Southern California home prices fall for first time in seven years
- Prices are US$18,500 off their June 2018 peak, raise possibility of sustained decline in months ahead
- Experts say more likely the market is pausing
The Southern California median home price dipped slightly in March from a year earlier, the first decrease since 2012 and a sign of a remarkable downshift from the once sizzling regional housing market.
The 0.1 per cent drop, reported on Friday by CoreLogic, means prices for the six-county region were essentially flat year on year. But given a pullback in previous months, prices are US$18,500 off their June 2018 peak, and that raises the possibility of a sustained decline in months ahead.
The median price for new and resale houses and condos – the point where half the homes sold for more and half for less – was US$518,500 in March, US$500 less than a year ago and off the all-time high of US$537,000 reached in June.
The dip from March 2018 does not mean values declined across the board. In fact, when broken down by county, the median only dropped in Orange County, while remaining areas – including Los Angeles County – still posted a slight or modest increase compared to a year earlier.
Sales, however, continued their declines across the board and have now dropped in each county for at least eight consecutive months. Sales for the region fell 14.1 per cent in March.
If prices follow and enter into a tailspin, many buyers struggling to afford a home would rejoice – provided it is not accompanied by an economic downturn and return to high joblessness.