Corelogic, the Real Estate Data firm, released a report dated April 26th showing that year over year home prices in California dropped for the first time in 83 months. This home price drop equates to only about $500 or 0.1% in March from last year to this year. According to the Corelogic report, the median sales price of a home in March was $518,500, down from March 2018 of $519,000. The high-end market has been slowing and it has been the largest impactor of this small decline. So what does this mean for our economy and future home values? The sky is not falling, Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of Beacon Economics explained, “The stock market’s back. Interest rates are down. The economy’s still growing … prices always fall in the face of severe economic circumstances. Right now we don’t have that.”
The housing sales for more expensive, newer homes dropped but median housing prices for existing homes went up .4% and existing median condo prices went up 2.3%. New houses and condos fell 7.3%. Prices were also up in 5 of the 6 counties in Southern California, including Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Ventura, and LA counties; Orange County actually saw its second price drop in a row. Higher home values make it more expensive for buyers to purchase a home which may be one reason for the slowdown in housing increases. The market may be just normalizing and steadying out. Every year there is a lull in December for home purchases and things pick up as spring and summer approach. This year is no different, home sales have actually jumped 33% from February 2019 to March 2019 according to Corelogic’s report. The market data can be a bit overwhelming, but a trusted real estate advisor is needed to help interpret the data and advise you how best to sell or purchase a home in this ever-changing market. If you need help finding an agent or would like to see what a reverse mortgage can do for you in retirement please reach out and I would be happy to help you get the information you need. Robert Snow Krepps NMLS #255191 at HighTechLending Inc. (877) 567 – 7476 or rkrepps@hightechlending.com .
HighTechLending Inc, NMLS # 7147, is an Equal Housing Lender. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act.
