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The CA Association of Realtors has released the September 2024 Housing Market Statistics. Most of these sales went into contract in August with a 30 day escrow to result in a September closing.
In the Los Angeles County real estate housing market statistics the median price increased 4.4% in September over August. Same month last year prices rose 3.7% In September over August in Los Angeles County. Median price fell this year in Ventura County 8.7% whereas last year same time the median price rose 5.2%. Median price is still up 6% in Los Angeles County from same time last year while Ventura County is down 6.5% according to the California Association of Realtors.
Good news! I also like to follow where the median price stands compared to it’s highest level. This month’s median price for single family homes is a new high. Ventura’s fell a little from last month’s all time high of $965,000. I have to repeat myself – real estate markets are very local so pay greater attention to the local real estate news.
The total sales volume month to month dropped 6.8% in Los Angeles County month over month and fell 5.7% in Ventura County over the previous month and were also down from same time last year. While it is not as strong as would be expected for the summer months it may have been impacted by Consumers’ expectation that the Feds would be lowering interest rates in September.
Here are the interest rate levels for the past year.
In the San Fernando Valley it is not as strong a Seller’s market as inventory increased to 4 months of inventory which is the highest it has been in a non-holiday month in almost 2 years. A balanced market Sellers/Buyers is considered 6 months so we are still in a Seller’s market.
I continue to watch – the commercial real estate market, California’s economy (especially the unemployment figures), and China’s economy.
According to the Employment Development Dept (EDD) the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Los Angeles County increased over the month before to 5.85% in September 2024, in part due to an increase in the size of the labor force. In Ventura County, according to the EDD, the unemployment rate in Ventura County was 5.2 percent in August 2024, up from a revised 4.5 percent in June 2024, and above the year-ago estimate of 4.3 percent.
Why Mortgage rates have increased even though the Fed cut rates
The Real Estate Industry was hoping federal rate cuts would bring mortgage rates down but it hasn’t happened. The main reason is that mortgage rates more closely follow the 10 year treasury yields and those have been rising.
A simplistic explanation would be that if the market for more “speculative” investments such as stocks are strong that the market for “safer” treasuries are not as attractive to investors. Because of this mortgage rates are more impacted by inflation and jobs numbers. Interestingly bad economic news is better to lower mortgage rates but also has a negative impact on Buyers’ confidence when planning to purchase.
Additionally, “We have this large budget deficit, so any time the government has to borrow, borrow and borrow, that just means that there is less mortgage money available for lending into the housing market, all else equal, so maybe the deficit is also hindering some of the mortgage rate decline potential,” according to Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
Also mortgage lenders have been maintaining a larger cushion in their rate offerings. They are concerned that if rates fall many of the recent borrowers will refinance quickly and most lenders don’t make money until a year or two after it is closed.
If you would like to discuss the real estate market or anything in particular, I hope you’ll reach out to me, it.
Who to Call
General real estate agents are great for working on every day transactions but if you are a Senior who is downsizing, a family settling an Estate in Probate or Trust administration or a family in a Divorce you need a real estate professional trained for these cases.
For a free consultation on your home’s value, how to prepare your home to sell or the real estate market in general call me at (818)570-1144 or email [email protected] or visit https://janeybishop.com
SRES, CPE, CPRES, RCSD, CDRE
Senior Real Estate Specialist
Certified Divorce Real Estate Expert
Certified Probate Expert
Certified Probate Real Estate Expert
Real Estate Collaborative Specialist – Divorce
