It’s part of a national price surge.
Southern California house hunters are not only having a hard time finding something to buy but the properties on the market have gotten decidedly more expensive.
Listing data analyzed by Zillow for the week of Aug. 22 shows asking prices are surging among a paltry inventory of existing homes for sale. Note: Part of the reason price indexes are rising is the changing mix of what’s available to buy. Anything “affordable” is quickly gobbled up!
House hunters can only be comforted by record low mortgage rates that have boosted buying power by roughly 10% in a year. And that this pricing trend is happening across the U.S., too.
Let’s look at median listing prices in the most recent week tracked:
Los Angeles-Orange County: $970,834 — up 14% in a year.
Inland Empire: $470,950 — up 11% in a year.
Nationally: $345,255 — up 8% in a year.
Inventory drops:
Los Angeles-Orange County: 17,355 total listings — down 26% in a year.
Inland Empire: 8,530 — down 47% in a year.
Nationally: 1.02 million — down 29% in a year.
Here’s a look at pending sales activity for Los Angeles and Orange counties …
New escrows: 2,280 — down 1% in a week and up 3.8% in a year.
Time, escrow from listing: Median 12.8 days — down 8.8 in a year.
New listings: 450 — down 1% in a week.
What’s up in the Inland Empire …
New escrows: 1,466 — down 1% in a week and up 5.5% in a year.
Time, escrow from listing: Median 9.5 days — down 15.3 in a year.
New listings: 271 — down 0.4% in a week.
And nationally …
New escrows: 27,210 — down -1% in a week and up 16.5% in a year.
Time, escrow from listing: Median 12.5 days — down 13 in a year.
New listings: 18,393 — up 1% in a week.
Remember, pending sales hint where closed sales will go. The deals must wind their way through the escrow process, including loan approval in deals requiring a mortgage. Closed sales in July ran 2.5% above 2019’s buying pace, according to DQNews.
And buyers seem unfazed by Southern California’s unemployment rate at 15.9% in July.
We are ready to help you find the best possible mortgage solution for your situation. Contact Sheila Siegel at Synergy Financial Group today.
