Southern California Home Sales Break Two-Year Losing Streak in January
After a two-year losing streak, Southern California home sales saw a surprising uptick in January, breaking the trend of declining sales that had persisted for 25 consecutive months. According to CoreLogic housing data released on Thursday, February 29, January’s home sales reached 10,581 transactions, marking a nearly 7% increase from the previous year.
Despite the increase in sales, January’s numbers still ranked as the third-lowest in records dating back 36 years. The rise in sales can be attributed to the fact that the prior January had been the slowest month on record.
On the pricing front, the median price of a Southern California home in January was $705,000, reflecting a more than 5% increase from the previous year. However, this median price was lower than the previous nine months, which is typical for January as it is considered the slowest month of the year due to the holiday season break for buyers and sellers.
All six Southern California counties saw both price and sales increases year-over-year. Orange County led the pack with a 12% increase in median price to nearly $1.07 million, while Los Angeles County had the smallest price gain percentage-wise at 4.6% to $800,000.
The Inland Empire continued to offer the best housing bargains, with median prices of $475,000 in San Bernardino County and $550,000 in Riverside County. However, their annual price growth rates were relatively modest at 5.6% and 2.1%, respectively.
The lack of homes for sale continued to drive up prices, with the region averaging fewer than 39,000 homes for sale in November and December. High mortgage rates also played a role in dampening both sales and listings, with rates averaging 7.4% in November and 6.8% in December for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
Looking ahead, 2024 is projected to see improved sales and higher prices as the industry emerges from its slowest year on record. With the expectation of lower mortgage rates as the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates, more home shoppers are likely to enter the market.
Overall, the housing market in Southern California is showing signs of recovery, with January’s sales increase and rising prices indicating a potential turnaround from the prolonged slowdown experienced in recent years.