How long does escrow take when you buy a house in San Diego?
Thirty to forty-five days for a financed purchase, though no law sets that — your contract does. The deadlines that actually bind you are the contingency dates, which print at 17 days after acceptance.
- Typical financed close
- 30–45 days
- Loan, appraisal, inspection
- 17 days each
- Right to cancel after disclosures
- 3 or 5 days
Market custom, not law
Printed default, C.A.R. RPA Rev. 12/24
Civil Code 1102.3
The short version
- California law sets no escrow length. On the C.A.R. purchase agreement, Close of Escrow is a blank the parties fill in.
- The printed defaults are 17 days each for the loan, appraisal and investigation contingencies, all counted from acceptance.
- The seller has 7 days after acceptance to deliver disclosures under the same form.
- Civil Code 1102.3 gives you 3 days to cancel after a disclosure statement handed to you in person, 5 days if it came by mail or electronically.
- ICE put the average purchase loan at 36.8 days to close in March 2026 — the fastest since they began tracking in 2019.
There is no legal answer to this question, which is the first thing worth knowing. No California statute and no San Diego County ordinance sets how long escrow runs. Thirty days is a habit, not a rule. On the California Association of Realtors Residential Purchase Agreement — the form nearly every San Diego sale uses — Close of Escrow is a blank line the buyer and seller fill in themselves.
What genuinely constrains the timeline is the loan. ICE Mortgage Technology reported that the average purchase loan closed in 36.8 days in March 2026, the fastest since it started tracking the figure in 2019. A cash purchase has no such constraint and can close in a week or two.
The dates that actually matter
Close of escrow is the date people fixate on. The contingency deadlines are the ones with teeth, because they are the days on which your deposit stops being refundable. On the RPA these are printed defaults — numbers already on the form that either side can strike out and change.
| Deadline | Default | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Initial deposit | 3 business days | Wired to escrow after acceptance |
| Seller delivers disclosures | 7 days | The packet the seller must hand over |
| Loan contingency | 17 days | Until then, financing falling through is a way out |
| Appraisal contingency | 17 days | Until then, a low appraisal is a way out |
| Investigation contingency | 17 days | Inspections, and the broadest exit you have |
Printed defaults on the C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement, Rev. 12/24. All run from acceptance, and all are negotiable.
The three days nobody tells you about
Separate from the contract, California gives you a statutory right to walk away after you see the seller's Transfer Disclosure Statement. Civil Code section 1102.3 lets a buyer terminate by written notice within 3 days if the statement was delivered in person, 5 days if it was mailed, and 5 days if it arrived as an electronic record.
Because almost everything moves electronically now, the five-day period is usually the one that applies. The clock only starts once the completed statement actually reaches you or your agent — an incomplete form does not start it.
What ends escrow
Escrow closes when the deed records with the San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk, not when you sign. Signing happens a few days earlier. If recording slips past a Friday cutoff, you own the house on Monday instead — which matters if you have a moving truck booked.
SOURCES
Everything above traces back to one of these. Follow them — if one has changed and we haven't, that's our mistake, not yours.
California Association of Realtors · Revised 12/24
Filed copy showing the printed 17-day and 7-day defaults
- PrimaryCivil Code section 1102.3
California Legislature, via Justia
The 3-day / 5-day right to terminate after disclosure delivery
ICE Mortgage Technology · May 2026
36.8-day average purchase loan close, March 2026