The Southern California housing market slowed in June, with the sales tally for that month hitting an all-time low even as home prices matched the all-time high reached in April.
The median price of a Southern California home — or the price at the midpoint of all sales — was $775,000 in June, up 7% over the previous 12 months, real estate data firm CoreLogic reported Thursday, Aug. 1.
Also see:
“Home prices continue to grow (and appear to be) impervious to what’s happened to mortgage rates or other concerns about the economy,” CoreLogic Chief Economist Selma Hepp said during an industry conference in Huntington Beach on Tuesday.
Sales, however, dipped to 16,139 transactions in June, down 7% to a June low. That’s worse than June 2020 when the pandemic caused sales to swoon.
June is typically the busiest month of the year. But the month was slower than May for just the 9th time in the past 37 years.
Based on the total for the first six months, 2024 is shaping up to be the third-slowest year in CoreLogic records.
More on home sales:
Just 87,687 homes changed hands so far this year, CoreLogic numbers show. The only years that had a slower first half were 2008 (the year of the great housing crash) and 2023.
Slow sales appear to have caused the region’s for-sale inventory to mushroom.
After falling to an 11-year low by December, active Southern California listings jumped 38% to 50,934 in June, Redfin numbers show. That’s the highest number of homes on the market in almost two years.
Opinion:
“Homes are sitting on the market a lot longer,” Steve Thomas of Reports On Housing said in his latest update. “Today’s housing market is much different than last year. With more choices in every price range, the sense of urgency for buyers has dissipated.”
So why are prices holding steady, and even rising in some local markets?
Also see:
Despite this year’s gains, for-sale inventory remains 17% below the average for the past 12 years, according to Redfin.
Sellers have been reluctant to give up historically low mortgage rates locked in during the pandemic, contributing to the shortfall of homes for sale.
More buyers also may have been lured to the market by a dip in mortgage rates in June. The typical house payment for a median-priced Southern California home declined by more than $1,000 from May to $4,092 a month after 30-year mortgage rates fell to a June average of 6.9%.
Price records were set in June in three of the region’s six counties: Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura.
Orange County’s median saw the fastest price growth in June, with a 15% year-over-year increase to $1.21 million — the county’s fourth home price record in the past five months.
Home prices were up year over year in all six counties, while sales were down in every county but San Bernardino. Here’s a county-by-county breakdown of June home prices and sales, with annual percentage changes:
— Los Angeles County’s median rose 7.5% to a record $890,000; sales were down 8.3% to 5,062 transactions.
— Orange County’s median rose 15.2% to a record high of $1.21 million; sales were down 9.7% to 2,126 transactions.
— Riverside County’s median rose 5.5% to $580,000; sales were down 13.8% to 3,130 transactions.
— San Bernardino County’s median rose 3.3% to $475,000; sales were up 2.5% to 2,659 transactions.
— San Diego County’s median rose 7.2% to $890,000; sales were down 5.7% to 2,546 transactions.
— Ventura County’s median rose 5.1% to a record high of $850,000; sales were down 2.7% to 616 transactions.
