The latest stats from our market are a welcome sight for sellers.
What’s going to happen with the future of our market? How long is this market going to last? We don’t know, but that being said, there are a few changes taking place you need to be aware of.
For example, LA County had 5,052 new listings last month and Orange County had 2,090 new listings, which are similar numbers to what we saw before the pandemic hit. Each stat is an extreme increase year over year, but that’s only because we were in the middle of a lockdown during April 2020. To give you some more comparison, April 2019 saw 6,529 new listings in LA County and 2,642 in Orange County. We’re still a little behind compared to then, but the graph is starting to resemble a normal market time frame.
LA County also saw more closed sales last month than any month since 2017, which indicates that there’s still a lot of activity. Specifically, there were 1,970 closed sales for LA County and 1,124 for Orange County. For Orange County, that’s the most sales per month since 2006.
What’s interesting though, is that demand is still very high, and low interest rates are the reason why. For some perspective, LA County had a 3.9-month supply of homes in April 2019, and Orange County had a 3.8-month supply. In 2020, those figures dropped to 3.2 months for LA County and 2.7 months for Orange County. Right now, LA County has just a 1.8-month supply of homes, and Orange County has just a 1.5-month supply. As you can see, homes that come on the market are being snatched up right away.
“LA County saw more closed sales last month than any month since 2017, which indicates that there’s still a lot of activity.”
Condos are seeing a similar trajectory to single-family homes, although the inventory situation isn’t quite as tight. Last month, LA County had a 2.3-month supply of condos and Orange County had a 1.3-month supply. Buyers have more to choose from here, but things are still moving quickly.
The exciting news for sellers (and the reason why now is a great time to sell) is that prices are at an all-time high. Year over year, prices for single-family homes have risen 40% in LA County and 36% in Orange County. This increase is the reason surrounding states have seen huge price gains as well. Retirees are taking their money, moving to these states, and paying for homes in cash. Condo prices, meanwhile, have increased 11% in LA County and 15% in Orange County.
If you’re thinking about selling and taking advantage of this opportunity, give me a call, and I’d be happy to guide you through the process. If you have any other real estate questions, feel free to reach out to me as well. I look forward to hearing from you.
