Realtors: Inventory on the rise
A recent report showed that the inventory of Santa Clarita Valley homes and condominiums increased for the third consecutive month, rising it to its highest level since 2014.
Data for August, released by the Southland Regional Association of Realtors, found that listings increased by just more than 30 percent, with 699 active homes and condominiums listed at the end of the month.
Tim Johnson, SRAR’s chief executive officer, said inventory had not been this high since September 2014.
Still, inventory at just more than a two-month supply fell short of the desired five-month supply that would level buyers and sellers equally, the report said.
Johnson said when the buyer and seller disconnect syncs up, there should be a pickup in transactions.
He added that these numbers indicate that the market is changing. “We are seeing sales slow down, a sign that the market is transitioning to a buyer’s market,” he said. “Buyers are hitting the wall with not being able to afford a home. Now we’re seeing buyers may wait to buy to find more favorable prices.”
M. Dean Vincent,
chairman of the SCV division of SRAR, said in a statement that anything that “eases pressure off prices is welcome news.”
The median price of homes that closed escrow was $605,000, up just more than 10 percent from 2017 but nearly 6 percent below the record high of $643,000 set in April 2006, according to the report.
Condos still priced high, with the August median price at $399,000, up almost 11 percent over a year ago. The record high of $410,000 was set in April.
Home sales decreased by almost 6 percent, and condo sales dropped 14 percent from January to July.
The report also said that more than 200 single-family homes closed escrow last month, which was down by 16 percent from a year ago. There was only one foreclosurerelated transaction and no short sales of either homes or condos in August.
While every market is different, a market change trend is seen across California, Johnson said. The biggest challenge in the state, however, is the lack of housing supply, he said.
“When you have a high demand and little supply, prices go up — a situation we’ve been in for quite some time,” said Johnson. “While this is a market fluctuation, what we really need to do is bring affordability and build more.”