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Tag: high mortgage rate

  • Housing Tracker: Southern California home values drop in December

    Southern California home prices dropped again in December, capping off a yearlong skid that saw the average home value in the six-county region drop by more than $7,000.

    In December, the average home price fell to $854,993, according to data from Zillow. Prices were down 0.1% month over month and 1.3% year over year.

    It’s the lowest that Southern California home values have been since March 2024.

    Economists and real estate agents say a variety of factors have slowed the market, including high mortgage rates, rising inventory and economic uncertainty stemming from tariffs.

    Until the recent declines, July 2023 was the last time that year-over-year prices had fallen. Back then, rising mortgage rates were knocking many buyers out of the market. Values started increasing again when the number of homes for sale plunged as sellers backed away, unwilling to give up mortgages they took out earlier in the pandemic with rates of 3% or lower.

    Real estate agents say homeowners increasingly want to take the next step in their lives and are deciding to move rather than hold on to their ultra-low mortgage rates. But many first-time buyers, without access to equity, remain locked out.

    Add on the economic uncertainty and you get a market that’s noticeably downshifted.

    If the Trump administration’s policies end up pushing the economy into a recession, some economists say home prices could drop much further.

    In L.A. County, many sellers took their homes off the market over the holidays. There were 16,655 homes on the market (a 9% drop from November) and only 3,520 new homes were put up for sale (a 19% drop from November).

    For now, Zillow is forecasting that the economy will avoid a recession and home prices will increase over the next year. The real estate firm expects that next year, home prices will rise 1.2% both nationally and in L.A.

    Note to readers

    Welcome to the Los Angeles Times’ Real Estate Tracker. Every month we will publish a report with data on housing prices, mortgage rates and rental prices. Our reporters will explain what the new data mean for Los Angeles and surrounding areas and help you understand what you can expect to pay for an apartment or house. You can read last month’s real estate breakdown here.

    Explore home prices and rents for September

    Use the tables below to search for home sale prices and apartment rental prices by city, neighborhood and county.

    Rental prices in Southern California

    In December, the median rent across Los Angeles dropped to $2,167, the lowest it has been since January 2022. Rents dropped for the fifth consecutive month.

    The downward trend has continued in most markets across L.A. County. However, in Orange and Ventura counties, rents have risen slightly year over year.

    Jack Flemming, Hailey Wang

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  • Housing Tracker: Southern California home values rise slightly in October

    Southern California home prices rose in October, stopping a five-month skid that saw the average home value fall more than $14,000 since April.

    In October, the average home price across the six-county region climbed to $860,773 — a 0.01% increase compared to September. However, prices were still down 1.4% compared to October 2024.

    Economists and real estate agents say a variety of factors have slowed the market, including high mortgage rates, rising inventory and economic uncertainty stemming from tariffs. The same factors continued in October, but the uptick reflects a slight dip in inventory as more sellers choose to hang on to their homes.

    Listings in L.A. County fell 2% month-over-month, and the share of homes with price cuts dropped slightly as well. But there’s still inventory aplenty compared to 2024. In October, there were 19% more homes for sale than there were last year.

    Back then, rising mortgage rates were knocking many buyers out of the market. Values started increasing again when the number of homes for sale plunged as sellers backed away, unwilling to give up mortgages they took out earlier in the pandemic with rates of 3% and lower.

    Real estate agents say homeowners increasingly want to take the next step in their lives and are deciding to move rather than hold on to their ultra-low mortgage rates. But many first-time buyers, without access to equity, remain locked out.

    Add on the economic uncertainty and you get a market that’s noticeably downshifted.

    If the Trump administration’s policies end up pushing the economy into a recession, some economists say home prices could drop much further.

    For now, Zillow is forecasting that the economy will avoid a recession and home prices will increase over the next year. The real estate firm expects that one year from now, home prices in the Los Angeles-Orange County metro region will be 1.4% higher than they are now, though that number is lower than the estimated national increase of 1.9%.

    Note to readers

    Welcome to the Los Angeles Times’ Real Estate Tracker. Every month we will publish a report with data on housing prices, mortgage rates and rental prices. Our reporters will explain what the new data mean for Los Angeles and surrounding areas and help you understand what you can expect to pay for an apartment or house. You can read last month’s real estate breakdown here.

    Explore home prices and rents for September

    Use the tables below to search for home sale prices and apartment rental prices by city, neighborhood and county.

    Rental prices in Southern California

    The median rent across Los Angeles ticked down for the second consecutive month, dipping to $2,206 in October. The downward trend has continued in most markets across Southern California, but the January fires could be upending the downward trend in some locations.

    Housing analysts have said that rising vacancy levels since 2022 had forced landlords to accept less in rent. But the fires destroyed thousands of homes, suddenly thrusting many people into the rental market.

    Most homes destroyed were single-family houses, and some housing and disaster-recovery experts say they expect the largest rent increases to be in larger units adjacent to burn areas in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, with upward pressure on rents diminishing for units that are smaller and farther away from the disaster zones.

    A recent L.A. Times analysis of Zillow data found that in ZIP Codes closest to the fires, rents rose more than in the rest of the county from December to April.

    Other data sources show similar trends.

    In Santa Monica, which borders the hard-hit Palisades neighborhood, the median rent rose 2% in October from a year earlier, according to data from Apartment List.

    Apartment List does not have data for Altadena, but it does for the adjacent city of Pasadena. Rents there rose 1.2% in October from a year earlier.

    Jack Flemming, Hailey Wang

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  • Housing Tracker: Southern California home prices dip in May

    Southern California home prices declined slightly in May compared to a year earlier, the first annual drop since 2023.

    In May, the average home price across the six-county Southern California region fell 0.07% from April to $876,044, according to data from Zillow. Prices were down 0.2% from May 2024.

    Economists and real estate agents say a variety of factors have slowed the market, including high mortgage rates, rising inventory levels and economic uncertainty stemming from tariffs.

    The year-over-year price decline last month marked the first since July 2023. At the time, home prices had been falling because rising mortgage rates knocked many buyers out of the market. Values started increasing again when the numbers of homes for sale plunged as sellers also backed away, not willing to give up mortgages they took out during the pandemic with rates of 3% and below.

    The inventory picture, however, is changing.

    In May, there were 38% more homes for sale than a year earlier in Los Angeles County, with similar increases seen elsewhere in Southern California.

    Real estate agents say existing homeowners increasingly want to move rather than hold onto their ultra-low mortgage rates. But many first-time buyers, without access to equity, remain locked out.

    Add economic uncertainty and you get a market that’s noticeably downshifted.

    If the Trump administration’s policies end up pushing the economy into a recession, some economists say home prices could drop much more.

    For now, Zillow is forecasting the economy avoids a recession and for home prices to decline only slightly. By May 2026, the real estate firm expects home prices in the Los Angeles-Orange County metro region to be 1.1% lower than they are today.

    Map showing L.A. County housing prices from June 2025

    Zillow Research, Times analysis

    Note to readers

    Welcome to the Los Angeles Times’ Real Estate Tracker. Every month we will publish a report with data on housing prices, mortgage rates and rental prices. Our reporters will explain what the new data mean for Los Angeles and surrounding areas and help you understand what you can expect to pay for an apartment or house. You can read last month’s real estate breakdown here.

    Explore home prices and rents for May

    Use the tables below to search for home sale prices and apartment rental prices by city, neighborhood and county.

    Rental prices in Southern California

    In 2024, asking rents for apartments in many parts of Southern California also ticked down, but the January fires in L.A. County could be upending the downward trend in some locations.

    Housing analysts have said that rising vacancy levels since 2022 had forced landlords to accept less in rent. But the fires destroyed thousands of homes, suddenly thrusting many people into the rental market.

    Most homes destroyed were single-family houses, and some housing and disaster recovery experts say they expect the largest increases in rent to be in larger units adjacent to burn areas in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, with upward pressure on rents diminishing for units that are smaller and farther away from the disaster zone.

    A recent L.A. Times analysis of Zillow data found that in ZIP Codes closest to the fires rent rose more than the rest of the county between December and April.

    Other data sources show similar trends.

    In Santa Monica, which borders the hard-hit Pacific Palisades neighborhood, the median rent rose 5.1% in May from a year earlier, according to data from ApartmentList.

    Across the entire city of Los Angeles, which includes the Palisades and many neighborhoods not adjacent to any fire, rents dropped 0.33% last month.

    ApartmentList does not have data for Altadena, but it does for the adjacent city of Pasadena. Rents there rose 6.2% in May from a year earlier.

    Andrew Khouri, Phi Do

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