Southern California homebuyers are swiftly returning to the real estate market, with the National Association of Realtors® reporting a large majority of house hunters (65%) who attended an open house within the last year would do so now without hesitation. Sales and transactions are still below 2019 numbers, but the coronavirus rebound has begun.
Los Angeles and Orange Counties
Pending sales: Up 66.7%
New Listings: Up 28.5%
In Los Angeles and Orange counties, pending sales, measured by escrows, jumped sharply, up 66.7% from last month. This marks the fifth-largest gain in the top 27 largest cities in the U.S. according to data from Zillow measuring the number of signed sales contracts as of May 23, 2020.
More sellers are comfortable and ready to list their homes, with newly listed properties in OC and LA jumping up 28.5% in a month. Inventory is still down 29% below last year, but we’ve headed again in the right direction. The limited housing supply is good news for homeowners however, as the LA-OC median listing price rose 3.7% in a month to $890,040. That is a gain of 6.8% in a year, among the third-largest gain over the past year among 35 markets tracked.
Riverside and San Bernardino Counties
Pending sales: Up 60%
New Listings: Up 12.5%
Pending sales rose 60% over the last month in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties — the sixth-largest gain amid the same 27 big markets, right behind LA and OC. Inventory in the Inland Empire is still lagging 29.6% behind last year, but new listings in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties are up 12.5% this past month.
Providing an abundance of affordable Southern California real estate for prospective homebuyers, the Inland Empire’s median list price of $428,719 shows a 2% gain in a month and 2.1% over the past 12 months.
So what does that mean for Southern California homeowners?
If you’ve been waiting to sell your home, now could be the ideal time to place it on the market. With low rates and buyer demand growing by the day, this is the perfect opportunity to capture top-dollar for your home, and a bottom of the barrel low rate to help you move up to your dream home. To get started, check what changes COVID has made to your home’s value.
