Housing Tracker: Southern California home values drop in November
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After a slight jump in October, Southern California home prices dropped in November.It’s the sixth time in the last seven months that values have fallen.In November the average home price across the six-county region fell 0.3% from October to $852,629, according to data from Zillow.
Prices were down 1.4% from November 2024.Economists and real estate agents say a variety of factors have slowed the market, including high mortgage rates, rising inventory and economic uncertainty stemming from tariffs.Until the recent declines, July 2023 was the last time that year-over-year prices had fallen.Back then rising mortgage rates were knocking many buyers out of the market.
Values started increasing again when the number of homes for sale plunged as sellers backed away, unwilling to give up mortgages they took out earlier in the pandemic with rates of 3% and lower.Real estate agents say homeowners increasingly want to take the next step in their lives and are deciding to move rather than hold on to their ultra-low mortgage rates.But many first-time buyers, without access to equity, remain locked out.Add on the economic uncertainty and you get a market that’s noticeably downshifted.If the Trump administration’s policies end up pushing the economy into a recession, some economists say home prices could drop much further.
The market in L.A.County was relatively active in November, with 4,935 homes trading hands.
That’s the highest sale count since the spring, when 4,938 homes sold in April.L.A.County experienced a slowdown in inventory.
Just 4,271 new homes were listed in November, a 1.2% drop compared to October.For now Zillow is forecasting that the economy will avoid a recession and home prices will increase over the next year.The real estate firm expects national home prices will rise 1.6% next year.Map excludes outliers.Zillow Research, Times analysisHailey Wang LOS ANGELES...