CA Association of Realtors has released the July 2023 Housing Market Statistics. Most of these sales went into contract in June with a 30 day escrow to result in a July closing.
In the Los Angeles County housing market statistics the median price rose up over 2% in July from June and is up slightly from same time last year (.6%) according to the California Association of Realtors. I had anticipated moderate increases to prices and this was just about on target. Ventura County’s prices remained more consistent both month to month and year to year.
The historical trend in median closed sale price in the San Fernando Valley shows prices continue to inch back up to the high for prices in April 2022.
The total sales month to month dropped sharply in Los Angeles County over 23% and fell almost 8% in Ventura County. This drop is a result of multiple factors: a continued low supply of homes, increased interest rates and the continuing Writers/SAG strike . Rates increased sharply in August which will impact both total sales and the median price downward. For those home buyers who have been shopping for many months it is extremely discouraging to watch their buying power shrink.
For the past nine months I have heard mortgage lenders propose “Date the rate and marry the house”. At first I was skeptical but I am now coming around. The industry is optimistic rates will drop within the next year and when they do that will pressure median prices upwards. So if you can afford the payment at the current rate, on the chance rates don’t drop as quickly as hoped, then it could be a practical decision to buy now to benefit from current prices and refinance the payment when it drops. This is especially true for new home buyers who are paying very high rent.
According to Jiayi Xu, Economist at Realtor.com, reports “As the CPI shelter index, the largest contributor to the inflation growth, has passed its peak and has been on a downward trajectory since April, we may expect a faster inflation slowdown in the coming months. Therefore, it will not be surprising to see the Fed take another “wait-and-see” approach during the upcoming FOMC meeting, which may help alleviate the recent rise in mortgage rates.”
Zillow just announced they are rolling out a downpayment assistance program with a 1% down payment to help new home buyers purchase a home. Since the key issues in the current market are low supply and high interest rates this program seems off target by addressing the wrong issue.
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
