Los Angeles

Home Prices in Riverside and LA Counties Inch Up, While SoCal Sees First Drop in 7 Years

Analysts say that this shows a plateau in home prices.

What to Know

  • The median price of a Riverside County home rose by 3.9 percent in March.
  • Median prices across Southern California dropped for the first time in seven years. Prices in LA County, however, rose.
  • A total of 17,960 new and resale houses and condos changed hands in in the greater SoCal area, according to new analysis.

The median price of a Riverside County home rose by 3.9% in March, compared to the same month a year ago, despite median prices across Southern California dropping for the first time in seven years, according to figures released on Friday.

At the same time, the median price of a Los Angeles County home rose by 2.1% in March over the course of the past year.

According to the CoreLogic real estate information service, the median price of a Riverside County home was $389,500 in March, up from $375,000 in March 2018. A total of 3,347 homes were sold in the county, down 11.1% from 3,767 during the same month a year ago.

Meanwhile, the median price of a Los Angeles County home was $597,500 in March, which was up from $585,000 the same month last year. Across Los Angeles County, a total of 5,749 homes were sold, which was down from 6,801 last March.

In Orange County, the median price was $720,000 in March, down 0.7% from $725,000 in March 2018. The number of homes sold dropped by 22.8% from 3,278 in March 2018 to 2,531 the following year.

A total of 17,960 new and resale houses and condos changed hands in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month, according to CoreLogic. That was up 33.4% from 13,465 in February, and down 14.1% from 20,916 in March 2018.

The median price of a Southern California home was $518,500 in March, up 1.2% from $512,500 in February but down 0.1% from $519,000 in March 2018.

"The tiny, year-over-year decline - 0.1% - in Southern California's overall median sale price last month marked the first annual decrease in seven years," said Andrew LePage, research analyst with CoreLogic.

"This reflects both a flattening of home prices in recent months as well as a shift in market mix, where sales in higher-cost areas represent a slightly lower share of all activity."

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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