Home Prices Hold Steady in August Around the Southland

According to a recent report by real estate information service DataQuick, home prices held steady around the Southland during the month of August. As more sellers finally began listing their homes for sale, sales in Southern California reached a seven-year high during the month.

DataQuick President John Walsh said: “Home shoppers have more properties to choose as we begin to see a ‘supply response’ to higher values. Price pressures appear to be easing, though, amid higher mortgage rates, more supply and fewer cash and investor purchases.”

Still, inventory continues to be a challenge for interested buyers, including those in the Huntington Beach real estate market. For much of 2013, demand has outstripped the available supply and buyers have been pounding the pavement to find homes to buy. While the median sales price in August for the six-county Southland remained unchanged from June and July, DataQuick found that prices jumped an impressive 24.6 percent year-over-year.

In Orange County, the median price rose to $560,000, a 25.8 percent increase over last year. Interest from buyers has helped push prices higher for much of this year, with many rushing to take advantage of historically low interest rates at the beginning of the year. While interest rates have ticked up as the year has pushed on, experts point out that rates are still affordable by historical standards.

Competition remains fierce, especially from all-cash buyers and investors who are able to close on homes sans financing. In August, buyers snapped up 23,057 new and pre-owned homes and condos around Southern California, marking a 2.8 percent increase year-over-year for the month. And while listings did increase in Orange County, Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, and Ventura County, there still are more interested home shoppers than there are homes to go around.