Southern California July 2018 Regional Glance

With the summer sales season in full swing in the month of July, the Southern California housing market stayed hot and continued trends seen in previous months and over the last full quarter. Markets across the region saw solid gains in home prices despite minuscule inventory levels, propped up largely by a seemingly endless demand to live where it’s sunny almost every day of the year. Below is our July 2018 regional glance, a market-by-market snapshot of how the region is faring. As a reminder, the numbers factor in all property types in each market and demonstrate the overall direction of a region. For up-to-date information specific to your real estate needs, please connect with a local Bennion Deville Homes real estate professional.

Coachella Valley July 2018 Regional Glance

Year-over-year, the Coachella Valley continues its trend toward a year-round market. The July 2018 numbers indicate the growing strength around the Greater Palm Springs Area real estate market, with a jump of over 10% in total numbers of sales despite a drop in inventory of almost 20%. The pace of sales year-over-year is quicker too, clocking in with an average days on market total of 90 days versus 103 last year (12.6% faster). Homes that are selling this year are going for slightly more, with a 2.5% increase in sale price and 3.5% increase in price per square foot compared to last year’s numbers. With monthly inventory hovering just above a 3-month supply, the Coachella Valley on the whole is a seller’s market. As we head into the desert’s season, it will be interesting to see if the fervor for homes in this area continues, especially as more homes traditionally come on the market in the fall. With a quickening pace, steady but moderate increases in pricing, and a tighter inventory, it looks like the weather isn’t the only thing that’s hot in the Southern California desert.

Orange County July 2018 Regional Glance

The Orange County housing market experienced some interesting trends in the month of July, continuing patterns that began earlier this year. The number of homes changing hands was the same year-over-year, with 2,756 properties gaining new owners. Despite breaking even year-over-year, the total sales volume jumped by 11.5%, with the average closing price across the county hitting $926,600, also an 11.5% increase over last year. Despite heavy gains in sale price, inventory increased by almost 14% compared to 2017, inching the months of inventory up to 2.4 months. In addition, sales pace remained flat, coming in with an average days on market of 33 days. With a rising inventory, stoked no doubt by home owners looking to cash in on equity they have built up over the past few years, it will be interesting to see how this impacts home prices. The trend, however minimal the increase may be, is at least helping to relieve demand, but the direction of the market all depends upon the number of homes that become available and sales pace. If the current pace of sales continues, the demand still far outweighs the supply and these market conditions will continue well-beyond the summer months.

San Diego July 2018 Regional Glance

San Diego’s market is starting to diverge from that of Orange County, the first indication of that in months. The total number of units sold dipped year-over-year by 6.2%, however, inventory is up by almost 25% compared to the same time last year. Despite a lower number of sales, the average sale price went up by 6.2%, and price per square foot saw a 6% bump. Echoing the decline in number of sales, days on market went up slightly to an average of 27 days to sell a home. What we are starting to see is the market coming back to equilibrium. Rising inventory and a slowing sales pace indicate people are starting to wait for prices to come down before making their move. As more inventory enters the market, expect to see home prices level off and sales pick up again.

San Gabriel Valley July 2018 Regional Glance

The July numbers also indicate the San Gabriel Valley market is breaking away from the trends of the other major markets in Southern California. For the month of July, year-over-year the number of closed sales improved by 5.6% (661 transactions), along with average closed sales price (up 3.1% to $796,600), inventory (1,617 units, up 3.4%), sale price versus list price (up 0.1% to 99.5% overall) and average price per square foot ($414.00, up 3.8%). However, despite the gains in inventory year-over-year, the pace of sales, which dipped by 8.3% to 33 days on market, indicates that the demand in the market still outweighs the supply of available homes. With an increase in the pace of sales, the months of inventory dipped compared to last year, falling from a 2.5-month supply to a 2.4-month supply. Just like the other markets around the region, as available inventory loosens up and hits the market, we should keep an eye on the pace of sales and the closed sale price to give us a better idea of the market’s direction and how homebuyers are valuing the market.