Tri-Valley Housing Markets at a Glance

The following Housing Market Summaries were compiled from Southland Regional and Greater Antelope Valley Associations of REALTORS.

2007 Home Sales Down 35% in the San Fernando Valley, While Prices Post a Modest Increase

Home sales in the San Fernando Valley during 2007 declined a record 34.9 percent from the prior year, while the annual median price posted its smallest increase in many years, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported on Monday, Feb. 4.

A total of 6, 271 homes closed escrow compared to the 9,632 sales of 2006. The peak of the recent boom came in 2003 when Realtors completed 13,878 sales, but the record high was set in 1988 with 15,263 single-family transactions.

Annual home sales in the San Fernando Valley have been slowing since 2004.

Realtors managed and negotiated home and condominium sales during 2007 that generated $1.76 billion for buyers, sellers and the local economy.

That figure does not include the added millions of dollars home sales yield for related services, such as contractors, landscaping specialists, home improvement companies and manufacturers of furniture and appliances.

Condominium resale activity throughout the San Fernando Valley during 2007 fell for the fifth consecutive year, down 33.2 percent drop to 2,443 condo sales. However, annual condo sales have been lower – below 2,000 transactions from 1993 to 1995, including the record low of 1,607 set in 1993. The record high of 5,041 transactions was set in 2002.

The annual single-family median price came in at $611,933 – the highest on record. The increase of 1.0 percent was the lowest gain on record with each year posting slightly smaller gains since the 26.3 percent increase of 2003. This year’s annual median price beat the prior record of $605,917 set in 2006.

The annual condominium median price of $385,967 was down 2.3 percent from 2006 when the record high $394,917 annual condo median was posted. It was the first drop in the annual median since 1996. From 2000 to 2005 the annual condo median posted double-digit increases with the largest one of 28.7 percent coming in 2003.

There were 5,671 active listings throughout the San Fernando Valley at the end of December, an increase of 8.8 percent over a year ago.

At the current pace of sales, the inventory represents a 10.9-month supply – a buyers’ market, but a clear improvement from recent months when it went as high as a 16-month supply. For perspective, the record high was a 23-month supply set in February 1993. A balanced market is in the 5- to 6-month range.

December single-family sales plunged 51.6 percent compared to the prior year while condo sales were off 55.6 percent. Declines in the median price of homes and condos were 12.4 percent for homes and 16.5 percent for condos. Prices are still sticky, not dropping nearly as fast as sales would indicate they should.

2007 Home sales in the Santa Clarita Valley off 31%, annual median price falls 5.4%
2007 was the third consecutive year that sales of existing single-family homes in the Santa Clarita Valley declined while the annual median price of homes fell for the first time on record, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported on Monday, Feb. 4.

A total of 1,993 single-family homes changed owners last year, down 31.3 percent from the prior year. It was the lowest annual total since the association started keeping statistics in 1998. The record high of 3,869 home sales was set in 2004, the peak of the recent sellers’ boom market.

Likewise, the condominium annual tally of 841 condo sales was the lowest on record. It dropped 32.5 percent from the prior year, with three of the last four years posting sales declines after six consecutive years of typically double-digit increases in sales.

Realtors managed and negotiated home sales in the Santa Clarita Valley last year that generated $1.57 billion for buyers, sellers and the local economy. That figure does not include the added millions of dollars each sale yielded for related services, such as contractors, landscaping specialists, home improvement companies and manufacturers of furniture and appliances.

However, the market is at stalemate because sellers cling to boom market expectations and buyers incorrectly believe they can purchase a home at a dramatically reduced price. But even foreclosed properties listed for sale by lenders are not being priced with large discounts as lenders want to recoup their investment.

The annual median price of the 1,993 homes sold last year was $570,658, down 5.4 percent from the record high of $603,492 set in 2006. It was the first drop in the annual median since the association began keeping statistics in 1998.

The condominium annual median price of $353,333 was down 7.2 percent from the record high of $380,583 set in 2006. Just like single-family homes, the condo annual median posted the first decline on record. From 2001 to 2005 the condo annual median price posted double-digit gains with 2003 and 2004 at 28.3 percent and 28.7 percent respectively.

There were 2,100 active listings throughout the Santa Clarita Valley at the end of December, up 9.4 percent from a year ago, but down 10.3 percent from the November tally. At the current pace of sales, the inventory represents a 12.7-month supply – clearly a buyers’ market, but not as large as the 15.7-month supply reported in November.


Many more homes in the AV on the market; average price decreases

Currently there are 7876 homes actively listed in the Antelope Valley, according to the Greater Antelope Valley Association of REALTORS at an average price of $304,452.

This is almost double the 4783 listings noted in January at an average price of $319,860.