Southern California’s spring homebuying season got off to a slow start last month with high mortgage rates and too few homes for sale suppressing transactions and prices.
That’s down $2,000 from a year ago and down $70,000 from last April and May when home prices went into an eight-month nose dive. February typically marks the start of the spring buying season, the busiest time of year for home sales. Indeed, activity at open houses picked up in mid-January, as if someone threw a switch, several agents said.New listings in the region were down at least 38.5% in February, according to Zillow. Redfin numbers show total listings — both new and those taking longer to sell — were 40% below average.
At the same time, monthly house payments for a median-priced home were 30% higher last month than a year earlier, even though the median home price was 0.3% lower.Just a third of Southern California’s homes sold above the seller’s asking price, compared with two-thirds a year ago, Redfin figures show. Time on the market averaged about eight weeks vs. 3 ½ weeks last year.