Key Highlights
- Six-county region’s median price up to $600,000 in August, +12.1% from one year ago, according to
- Sales volume +2.4% from one year ago
People who have the financial ability to buy homes these pandemic days are people less likely to have lost their jobs. And, due to rock-bottom mortgage interest rates now below 3% for 30-year fixed mortgages, these people have increased purchasing power.
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Take a look at what’s going on with prices in the six-county region of Southern California:
- Los Angeles County – median home price +12.2% from one year ago to $692,750 in August. Sales declined -3.8% from one year ago
- Orange County – median home price +11.6% to $800,000. Sales up +10.9%
- Riverside County – median home price +11.6% to $441,000. Sales up +0.6%
- San Bernardino County – median home price +9.8% to $380,000. Sales up +2.8%
- San Diego County – median home price +9.4% to $640,000. Sales volume up +7.2%
- Ventura County – median home price +8.1% to $647,250. Sales volume up +7%
According to Jordan Levine, deputy chief economist with the California Association of Realtors (CAR), uneven ups and downs in the economy are being felt by different segments of the home buying population. This unevenness accounts for the sales shift towards the upper end of the market.
Homes selling for $1M+ accounted for 22% of all homes sold in California in August, according to CAR. This 22% represents a substantial uptick from the 16% of $1M+ homes sold in August 2019. Likewise, the share of homes for $500,00 and below dropped a whopping 38% in August, down from 46% in August 2019.
Levine said, “It’s hard for me to break down what percent of that double-digit price growth (in the median) is due to the change in the mix…but we are seeing real honest-to-goodness price growth as well.”
Always, always, always factor lack of inventory (coupled, of course, with bidding wars that can add another $50,000-$100,000 to list prices) into your thinking when you consider these above price growth percentages. According to Zillow, there were -19% fewer homes for sale in August this year compared to last year in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. In the Inland Empire, San Diego and Ventura counties, inventory drops were even more glaring.
Thanks to the Los Angeles Times, DQNews and the California Association of Realtors.
Also read: Why Home Prices May Drop Soon, Home Prices in Arizona and Florida Expected to Drop, Realities of Home Prices in New York State & Manhattan
