CoreLogic released its monthly Southern California home sales report for June 2023, which includes data for new and resale single-family homes and resale condominiums from six counties in the region: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura.
The report shows Southern California home sales volume declined by 24.3% year over year in June. Additionally, all six counties saw home sales drop on an annual basis in June, ranging from -16.6% in Orange County to -35.6% in Ventura County.
According to Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic, competition among prospective buyers and home price growth in Southern California continues to be propelled by the lack of housing inventory, hence the substantial slowdown in year-over-year sales.
“After four months of increases, home prices are now about 5% higher in Southern California’s coastal areas than they were before they bottomed out in the early months of 2023,” notes Hepp.
The area east of Los Angeles is also dealing with market-driven drawbacks.
“Unfortunately, the Inland Empire, which has historically benefitted from relative affordability, is now contending with challenges created by home price surges over the last couple of years and more recent mortgage rate increases,” Hepp adds, “both of which are holding back sales volume and price gains in that region.
“Looking forward, upward pressure on home prices is likely to continue, as there is no indication of an inventory boost. As a result, appreciation in Southern California is projected to remain elevated, with annual home price gains registering around 6% to 8% by the summer of 2024.”
Specifics on median home sales prices in the report:
Southern California’s median home sales price was $730,000 in June, down by -0.7% year over year.
Orange County posted Southern California’s highest median sales price for all tracked residential property types in June, at $1,059,000. It was followed by San Diego ($835,000), Los Angeles ($830,000), Ventura ($807,000), Riverside ($560,000) and San Bernardino ($475,000) counties.
Three of six Southern California counties saw annual median home price losses from June 2022, led by San Bernardino, where prices declined by -5%. The other three saw slight annual appreciation, led by Orange County at 3.3%.
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