June brought the first half of 2017 to a close by posting another record month of sales in our local housing markets while continuing to drive prices higher. May set a new five year high and June extended that roll back to at least 2004 when I started compiling these reports. In all probability, June set a new high water mark for the region with 1,357 single family resales for the month and 5,986 for the first half.
That mark will likely stand for awhile as pending home sales were down 13% from the prior month and the rest of the year is historically slower than the first half. If we can maintain the run rate, we appear to be on our way to another year-over-year increase extending the run to five consecutive years of boosting sales. IF we can keep enough inventory available to meet buyer demand.
Canyon Lake lead the increase parade with sales up 28% YOY (106 / 147), Lake Elsinore posted an 18% increase (526 / 647) and Temecula and Wildomar added 10% to 1st half sales (948 / 1,056 and 180 / 200), leading our local region to a 13% YOY increase, the largest in the state. Our numbers helped drive the IE region to a 10.4% YOY increase, also the largest increase for regions in the state. The Los Angeles metro region came in 2nd increasing sales by 8.3% and the Bay Area, in spite of being plagued by very low inventory and skyrocketing prices, still came in 3rd with a 6.1% increase.
The median price for existing homes in the region reached $355,155 in June, a 1.5% month-over-month increase and up 7% over 1st half 2016. That’s slightly higher than the rest of the IE region where the median rose to $346,380, an 8% increase over the prior year. Across our 9 city region, Temecula ($450,000), Murrieta ($415,000), Wildomar ($404,000) and Canyon Lake ($422,500) all exceeded the Riverside County median of $385,000 but remained well off the statewide median of $555,150.
Median prices in Los Angeles County ($492,000), San Diego County ($605,000) and Orange County ($795,000) continue to push prospective coastal residents into our community as both quality of life and affordable housing provide a powerful draw. Now if we could only add enough local jobs so 60% of them didn’t have to drive hours every day…
Unsold inventory remained at a low 1.4 months with just 1,743 units for sale, down 24% from last June when buyers had 2,285 homes to choose from. Those homes are also flying off the market in an average 17 days, down 70% from last June when they stuck around for 56 days.
I’ll end on a happy note, at least for me. I just returned from vacation (why this newsletter is late) from my home in Telluride, Colorado. Their association just released 1st quarter data as well with the following: sales are up with 37 single family homes sold so far this year at an average price of $2,464,022. They also sold 63 condos at an average price of $1,323,000. Up the hill in Mountain Village they sold 31 single family homes at an average $3,794,484. The most expensive home in Telluride so far this year sold for $6,200,000 and 9 homes sold in Mountain Village for over $6,000,000. One condo sold for $4,150,000 and the most expensive property sold in the region was a ranch for $24,000,000.
The most expensive home currently on the market at 851 Wilson Way, is listed for $29,500,000. That will likely pale next to what is referred to as ‘Oprah’s Project’. Oprah already has a $10,000,000 pied-aterre where she will suffer until her new place is built. So far they’ve completed the driveway to the new place which cost $14,000,000! For the driveway!
If you’d like to buy a place there, I can sure help you. Happily. Eagerly.