As we near the end of 2021, housing market trends for our area continue in the same direction they have for the past few months. As I mentioned last month, we have a little over 2,000 units currently under construction and another 11,000+ in the pipeline. Those numbers, factored with the updated Housing Element numbers that all of our local cities are approving, or have already approved, should help with the lack of inventory in our market. That lack of inventory continues to drive prices up, which is great if you already own a home. However, if you’re trying to enter the market, it’s only getting more difficult as affordability numbers continue to decrease. Interest rates remain extremely low, so if you’ve been on the fence, you may want to consider the buying power with rates at their current level vs. if/when they increase. With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at some statistics from our region.
The median home price in Southwest Riverside County had a very slight increase of 1% from a month ago ($538,000/$535,000), was up 20% from a year ago ($450,000) and up 36.2% from 2 years ago ($395,000). Unsold inventory is still hovering near 2 months (6 months is considered a healthy market), and days on market crept up again to 9 days, up from 6 days last year but still significantly lower compared to 26 days 2 years ago. Unit sales are down 4% from the previous month down and 14% from last year. Inventory dipped slightly by 1% from last month but is still up 34% from last year. While the cooling trend continues, Southwest Riverside County is still presenting solid numbers across the region. Median prices are up in all but one of our local cities, ranging in an increased range of 12.3%-30.5% Year-Over-Year.
The California Association of REALTORs® met last month and provided their forecast for the year-end of 2021 and into 2022. 2021 looks to be a record year for unit sales as well as median prices. They expect the prices to continue to rise in 2022, but with a potential rise in rates and affordability dropping to a projected 23%, sales are forecasted to decline from 2021 numbers. I have attached a few slides from that presentation in this report. The National Association of REALTORs® will be meeting next week, so I will provide some feedback on their outlook next month.
If you’d like a copy of my entire report including the mentioned slides, or to be added to the distribution list, please email me at Adam@srcar.org.
As always, I am available if you have any questions about the report. Until next month…
