Original Post – https://www.dailynews.com/2021/07/22/12-trends-behind-los-angeles-countys-148500-price-jump-or-17-an-hour/

Los Angeles County’s homebuying binge continued in June as price records were broken across the region and in all six Southern California counties.

House hunters ignored soaring prices and bidding wars and bought homes at a pace not seen in years. Here are 12 must-watch trends my trusty spreadsheet found within DQNews/CoreLogic’s report on closed transactions in June for Los Angeles County …

1. Sales: 8,555 existing and new residences sold — up 10% from May and up 69% from pandemic-iced June 2020.
2. Context: You have to go back to 2017 to find a June with more sales. This was the 17th busiest June since 1988. Last month was 17% above the 10-year average buying pace for June. Compared with the previous month, sales increased 9.6% vs. an average 7% gain since 1988. This is a period where transactions rose in 27 of the last 34 years.

Years in the making, R. Kelly sex abuse trial gets underway

3. Past 12 months? 87,328 Los Angeles County sales — up 29% above the previous 12 months and 14% above the 10-year average.
4. Prices: The countywide $790,000 median was up 23.1% in 12 months. This breaks the record $775,000 set in May.
5. Context: Over 10 years, price gains averaged 9.5% annually. The latest 12-month gain ranks No. 24 of the 390 12-month periods since 1988.
6. Past 12 months? Six records set. The median’s $148,500 increase equals $16.95 for each hour over 12 months.

Here’s a look into key slices of Los Angeles County’s market in June …

7. Existing single-family houses: 5,836 sold, up 61% in a year. Median of $860,000 — a 25% increase over 12 months.
8. Existing condos: 2,328 sales, up 94% over 12 months. Median of $635,000 — a 22% increase in a year.
9. Newly built: Builders sold 391 new homes, up 66% in a year. Median of $760,750 — a 9% increase over 12 months.
10. Builder share: 4.6% of sales vs. 4.7% a year earlier. Los Angeles County builders’ slice of the market ranks last among SoCal’s six counties.
11. Rates: How cheap is money? Rates on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3% in the three months ending in June vs. 3.23% a year earlier. That translates to 3% more buying power for house hunters. At these rates, a buyer with 20% down would pay $2,665 a month on the $790,000 median sale vs. $2,231 on last year’s $642,000 median. So during the past year, the typical house payment is 19.5% pricier.
12. Supply: Some good news for buyers is that Southern California listings bottomed out in February and increased 10% — some 3,600 homes — since then, figures from Zillow show. On the other hand, listings are 18% lower than during the depths of pandemic lockdowns, down some 8,700 listings year over year.

Around Southern California, according to DQNews’ latest report on closed sales in June …

Six-county region: 27,012 sold, up 52% over 12 months. Median price was record $680,000 — a 23% increase.

Orange County: 4,146 sold, up 67% in year. Median? record $900,000 — a 18% increase.

Riverside County: 4,790 sales, up 44% in year. Median? record $510,000 — a 20% increase.

San Bernardino County: 3,547 sold, up 42% in year. Median? record $442,750 — a 21% increase.

San Diego County: 4,789 sales, up 34% in year. Median? record $750,000 — a 25% increase.

Ventura County: 1,185 sold, up 48% in year. Median? record $736,000 — a 23% increase.