SoCal home sales prices and volume surge

Median home price in L.A. County hit $715K in October; buyers are saying, “If it’s not now, when?” according to one economist

Orange County, CA (iStock)
Orange County, CA (iStock)

Home sales prices in Southern California jumped in October as buyers flock to the market, thanks in part to low mortgage rates.

The median sales price for the six counties of the region was $605,000, or 14.2 percent higher than last October, according to the Los Angeles Times.

That’s slightly lower than the $610,000 median sales price in September. Still, closed sales prices have generally been trending upward since the early summer when Covid restrictions were lifted on real estate deals in the region.

Each of SoCal’s six counties saw double-digit percentile increases in sales. All-time price highs were set in L.A. and San Bernardino counties in October. Orange County matched its highwater mark.

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The median home price in L.A. County hit $715,000, a 15.3 percent increase from last year. The number of sales were up 11.2 percent year-over-year. San Bernardino County’s median sales price rose 14 percent year-over-year to $400,000, while Orange County prices climbed 10 percent to $795,000.

Homebuyers are scrambling to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates. The Federal Reserve hasn’t allowed the benchmark federal funds rate to rise above 0.1 percent since April. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has hovered around or below 3 percent since late June.

CoreLogic economist Selma Hepp said that the pandemic is accelerating young people’s plans to move from renting to owning a home.

“The way people think about it is, ‘If it’s not now, when?’” Hepp said. [LAT] — Dennis Lynch