Southland home sales post gains

Sales rise 5.4% in January. And the region’s median price increased 5.3% from January 2016 to hit $455,000.

Southern California home prices and sales jumped in January from a year earlier, a sign that buyers rushed to purchase a home as mortgage rates rose after the presidential election.

Sales in the six-county region rose 5.4% to reach the highest level for a January in four years, real estate data firm CoreLogic said. The Southland’s median price for new and resale homes increased 5.3% from January 2016 to hit $455,000.

The price gains add to a four-year-plus stretch of a rising market, a result of a strong job market, low mortgage rates and a shortage of homes for sale.

The strong January sales numbers mirror the national housing market, in which Americans last month purchased previously owned homes at the highest rate in a decade. Analysts said a jump in mortgage rates after the election might have spurred some buyers, fearful that rates would rise further, to close a deal faster.

Last week, the interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 4.16%, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. That was up from 3.54% in the week prior to the election, though down from a high of 4.32% at the end of 2016.

Rates have risen as investors believe President Trump’s promised cuts in taxes and new infrastructure spending could lead to stronger growth and higher inflation.

Despite the recent strong sales, there are questions over how long price increases can last, particularly if mortgage rates continue their upward climb. Southern California’s median price, for example, fell 3.2% from December, despite being higher than a year earlier.

The median — the point where half of homes sold for more and half for less — also is below the $465,000 level reached in June, which was a nine-year high at the time. The drop could signal that the market is nearing a peak.