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Equity Since You Bought: San Diego Homes

Veterans and service members who own: see how far your home's value and your paid-down loan have come since closing, from just your price, date and ZIP.

Updated November 2026 · Rudy Flores

Many veterans bought with a VA loan and have been paying it down ever since. This page shows where that leaves you by moving your purchase price in step with Zillow's ZIP-code values in San Diego County.

Enter your loan details for the principal paid, your equity and a net after selling costs. It is a planning estimate; Rudy can check it against recent sales, and loan questions go to a lender.

Your purchase

ZIP code of your home

Values are Zillow's typical value for the ZIP code, not for your street.

Type of home

Uses Zillow's series for that home type when the ZIP code has one for your purchase month.

Month you bought

Year you bought

From 1985. Before 2000 the estimate chains FHFA's yearly ZIP index to Zillow.

Price you paid

Starts at Zillow's typical single-family value in 91913 for June 2016; use your own price.

Your loan

Your loan today

Pick the second choice if you refinanced or have a home equity line.

Down payment when you bought

Used with the first choice. Enter 0 for a no-down-payment loan.

Interest rate on that loan

Blank uses the Freddie Mac average for the month you bought (15-year average for a 15-year term from August 1991).

Loan term

The loan you took out when you bought.

Loan balance today

Used with the second choice: from your latest statement; include any home equity line.

Today

Condition today

Moves the range around the estimate, the same rule of thumb as the home value range tool.

Selling costs

Commission, escrow, title and transfer taxes, as a share of the price; commission is negotiable.

Taxable value on your tax bill (optional)

Leave at 0 to estimate it from your price and the State Board of Equalization's yearly factors.

This estimator runs in your browser and needs JavaScript. You can still ask Rudy for a free value from recent sales on the Request a Home Value page, or call or text (619) 392-6714.

Planning a move, a PCS or a next purchase? Begin with Rudy's four-question Home Strategy Quiz, and he will send a plan built around your timeline.

Take the Home Strategy Quiz

Talk to a lender. Rates, loan programs and approvals come from lenders, not from websites or real estate agents. Talk to your own mortgage broker, or use our preferred lender, Point Mortgage Corporation (NMLS #231073), at (619) 475-4095. You are always free to choose any lender you like, and you can verify any lender’s license at nmlsconsumeraccess.org.

This is an estimate for planning, from Zillow's ZIP-wide typical values applied to your purchase price. It is not an appraisal, a broker price opinion, an offer, a loan offer, or tax or legal advice, and Rudy is a real estate agent, not a lender, appraiser or tax professional.

How the estimate works

For your ZIP code and home type, Zillow's typical value is read at the month you bought and again at the latest month published.
The same percentage change is applied to your purchase price, and the condition choice sets the range.
If you still have the VA or other loan you bought with, its balance follows regular fixed-rate payments from the month after closing.
Equity is what is left of the midpoint after the balance; the net also takes off selling costs, before taxes.
For Prop 13, your price is raised each year by the State Board of Equalization's inflation factor, never more than 2%.

Your Prop 13 value and Prop 19

Your property tax is based on your Prop 13 taxable value, which began at your purchase price and can go up by no more than 2% each year, so it may be well under today's market value.

If you are 55 or older and buying again in California, Proposition 19 may let you bring that taxable value to the new home, provided you buy within two years of the sale. Each owner can use it three times, and the county assessor decides eligibility.

For a future move to a smaller place, there is the downsizing calculator.

Sources and dates

Zillow Research, Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) by ZIP code: all homes, single-family and condo; middle tier, smoothed and seasonally adjusted (data through September 2026, files updated Oct 16, 2026)
FHFA House Price Index for five-digit ZIP codes (annual, developmental index, not seasonally adjusted; 2000 = 100), used only for purchases before Zillow's series begin. Citation: Bogin, Doerner and Larson, Local House Price Dynamics: New Indices and Stylized Facts, FHFA Working Paper 16-01 (annual, through 2025)
Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS): weekly 30-year and 15-year fixed averages; the page uses the mean for your purchase month (monthly means through October 2026; latest weekly 30-year average 7.24% on Oct 29, 2026)
California State Board of Equalization, Letter To Assessors No. 2026/002: inflation factors for 1976-77 through 2026-27, with Revenue and Taxation Code section 51 and California Constitution article XIII A, section 2(b) (January 13, 2026)
California State Board of Equalization, Proposition 19 (checked Oct 30, 2026)
Assumptions, not sourced figures: the condition range (the same rule of thumb as the home value range tool), 6% selling costs, 20% down, regular payments on a fixed-rate loan starting the month after you bought, and the first inflation factor applying on the first January 1 after your purchase

Questions owners ask

How close is this to my home's real value?

The estimate adjusts your price by a ZIP-wide index and does not know your home's condition, lot or upgrades. For a value based on recent nearby sales, Rudy prepares one free.

I bought with a VA loan and no down payment. What do I enter?

Enter 0 for the down payment. The page figures the loan from your price and down payment only, so if you financed the VA funding fee, choose the second loan option and type your balance from your statement.

What if I refinanced, for example with an IRRRL?

Select the refinance choice and type the balance from your newest statement, adding any second loan. The page uses it as given.

Is my Prop 13 value what my home would sell for?

No. It is a tax base, set at your purchase price and raised by no more than 2% each year. Market value is usually higher, and your tax bill shows the exact taxable value.