway,” you may focus on parts of Bankers Hill, Hillcrest, and adjacent neighborhoods where daily errands, restaurants, and services can be closer together (inventory can be tight, and parking matters a lot).

• If you want a quieter feel with single-story options and established neighborhoods, you may look toward areas like Rancho Bernardo within the City of San Diego, where there are communities designed around easier living.

The right answer depends on your budget, your comfort with HOAs, and how important walkability versus space is for you. Melina can narrow this fast by starting with your non-negotiables instead of sending you a long list of neighborhoods.

San Diego Downsizing Timeline

If you want to avoid the “rushed move,” use this practical sequence.

• Step 1: Decide what you’re optimizing for
  Is it monthly cost? Less stairs? Closer to family? Walkability? Fewer repairs? You need one clear priority, or you’ll spin.

• Step 2: Get a real value range for your current home
  Online estimates are not enough for planning. You need a realistic price range and a net sheet based on your likely costs, not best-case assumptions. This is where Melina Rissone’s valuation process is useful because it’s built for decision-making, not just marketing.

• Step 3: Pick your landing plan before you list
  If you’re buying, you need a lender conversation early. If you’re renting, you need a realistic rent target and a plan for timing your move-out. If you’re considering senior living, you need to understand what’s available and what it costs.

• Step 4: Reduce the workload of the move
  Downsizing is not “clean the garage.” It’s a project. Highgate Senior Living’s downsizing guidance emphasizes planning the destination first and then downsizing to fit that space, one area at a time. That’s the difference between calm and chaos.

• Step 5: List with a strategy that matches your energy and timeline
  Some sellers want minimal disruption. Others will do full prep for maximum price. Either can work, but the plan should match your real life, not an ideal.

Why Working With a Senior-Focused Real Estate Advisor Matters

Senior transitions aren’t just real estate. They touch family dynamics, health considerations, and sometimes complex financial decisions.

Melina Rissone holds the Certified Senior Advisor designation, which is designed for professionals serving older adults and requires passing a rigorous exam and upholding ethical standards. She also aligns her real estate approach with senior-specific training standards like NAR’s Seniors Real Estate Specialist education, which prepares Realtors to address the needs of mature clients.

What that means for you in plain English: you get a plan that’s built around your pace, your priorities, and your support system, not pressure.

The Honest Answer: It’s Rarely Too Late, But it Can Become Expensive to Wait

In San Diego, downsizing late often costs more than downsizing sooner, because emergencies force rushed repairs, rushed packing, rushed decisions, and sometimes lower sale outcomes.

If you want to know whether downsizing is still realistic for you, start with a simple planning appointment. Melina can map your options in a way that’s specific to San Diego, your home, and your timeline, and help you decide whether staying, renting, or buying smaller is the safest next step.

Melina Rissone

Having sold properties for more than 20 years and earning various prestigious awards throughout the course of her career, Melina Rissone has more than earned her reputation as one of San Diego's most skilled and trustworthy real estate brokers selling homes and luxury condominiums. Her loyal clientele would share that Melina brings structure and planning to chaos. She specializes in supporting her clients and their referrals; families and individuals going through divorce and seniors and active adults planning their moves and financial decisions during their retirement years.

• Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and Institute of Luxury Home Marketing certified.

• Certified Senior Advisor by the Society of Certified Senior Advisors

• RCS-D Designation, a Real Estate Collaboration Specialist for Divorce.

• SRES Certification through NAR is a Seniors Real Estate Specialist certification.

• Melina is bilingual in English and German.

• Recognized as the Top 4% of all real estate brokers in San Diego County in 2021 and the Top 3% of Coldwell Banker International.

• Coldwell Banker Presidents Elite Award.

• Recognize as the Top 2% of Coldwell Banker West in 2024.

• Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and Institute of Luxury Home Marketing Certified.

Melina is on point, extremely resourceful and well connected. She has a very versatile knowledgebase so was able to help guide us in many areas I was not even expecting from an agent. I've referred her to several friends who all reported great experiences. She takes her role in representing her client very seriously so its not like some kind of half time gig thing. She gets it done.

                                                                          -Dan C.