Valley Home, Condo Prices Hit Record Highs

Median prices of homes and condominiums in the San Fernando Valley that closed escrow during June hit record highs even as sales slowed due to limited inventory, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported Monday. A total of 487 single-family homes changed owners last month, down 14.7 percent from last year. It was the lowest total for the month of June since the association began recording the statistic in 1984. The group’s brokers assisted with the sale of 158 condominiums during June, which was down 16 percent year over year, the third lowest total for any June in 35 years. The 487 single-family homes that changed owners in June had a median price of $722,000. That was up 4.5 percent from a year ago, smashing through the prior record of $708,000 that was recorded in May and August of 2018. That compares to the $339,000 median recorded in December 2011, which was the low point of local prices since the Great Recession. Similarly, Valley buyers pushed the 158 condominiums that closed escrow in June to a record $455,000 median price, up 3.9 percent from a year ago and 145.9 percent ahead of the recession low point of $185,000 recorded in May 2009. “Low interest rates on home loans translated into greater buying power, which kept more prospective buyers in the hunt for a home,” Dan Tresierras, president of association, said in a statement. “Yet that wound up pushing resale prices higher as inventory, while showing some improvement compared to a year ago, has seen smaller gains since peaking earlier this year.” According to the trade group, June was the first month since July 2018 to post a smaller inventory than the previous year. A total of 1,352 homes and condominiums were listed for sale by June’s end, down 1.2 percent from June 2018. Local Valley inventory hit a record low in December 2017 with 819 active listings yet had been trending higher since then. “Lower interest rates help buyers get more house for their dollars,” said the association’s Chief Executive Tim Johnson, “yet it also brings out more prospective buyers, which translates into additional upward pressure on prices.” Only two single-family homes in the Valley changed owners during June as a result of a foreclosure. An additional three homes sold closed escrow during June via a short sale — where the lender agrees to a sale price that is less than the outstanding loan balance. Reflecting the limited inventory and the generally lower price points, none of the 158 Valley condominiums that changed hands during June went via foreclosure or a short sale. Condos spent an average of 42 days on the market while homes averaged 33 days.