SoCal housing market slows for homes and rentals

Source: Los Angeles Times

The Southern California housing market is downshifting. The average home price in the six-county region fell 0.3 percent from October to $869,288 in November, according to Zillow, marking the fourth consecutive month of declines. Price are now 1.3 percent off their all-time high in July, but some economists say prospective home buyers and sellers shouldn’t expect home values to plunge – one reason behind the shift is the market typically slows in the fall and prices are still above where they were a year ago.

Still, more homes are hitting the market and mortgage interest rates remain high, creating a situation of slightly more supply and slightly less demand. As a result, annual price growth has slowed. Last month, Southern California home prices were 4.3 percent higher than a year earlier, compared to a recent peak of 9.5 percent in April. Senior economist at Zillow Orphe Divounguy said he expects annual price growth in Southern California to slow further next year, but not to turn negative. Though more homeowners are choosing to sell their home, many others still don’t want to give up their ultra-low mortgage rates they took out during the pandemic.