SoCal Housing Prices Jump Again
The pandemic hasn’t chilled California’s hot housing market. In fact, home prices are rising even faster than they were before.
“Southern California home prices and sales jumped by double digits in January from a year earlier, as prospective buyers rushed to take advantage of rock-bottom mortgage rates,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“The six-county region’s median price rose 13% from a year earlier to $599,500 last month, according to data released Monday by data firm DQNews. Sales increased 13.5%.”
Experts point to low interest rates as the primary reason for the boom. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has dropped below 3% for the first time. All that time spent at home in isolation has also encouraged people to seek larger homes. The result is a scorching seller’s market that, for many, puts homeownership out of reach.
