SoCal home prices to go down? That’s “as likely as an alien attack,” experts say

It’s expensive to live among the stars, and growing more so every day.

Southern California home prices hit record highs this summer, with the median price in Los Angeles County hitting $569,000 in June — a 7.4 percent increase from last year and the peak in a growth streak that lasted five years and counting.

The rise will likely continue, thanks to a strong economy and the difficulty of building new homes in California.

“Candidly, the only thing that could upset the apple cart in California is if we build a whole bunch of housing,” said Beacon Economics founder Chris Thornberg. “And that’s as likely as an alien attack.”

Across the six counties that make up SoCal, the median price is now $505,000, rising 7.5 percent year-over-year, according to CoreLogic data cited by the Los Angeles Times.

This year, sales are especially robust, experts say.

“It usually winds down a little bit after the Fourth of July — I am not seeing that,” Redfin agent Hooman Rahedi told the Times.

The national rate of home price growth in May was 5.6 percent year-over-year, the Case-Shiller index shows. [LAT] — Cathaleen Chen