Category: market analysis, Market Direction, Sales Data, Statistics

South Bay Home Sales Flat on Rising Prices

At the end of the third quarter for the real estate market in the Los Angeles South Bay, 4,958 homes have sold, compared to 4,959 sold during the same period in 2023. Essentially, that is 0% growth. Median prices, however, have climbed over 5%, despite the high interest rates.

Sales activity across the South Bay was mixed, though in a narrow range. The Inland area saw 2% fewer home sales on a year to date basis than last year. At the same time, the Palos Verdes Peninsula gained 2% over 2023. The Beach area was up 1%, while the Harbor area came in flat.

Median prices during the first nine months of the year recovered the losses of the same period in 2023. Last year, median prices fell nearly every month from January through September, only beginning to recover growth in September. This year the median price has shown a strong increase since the beginning, ranging from 4% for the Inland area to 8% for the homes on the Hill. The Beach and Harbor areas rose with 7% and 6% respectively.

It looks like this winter is going to continue the wild ride. The Federal Reserve lowered the prime interest rate by half a point in September. Then, after a positive employment report for September, mortgage lenders raised their advertised rates back up to where they were in mid-August! The national election will undoubtedly have it’s own impact, even here in our relatively placid part of the world.

Among the early market indicators which may give us a hint of where the market is headed, one not commonly discussed is the number of homes which don’t sell. The comparison is established by looking at the number of home listings which are expired, cancelled or withdrawn from the market versus those which closed escrow. During the first three quarters of 2024, out of 6,179 homes on the market, 4,958 of those sold. At the same time, 1,221 or, 20% of the total, failed to sell. These percentages are not significantly different than a normal year.

In a high turn-over market such as that of 2021, at best one might expect as little as 12% to not sell versus a slow-moving market where one might expect as much as 25% to fall off the market unsold. It would be fair to say the local market for real estate is languishing, but it appears to remain afloat despite volatile news in all corners of the world. The next issue of this newsletter will arrive after the national elections. There should be more to talk about then.

Beach: Sales Lag and Prices Leap

With 114 homes sold in September, the Beach Area sales jumped up 21% above August figures. The median price likewise took a 5% leap to $1,790,000 in monthly sales.

Comparing September 2024 home sales to the same month in 2023 reveals a less dramatic shift. The number of homes sold is 6% greater this year and the median price increased by 7%.

Year to date sales volume of 849 homes at the Beach showed a modest 1% increase over the first nine months of 2023. Monthly variations have been as high as 33% and as low as -27% during the first three quarters making the cumulative 1% value a bit of a surprise. Equally surprising in light of the 1% growth in the number of homes sold, is the 7% increase in median price to $1,787,500 for the same period of time.

Harbor: Sales Slow, Median Prices Up

Monthly sales in the Harbor area totaled 317 units in September, a 9% increase over the number sold in August. At the same time, the median price for Harbor area homes dropped 3% to $760,000.

Looking at year over year sales for the month of September showed a 27% growth in home sales over 2023 and a 2% increase in median price.

During the first three quarters of 2024 2,559 homes were sold in the Harbor area, compared to 2557 last year, registering as a 0% change. The median price for year to date sales came in at $780,000, a 6% increase over the same period in 2023.

Hill: Plenty of Red Ink

August was a particularly busy month in Palos Verdes real estate, so the 11% drop in sales volume for September was somewhat expected. Falling from 53 homes sold to 47 is a short fall, but the marketplace on the Hill is small, so percentages escalate quickly. The median price also took a nosedive from $2,150,000 to $1,700,000, a 21% drop. Interestingly, those prices are the highest and the lowest in PV for 2024.

September of last year was exceptionally strong on the PV Peninsula, both in terms of sales volume and price. As such, the relatively anemic sales of September 2024 brought lots of red ink. The number of homes sold fell by 16%, while the median price came down 13%

Year to date, PV has had five positive months and four negative months. Cumulatively, the Hill has a 2% increase in the number of homes sold, going from 481 last year to 491 this year. During the same nine months, the median price moved up 8% ending at $1,950,000 for the period.

Inland: Mixed Results on YTD Activity

Month to month home sales in the Inland area were modestly positive. With 128 units sold in September, the volume was up 9% from August activity. The median price gained 1%, coming in at $882,500 for the month.

Comparing September of 2023 to this September brings a 2% decline in the number of homes sold. The median price for the same comparison also dropped 2%.

The first nine months of the year arrived with 2% fewer sales than the same period last year. The Inland area was the only part of the South Bay to fall in sales volume or median price so far in 2024. Year to date the median price rose 4% above 2023, to $899,990 the slowest growth of the South Bay areas.

Beach=Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo
Harbor=Carson, Long Beach, San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City
PV Hill=Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates
Inland=Torrance, Lomita, Gardena

Photo by Rachel Cook on Unsplash

South Bay Real Estate Bonanza

July brought a bonanza—of sorts—to real estate in the Los Angeles South Bay. Sales volume, which had been falling below last year for three of the last four months jumped up 20%. Granted, July was an unusually slow month in 2023, compared to most years including 2024.

Month over month showed a comparable increase. Total sales volume was up 6% from June to July. The only negative for monthly sales was in the Harbor area where activity was off by 8%.

More importantly, year to date through July, sales volume was up 1% across the South Bay compared to the same period in 2023. With over half the year past already, some growth is a positive sign. This close to November on a presidential election year, one would expect the market to be looking better than it has been.

In fact, The number of homes being sold has still not recovered from the pandemic. Sales this July were 22% fewer than they were in July of 2019! As discussed previously, because the mortgage interest rates were temporarily at rock bottom, about 40% of the homeowners in California currently are “trapped in a mortgage they can’t afford to leave.” This promises to maintain downward pressure on home sales for the better part of a decade. Paradoxically, the reduced inventory is contributing to rising prices.

More homes were being sold in July, and they were being sold for greater prices. Annual increases in the median price were up 15% in entry level neighborhoods. At the Beach and on the Hill median prices didn’t reach quite as high, but were still more than 10% above July of 2023.

Monthly pricing showed the contrast between high end and entry level homes more clearly. In the Beach area the median dropped 3% from June, while on the Peninsula, there was no change in the median price. In contrast, the Harbor and Inland areas rose 6% and 5% respectively over June numbers.

Comparing the first seven months of this year to last year shows inflation continues to plague the real estate economy. Median prices rose in a range between 6% and 9% in the South Bay during the period.

Beach: Highest YTD Sales Volume Increase

Sales in the Beach cities jumped from 90 homes in June to 118 in July for a massive 31% monthly increase. This was matched by a 30% annual increase over July of 2023. Month to month statistics, as well as same month last year comparisons have shown tremendous variability this year.

The rapid fire changes precipitated by the pandemic, and subsequently by the Federal Reserve in an effort to keep the economy under control, created wild swings in the number of homes sold. At the same time the shifts in median price were less frequent and considerably less wide-ranging.

Today, looking at the year to date summaries for both, sales volume and median price, the numbers have moderated greatly. Sales volume at the Beach measured against last year has ranged from negative 27% to positive 33%. That huge range smoothed out to 6% growth in the year to date view.

Likewise, the median price, which has been a bouncing ball, declined 3% from June and increased by 11% over July of last year. Comparing the year to date from 2023 to 2024, the median settled in with a 6% increase for the longer term perspective.

Harbor: Highest YTD Median Price Growth

Monthly sales volume in the Harbor area fell 8% to a total of 316 homes sold in July compared to 342 sold in June. Annual sales moved the opposite direction, rising 17% from July of 2023 to July this year. For the first seven months of 2024 sales have fallen 1% compared to the same period last year.

Median prices had fallen 6% in June and have reclaimed that loss with a 6% growth in July. The new median, $848,500, is a 15% improvement over July of 2023. Year to date the median price is up by 9% in the Harbor area over the same seven month period in 2023.

Interestingly, every month this year has been a growth month for the year over year median price at the Harbor. The lowest increase has been 4% in March and again in June. The highest has been 18% in both February and May.

Hill: Highest Median Price In South Bay

Monthly data for the PV Peninsula came in with 73 homes sold for a 22% increase in volume over June. Annually, sales showed a 46% increase over July of 2023, a welcome change from the 24% drop in June vs June numbers. Year to date sales posted a 4% increase in volume over the same seven months in 2023.

PV registered a 12% annual increase in median price to $2,015,000 in July, so far the highest median in the South Bay for 2024. It doesn’t quite reach the $2,300,000 of May, 2023, but is one of the more impressive months in recent years. The monthly increase from June was negligible, but the timing in 2023 coincided with a downward shift in median sales prices. So, the change shows up as a 8% increase in the year to date median.

Inland: Median Price Hits $1,000,000 First Time

Sales volume for the Inland area jumped in July—up 15% month to month for a total of 142 homes sold, and up 9% since July of last year. Being past the halfway point of the year boosts the value of the the year to date statistics which come in at a mere 2% through July.

At the same time, the July median sales price for the Inland cities climbed 15% above July 2023 and hit $1,000,000 for the first time! Last year’s number was pretty run-of-the-mill so lends some import to this year’s improvement. The 2024 year to date median price calculation supports the strength shown by the monthly and annual numbers with a solid 7% increase over 2023.

Why Use Median?

A brief comment on median price and why it’s often used in real estate: Averages are used for a great many things in making comparisons, and for things that change frequently, averages do a great job. Medians, on the other hand, minimize the ‘jerky’ nature of averages and show directional movement better than a lot of up and down action.

A median is exactly the middle of a group of numbers, so that half are higher and half are lower. So the impact of a single outlier number shows less distortion on the longer term trend line of the values. In other words, it’s easier to see what your investment will likely be worth in 10 years.

Most of us don’t buy houses often enough to care about movement over the last 30 days. We’re interested in staying put for 10 years, plus or minus. The median trend will show us the most likely path.

Beach=Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo
Harbor=Carson, Long Beach, San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City
PV Hill=Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates
Inland=Torrance, Lomita, Gardena

Photo catalina_from_wayfarers_chapel.jpg by Carl Clark

South Bay Housing Prices Up, Sales Down

Median prices for real estate around the Los Angeles South Bay have risen over 40% since 2019, the year before the corona-virus pandemic. Comparing the median prices and sales activity for the first half of 2024 shows increases approaching 50% for the five year period in all areas across the South Bay.

Over the same time period, sales volume has plummeted by 22%, falling from 4,022 in 2019 to 3,149 in 2024. The Beach cities have been particularly hard hit with a 34% drop in the number of homes sold during the first six months of the year.

Looking at 2024 versus 2023 shows a similar pattern with median prices up nearly 10% from the first half of last year. The Beach area showed the lowest increases, coming in at 5% above the 2023 median.

Sales volume was off by 2% across the area with the only positive being the Beach at a mere 1% above 2023 numbers. As the 2024 year has progressed, the number of sales has declined in total. Simultaneously, more and more parts of the South Bay have fallen into negative growth.

As of the end of June, 2024 sales figures for all areas were negative in comparison to June of 2023. While the number of homes sold has consistently declined through the first half of the year, median prices have been equally persistent at increasing over last year. Most experts are attributing the increasing prices and decreasing sales to the shift from an ultra-low mortgage interest rate during the pandemic, to a comparatively high rate currently.

When rates were at the lowest, many homeowners took advantage of the opportunity to refinance at the incredible rates. Those folks are now in a position where they would incur a painful increase in monthly living costs if they were to move. That has resulted in about a 40% reduction in the number of homes typically available on the Multiple Listing Services (MLSs).

At the same time, the increased mortgage interest rates have pushed a significant number of potential sellers out of the market because they no longer qualify for the loan they would need to trade up to a larger or newer home. That reduced the available inventory of resale homes even further and became another contributing factor to the bidding wars among the few buyers still in the market.

Beach: Down 18% in Sales May to June

Monthly sales volume fell from 110 units in May to 90 homes in June, for an 18% drop. Median price jumped 10% in one month to end at $1,917,500.

Year over year, the number of homes sold declined from 124 in June of last year to 90 this year for a loss of 27%. Median price for the Beach climbed 11% over the year.

Year to date for the first half of 2024 versus the first six months of 2023 shows a modest increase of 1% in sales volume along with a increase of 5% in median price.

Harbor: June Median Price Off by 6%

The Harbor area was the outlier for June. While month over month sales collapsed and pricing jumped for the other three areas, Harbor sales of 342 homes boosted sales by 19%, coming in well above the 288 homes sold in May. Meanwhile, median price went the other direction, dropping from $848K in May to $799,900 in June, for a decline of 6%.

Year over year statistics went the opposite direction, following the rest of the South Bay. Sales volume fell by 3%, dropping from 124 in 2023 to 90 in June of this year. Meanwhile the median price was up 4% for the year, rising from $772,000 last June to nearly $800,000 this year.

The first six months of 2024 brought a year to date sales drop of 4%. The median price in the same period climbed 9%.

Short term changes, as from month to month, have been unpredictable since the pandemic. Looking at the longer term, there is consistency in the declining sales volume and increasing median price. With 2024 a presidential election year, it will be interesting to see how long this direction holds.

Hill: Year Over Year Sales Fell 24%

With a reputation for wildly shifting statistics, the Palos Verdes Peninsula came in with relatively modest decline of 9% from May sales. Similarly, the increase in median price was very tempered at only 3%.

The sales volume for same month last year was anything but mild. June of 2023 reported 79 homes sold versus 60 homes in June of 2024. That’s a 24% drop in volume from last year. While a fourth of the 2023 sales disappeared, the median price eked out a 1% increase, going from $2,000,000 last June to $2,912,500 in June of 2024.

In what is becoming a familiar trend, the year to date sales volume is down 2%, and the median price for the first six months of the year is up 7%.

Inland: June 2024 Sales Drop 24% From 2023

The Inland area showed the smallest month to month change of the South Bay. The 4% drop in sales volume from 128 homes sold in May to 123 in June was minor. Likewise the 1% increase in median price from $945,000 to $955,000.

Like the Hill, the Inland area had a radical drop in sales from June of 2023 to June of 2024. Falling from 161 homes sold last June to 123 sold this June resulted in a 24% drop in transactions. Median price in the same period rose 9%, from $875,000 to $955,000.

Interestingly, there has been no statistically significant change in the sales volume for the first six months of the 2023 and 2024 years. It actually increased by three units from 669 homes sold in 2023 to 672 homes sold in the first half of 2024. For the same time periods, the median price climbed by 6%.

Beach=Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo
Harbor=Carson, Long Beach, San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City
PV Hill=Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates
Inland=Torrance, Lomita, Gardena

Photo Montemalaga Sunset by Carl Clark

South Bay Median Prices Still Climbing

South Bay median home prices are continuing to climb! May versus April showed increases as high as 9% for the month. Comparing May of this year to last May gave increases as high as 18% for the year. Year to date statistics for the first five months of the year came in with increases as high as 11%. Looking at the same five month period from five years ago shows median prices have climbed by nearly 45%.

Mortgage interest rates have roughly doubled from two years ago. The Federal Reserve Bank kept raising rates, hoping to drive inflation down. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be working in the real estate world.

So far this year the interest rate increases have only modestly slowed purchases in month to month data. The number of homes sold in April was 10% higher than in March. May shows a 2% increase in the number of homes sold compared to April. Year over year sales volume shows a greater impact, with an 8% drop from May of 2023 to May this year. Most of that decline was lost this year as home sales for the year to date are up 1% from last year.

Once again looking back five years shows sales are off by 22% across the board from pre-pandemic sales volume. All while median prices are up 45%! But, there are very few homes on the market, and the shortage of inventory is driving price increases, contrary to the Fed goal of slowing inflation.

So why are there so few homes for sale today compared to 2019? And why are prices climbing in the face of mortgage interest rates that have doubled?

One possible factor: During the pandemic mortgage interest rates were at and below 3%. A significant number of existing mortgages were refinanced during the 18 months of the pandemic. Another 17% of currently existing mortgages were purchases at those rates. In summary, about 50% of the current mortgage market is now holding a note with an interest rate that is a fraction of today’s rates. There is essentially no reason for those folks to ever move.

Since about 80% of California homeowners carry a mortgage, and about half of those have an historically low interest rate, about 40% of homeowners have an incentive to stay where they are now, rather than trade up, as would be normal. Given the financial benefits, those homeowners are not likely to put their home on the market and increase the inventory thereby relieving some of the supply and demand imbalance.

Forty percent is a huge piece of the available housing stock to be removed from the market in a time of a housing shortage. Work-related re-locations would have once smoothed this out, but the “work from home” movement has also contributing to the slowing real estate market. The current outlook is for several years of low inventory, further exacerbating the increase in housing costs.

Eventually the inflation of housing prices will come under control and annual increases will get down to something less than 6%. There’ll be no attempt to “dial back” the inflation and return to a prior point in time. So the short term question is, “How do we adjust to the new reality of higher prices, fewer homeowners, and more renters?”

Beach: Anticipate Fewer Sales & Higher Prices

Monthly statistics have been misleading in recent months in all the areas. May activity at the Beach is a great example of the disparities. Compared to April, 7% fewer homes were sold in May with no change in the median price. Contrast that with the annual numbers where sales in May of this year are down 9% from 2023 but the median prices are up 9%.

By looking at data for the year to date, the sporadic ups and downs can be smoothed a bit. This shows a more complete picture of what the market is doing in comparison to last year. In summary, the first five months of the year show a 10% growth in sales for the Beach cities, accompanied by a 6% increase in the median price.

Early projections for June indicate an annual decline from the same month last year sales of over 15% and a price increase of nearly 20% in the Beach area. If these preliminary estimates hold true, there will be some serious hand-wringing among the financial community.

Harbor: More of the Same

Like the Beach area, month to month statistics for the Harbor area have been very volatile this year. The number of sales in May climbed 8%, after falling 4% in April. May’s median price was up 9% following a 1% increase for April.

Year over year, sales volume was down 15% compared to May of last year, while the median price jumped 18%. This follows the general trend of declining sales and increasing prices. Theoretically, the declining sales will induce sellers to reduce their asking price, which will then translate to a reduction in the current inflation rate.

With the year to date sales volume dropping by 5% the interest rate increases would appear to be working. But the increase in median price by 8% for the first five months of 2024 throws cold water on the idea that inflation in real estate is going away.

More of the same is projected for June with a drop of 15% in sales and an increase of 5.5% in median price.

Hill: Sales Volume and Median Prices Up

Only 66 homes sold on the PV peninsula in May, compared to 64 in April, so the 3% increase in sales volume is not terribly consequential. Likewise the 1% growth in median price from $1.93M to $1.95M.

As mentioned in previous articles, activity levels on the Hill are small, so it only takes a minor change to look statistically important. For example, 65 home sales in May of 2023 versus 66 in May of 2024 is only one more home sold, but represents a 2% growth in volume. Even more so, the $2.3M median price from May of 2023, which is an exceptionally high monthly median price in PV under any circumstances, makes the 15% decline to $1.95M look huge in 2024.

In reality, the May median price is actually higher than the year to date median of $1.93M and higher than all but the March median of $1.98M. January through May sales volume is up 4% and the median price is up 11%, very much like the rest of the South Bay.

June sales are projected to decline slightly with a modestly elevated median price.

Inland: Sales Up and Prices Up

From April to May the number of homes sold in the Inland area declined by 5%, much as the Beach area sales volume transacted. Unlike the Beach and PV, where median prices ended barely positive, the median increased by 7% in the Inland area. That hefty increase mirrored the Harbor area lift of 9% month over month in the median price.

A 6% increase in the volume of homes sold and a 7% rise in the median price from May of 2023 to this May deviated from the other areas. It displayed a stronger than expected sales volume, especially considering the Beach and Harbor areas were deeply negative. At the same time the median price showed a slower increase than either the Beach or the Harbor.

Year to date for the first five months of 2024, the Inland area showed an increase of 8% in the number of homes sold, and a solid 6% increase in the median price. All in all, an investment in one of the inland cities would have been a good performer in May.

That investment is projected to still be sound in June, with a small decrease in the number of homes sold and a similar increase in the median price.

Beach=Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo
Harbor=Carson, Long Beach, San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City
PV Hill=Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates
Inland=Torrance, Lomita, Gardena

Photo by Tim Cook on Unsplash

Home Sales Plummet 40%

April of 2023 ended with a 40% drop in the number of homes sold across the South Bay compared to 2022. The median price was down 20% from last year in Palos Verdes and is up by a mere 1% at the Beach. Year to year median prices across the South Bay are down approximately 5%. Cumulative sales revenue for the first four months across the South Bay has dropped 39% from 2022 numbers.

Year to date, 2023 has been one of the slowest markets we’ve seen in recent years. Sales are off by 43% in the Beach Cities and are down by 22% across the South Bay compared to last year. Median prices escalated dramatically in 2021-2022, and are still above those of 2019 by 30-35%. However, the median has fallen in all four areas since late last year. We anticipate the median price continuing to drop until interest rates seriously decline again.

Business in the years between 2019 and 2023 was seriously impacted by the pandemic, and the massive government funds released to counter the effect of the pandemic. Looking back at 2019 and comparing it to 2023 offers a perspective on where the market is and where we can expect it to go during the balance of the year. Today we see a huge decline in the number of homes being sold. That has yet to translate into a significant decline in median prices, although 75% of year over year sales show prices falling.

At the same time the Average Days On Market (ADOM) has increased from about 7 days during the sales boom of 2021-2022 to about 30 days now. That’s a four-fold increase in the amount of time it takes to sell a home. For a seller who needs to move, that will feel like an eternity. It’s that sense of urgency that drives prices down and ultimately results in a shift of the market.

At the Beach “Sticky Prices”

Sellers in the Beach Cities had a good month in April—at least compared to March of this year. Compared to April of last year, the picture is far worse.

The number of homes sold in April was up 8% compared to March. That sounds positive, until the realization that sales volume was down 36% compared to April of 2022. At the same time, the median price was up 2% versus last month, and down 2% compared to the same month last year.


There’s a lot of talk among brokers these days about “sticky prices.” Recent sales at the Beach offer a good example of what that means. The statistics show that sales are down 36% from last year, however prices have only dropped 2%. Sales are falling because the number of viable buyers is down.

Interest rate increases have pushed the most tenuous group of prospective buyers out of the market. At the same time, sellers are still revelling in the boost to median prices that came with record low interest rates during the pandemic. Beach area sellers have yet to adjust to the reality of a re-trenching economy. That adjustment is “sticky prices.”

Harbor Sales and Prices Off

The neighborhood can affect how long it takes the median price to respond to changes in the economic environment. While sales volume and pricing has remained strong at the Beach, sellers and buyers in entry level communities are impacted more immediately by shifts in the economy.

Thus we see the give and take of the market bring median prices into a stable range early in the year in the Harbor area. The red line in the median price chart below shows four months of reasonably steady prices. While month over month prices have shown only a 1% drop, the monthly sales volume has taken a 12% dive from March, as shown in the Sales Volume chart, above.


The monthly decline in sales was multiplied in the year over year statistics. April sales volume was down 39% from April of 2022. For the same period, the declining sales volume was coupled with a 9% drop in median price. So the entry level communities demonstrate a much quicker and deeper response to changes in the financial picture.

Part of that response is the time on market, which has risen from 15 ADOM in mid-2021 to 26 ADOM in April of this year. The increasing time required to sell homes contributes to the number of homes available on the market. Both factors contribute to falling purchase prices.

Palos Verdes In Extremes

Through 2021 and 2022 home prices on the Palos Verdes peninsula benefitted from the Covid pandemic more than any area in the South Bay. In the median price by quarter chart, shown below, the yellow line is seen jumping up and away from the blue line of the Beach Cities. Unfortunately for home owners on the Hill, that price boost has already pulled back into line with prices of Beach area homes.

Comparing the first four months of the 2023 to 2022 median prices on the Hill have dropped 16%. It’s a steep decline in view of decreases at 3% and 6% in the Inland and Harbor areas, respectively. Even more so when looking at the 1% increase at the Beach.


The statistics look much better when comparing Palos Verdes sales from 2023 to statistics from 2019, the last “normal” year of real estate business. Sales volume on the Hill is down a modest 13%–modest by comparison to the Beach, which is down 43%. In contrast, median prices in 2023, compared to 2019, are still showing positive growth of 30%.

So, if one were to take the Federal Reserve System position that 2% annual growth is a desirable target, where would prices be today? The median price in Palos Verdes in May of 2019 was $1.5M. Jump forward to 2023 and that becomes about $1.6M. The median on the Hill last month was $1.9M, which suggests further price reductions.

Inland – The Steepest Fall

From an investment perspective, homes in the Inland area of the Los Angeles South Bay are “bread and butter.” These are the homes, much like those in the Harbor area, which reliably increase in value over long periods of time at a slow and steady rate. Most importantly, they house the bulk of our community.

In the short term, Inland home sales volume is down 25% from March to April of this year. Median prices are up 2% for the same period. This is the steepest fall in number of homes sold in the four areas charted.

Year over year, sales volume is off even more at 43% below April of 2022, and prices similarly down by 4%. We expect a seasonal boost to sales for the second quarter, when families most frequently schedule moves. Beyond that, most predictions are for continued softening in the real estate market as the Fed struggles with inflation. (The April Consumer Price Index, [CPI-U] for Los Angeles metro was 5.2% for Housing.)

Photo by Bradley Pisney on Unsplash

A Recession on the Horizon

September Home Sales Down 35%

Last year saw home sales in the South Bay escalate dramatically as buyers sought to become homeowners while interest rates were still abnormally low. With interest rates rapidly rising it’s no surprise that sales are plummetting in 2022. The Harbor area, traditionally an entry level market, handily out-sold the balance of the South Bay with a drop of only 26%. The remaining areas suffered sales drops ranging from 42% to 47%, with the South Bay as a whole dropping 35%.

Compared to last year, cumulative South Bay home sales were down 21% as of September. The first three quarters of 2021 saw 7767 townhomes and single family residences sold, versus 6163 during the same period this year.

Recognizing that 2020 and 2021 were exceptionally aberrant, we also compared the 2022 year-to-date sales volume to 2019, the last normal year of business prior to the pandemic. As of the end of September 2022 cumulative sales volume was 4% lower than it was for the first nine months of 2019.

The decline from 2019 sales is uneven in that the biggest drop, 15%, is seen in the Beach area, which is typically at the high end of the market. Sales in the Harbor area only dropped back by 2%, while sales in the Inland area fell by 4%. The Palos Verdes peninsula fared best, actually increasing in quantity sold over 2019 by 4%. As always we offer a cautionary note when looking at statistics for property on the PV Hill. Because there are considerably fewer homes in that area, percentile statistics can take large swings.

Median Prices Mixed in September

The number of homes sold in 2022 has declined, indirectly affecting the median price of those homes, as well as the total dollar value of all the homes sold in the same period. A closer look at the median price of homes sold through September yields some surprising changes.

Since prices increased dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic we anticipated finding the median price from 2022 to be considerably higher than that of 2019. Indeed, that is the case with the median in the Beach area up 31% over that of 2019, the Harbor up 36%, PV Hill homes up a staggering 47% and the Inland area up 30%. But, that is gradually reversing.

July and August of this year showed depreciation in the median price across the South Bay. Prices consistently dropped in a range from 2% down (Inland) to 18% down on PV Hill. September sales broke the pattern with only the Beach cities losing value per the median. The Inland area was flat, showing no change from August. In an unexpected twist, both the Harbor area and the Hill came in with an increase in the median price. The growth was modest, up 6% for the Harbor area and up 3% for the Hill. Despite the slight improvement in September prices we anticipate continued downward pressure as inventory grows and time on market stretches.

Looking at the median price on a year-over-year basis, we find September with minor declines from August. The Palos Verdes cities showed prices dropping by 2% last month and this month. At the same time the Beach cities dropped 2%, while the Harbor and Inland areas increased by 4% and 2% respectively.

Median prices started 2022 with increases regularly coming in well above 10% growth. In April we saw the first negative where the median for the Hill fell 2% from 2021. Since then we have watched the rate of price appreciation decline from double digits until now in September with both the Beach and PV areas losing value.

We fully expect all areas of the South Bay to reflect declining median prices before the end of the year. While prices will be down on both a month-to-month and year-to-year basis, we don’t anticipate the median to fall below 2019 price points this year.

Total South Bay Sales Dollars

When the number of sales is decreasing and the median price of those sales is also decreasing, one has to assume the gross revenue will also decrease. Governor Newsome has been warning for several weeks that the 2022-23 fiscal year will not see the State level revenue surpluses California has been enjoying.

During the first quarter of 2022 gross revenue from real estate sales remained predominately positive, with year-over-year growth rates of about 6% per month. Since March the South Bay has only seen two instances of sales growth, 7% in the Harbor area for April and 3% in the Inland area for June. Every other entry on the chart is negative, with September declines averaging about 40%.

Cumulative sales for the first three quarters of 2022 were off by 29% compared to 2021. Our monthly sales dollars chart shows a zig-zag downward trend since spring of this year. Of course, 2019 is a more realistic point of comparison as a result of market gyrations created by the pandemic and our government’s fiscal response.

Comparing 2022 sales totals to 2019 yields a clearer picture of the current direction of the market. Instead of a sea of red ink, we can clearly see that 2022 sales have remained above those of 2019 with the exception of August. Sales started normally, then in March the Federal Reserve Bank announced a .25% interest rate hike, and promised more to come.

Buyers threatened with increasing monthly payments jumped into the fray and pumped sales up for a couple months. Then a new .5% increase, accompanied with the promise of multiple .75% increases throughout the year began a downward slide in home sales that is continuing.

Following the trajectory of the maroon line, and assuming the interest rates continue to increase, we predict 2022 sales will drop below 2019 again in October. The Federal Reserve Bank has already announced plans for another .75% increase in November, followed by a .5% increase in December. Adding another 1.25% will bring the full increase for the year to 4%. We envision the fall in sales growing steeper, bringing total sales below that of 2019 for the final quarter of the year.

Statistical Summary

This would be the heart of the discussion if we were dealing with a normal fiscal environment. Here we could talk about month-to-month changes and changes from the same month last year to this year. Instead we’re faced with an unanticipated side effect of the pandemic—out-of-control inflation followed by a steep recession.


The areas are:
Beach: comprises the cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach;
PV Hill: comprises the cities of Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates;
Harbor: comprises the cities of San Pedro, Long Beach, Wilmington, Harbor City and Carson;
Inland: comprises the cities of Torrance, Gardena and Lomita.

Goodbye Marymount, Hello UCLA!

Marymount California University, is no more. But, shed no tears! The prestigious University of California at Los Angeles plans to open the site for classes in the fall of 2023-24. Escrow had not yet closed as of this writing, but all appears to be moving forward at good speed.

We are told the finalists included four developers and three educational institutions. We’re pleased that UCLA was the successful bidder. We’ve heard some of their ideas and look forward to having them as neighbors.

However, we’re also interested in what kind of potential the developers saw in this deal. There’s a total of 11 acres already developed as residential and 24.5 acres developed as a campus. What would that have looked like if a residential developer purchased the site?

The 24.5 acres, some of it with gorgeous ocean views, is the jewel in the transaction. A little “back of the envelope” calculation says that using an average of 15,000 square feet per lot, Which is about the average in that neighborhood, one could build about 70 high end homes at the location. New construction on similar sites is selling for about $7.5M today, giving a value for the finished project of approximately $525M. Not bad for a land purchase of $80M, especially considering we haven’t started looking at the 11 acres.

There exist some legal complications in the 86 unit, 11 acre property. Deed restrictions purported to require the land to be used to house students. That can readily be accommodated by an educational institution, like UCLA. Developers on the other hand might have to pay some serious legal costs to do anything else with the land.

And it might have been worth the legal expense. A quick look at the apartment building market in the South Bay shows roughly comparable buildings selling for about $420K per unit. That would make 86 units worth about $36M, almost half the stated purchase price.

We’ll never know what might have been. The entire South Bay can look forward though, to an educational revival. A refreshed campus with UCLA’s academic resources and access to the university program at AltaSea and other port projects is a great starting ground.

Photo by D koi on Unsplash

South Bay Median Home Price Plummets

With four months left in a very chaotic real estate year, we want to take this opportunity to lay some ground work for understanding why the market has headed into a recession. And, to keep things on a positive note, we end with a couple of suggestions on how you might profit from this turn of events.

Some of the nation’s most respected analysts (including Ivy Zelman of Zelman & Associates and Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics) are predicting recessionary price drops ranging from 10-20% and lasting through the next two years. (Arguing that we’re only looking at a brief correction, pundits at Goldman Sachs and the Mortgage Bankers Association continue to predict single digit growth.) Meanwhile, here on the street, we’re watching prices drop across the board for the second month in a row.

In August we reported that median home prices across the Los Angeles South Bay fell from July, the prior month. Now looking at August sales we find all four areas of the South Bay showed declining median prices again. The month-over-month price drops ranged from 6% at the Beach to 25% in the Inland cities. (See bottom for description of areas.)

Underlining the month-to-month price slippage, three of the four areas also showed declining prices versus the same month last year. Only in the Harbor area are homes still selling for more than they did in 2021. Even there, median price has slid from 9% down to 4% above August of 2021.

2022 Compared to “Normal” Business in 2019

The past two years have seen real estate stumble with the Covid lockdowns in 2020, then skyrocket with the low interest rates in 2021. It’s worth a look back to 2019 to see how the current conditions compare to the most recent “normal” market.

Looking at sales volume in the period January through August of 2019, 1064 homes had sold in the Beach cities. So far this year only 905 homes have sold. That is a 15% drop in sales since the last normal year of business. The trend line for the Beach area has been sliding downward since April.

For the first eight months of 2019 the Harbor area showed sales of 2955 compared to 2945 for this year. That is a drop of .3% – a statistically insignificant change. However, the trend line has been dropping since March. August sales were up slightly from July, which was an unusually slow month for the Harbor area. We expect sales to continue a downward trajectory into 2023.

Palos Verdes home sales for the same period in 2019 totaled 537 versus 568 in 2022. The Hill is the only part of the South Bay where year to date 2022 sales exceed those of 2019. At 6% it’s a healthy increase, too. Despite being the best performing area in South Bay, Palos Verdes sales volume peaked in March and continues to slide. Sales in July were unusually weak, so August shows an upward step in the trend line.

Sales in the Inland area, very much like the Harbor area are down only .4% from 2019 sales for the same period. The difference is statistically insignificant, and the trend line is headed downward.

Declining sales volume creates a larger inventory of homes to sell. As the inventory grows, sellers have more competition and buyers become more demanding and prices start declining. We anticipate continuing growth of available inventory, followed in late fall or early winter by a spate a price drops.

Median Price Up 54% Since 2019

Palos Verdes homes have seen the greatest impact of the Covid-era buying mania. Comparing median prices from the first eight months of 2019 to the first eight of 2022, we find a 54% escalation on the Hill. Normal growth over a three year period would have created 9-10% in price appreciation. Expect much of that excessive price expansion to be erased over the coming months.

Compared to 2019, Beach area median prices have shot up by 32%. This is easily three times normal growth. As we see in the chart below prices started adjusting downward as early as May in the Beach cities.

Since 2019 median prices for the Inland area have climbed 30%. Here in the August 2022 chart below we see Inland area prices have been dropping steadily since May when the median was $910K. During that four month period values have slipped by over $50K.

In the Harbor area home prices have escalated 34%. From 2019 at $565K to 2020 at $607K the Harbor area median grew $40k. Then in 2021, it added another $90K reaching $700K. So far in 2022 the median has reached as high as $830K – another $130K increase, but has now dropped back to $725K, losing $105K off the June median.

Most home buyers are constrained by their income to a particular price range, and salaries have not increased at a rate even remotely similar to real estate prices. Recent studies have shown about 25% of potential buyers were priced out of the purchase market in California by the soaring Covid-era prices.

Interest Rate Shrinks Annual Sales Dollars

In total sales dollars for January through August of 2019, the South Bay weighed in with $5.3 billion. During the same period in 2020 the aggregate amount shrank back to $4.9 billion, followed in 2021 by an upward explosion to $7.9 billion. So far in 2022 the area has reached $6.9 billion.

Each time the Federal Reserve System (fed) increases the short term interest rate the pool of potential buyers shrinks again. As this is written, the Fed is preparing to increase the rate by at least .75% in mid-September and two more increases are anticipated by the end of 2022.

At the current rate of declining value, we estimate the 2022 annual sales value to be approximately $9.5 billion, a decrease of 27% from 2021. Remember that huge budget surplus California had last year? Do not anticipate another this year, and possibly not for a couple of years as the state works its way through this recession.

The Silver Lining in the Cloud

One theory of success in real estate is “Buy low, sell high.” Flippers subscribe to that concept, buying at the bottom, updating and selling at the top of the immediate market. Another theory, not as well supported, but statistically more profitable, is “Buy and Hold.” Buy a piece of property at the best price you can and use it or lease it but – never sell it.

A deep market adjustment doesn’t come very often, so when it does one should take maximum advantage. At the moment it appears there will be a heavy price contraction starting late this year. We’ll know better in late fall and early winter, but all indications today are that a wise property investor should be preparing to buy at the bottom of the market – soon. We constantly search the Southern California coast for outsstanding investment bargains. Tell us what you want to invest – we’ll tell you where to buy.

Methodology

For purposes of comparing homes in the LA South Bay, we have divided the South Bay into four areas. Each is composed of homes of roughly comparable style, geographically similar location and physical characteristics, as well as approximately similar demographic characteristics.

The areas are:
Beach: comprises the cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach;
PV Hill: comprises the cities of Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates;
Harbor:. comprises the cities of San Pedro, Long Beach, Wilmington, Harbor City and Carson;
Inland: comprises the cities of Torrance, Gardena and Lomita.

Main Photo by Amelia Noyes on Unsplash

South Bay Home Sales Drop -17%

The 2022 recession appears to be coming in stronger and faster than predicted. Year to date home sales in the South Bay have dropped -17% compared to 2021 sales through July. Month to month, the change from June to July was -12%. The July drop followed a lackluster June performance of only 1% over May which was itself down -13% from April.

Money was cheap and readily available in 2021, and the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) was fore warning everyone that the mortgage interest rates were going to rise. The number of homes sold sky-rocketed, purchased both by owner-occupants and by investors hoping to snag interest rates at the absolute lowest in decades. Along with that came the bidding wars and the escalating prices. Looking back, one can readily see a correction in the making. At the time most experts were considering 2021 a trade-off for all the transactions lost during the 2020 lockdowns.

The last year we could consider normal was 2019. Compared to 2019, the number of homes sold during the first seven months of 2022 is nearly identical, hinting at a return to normalcy. However, a deeper look shows recent months dipping as much as -25% below 2019 sales volume. If sales volume continues to drop at this pace, we can anticipate starkly lower prices before the end of the year.


Steeply climbing interest rates have cost today’s buyers over 25% of their purchasing power so far in 2022. Some of those potential buyers will simply buy a less expensive home. Some of them will wait and save longer for the down payment. Some of them will become permanent renters. On the other hand, sellers have fewer options. They can decide not to sell, if that’s possible for them, or they can lower the price until a buyer can afford the home.

Median prices fell in all four market areas for July versus June of the current year. The overall drop was approximately -5%. (See chart below for detail.) So far in 2022, median prices have remained higher than those from last year. But, since April of this year median prices have consistently fallen on the year over year comparison. As noted earlier, we anticipate the median price dropping below last year sometime this fall or early winter.

“Should we wait to purchase?”

We hear this question a lot, and the answer is an unequivocal “No.” In the end result, chasing the elusive “bottom of the market” is a fool’s quest. By definition, when one recognizes the bottom of the market, it‘s already gone. We recommend that when you find a home that meets most of your needs and is within your budget, you should move on it.There are several reasons.

First, because the Fed is already projecting future interest rate changes which could easily eclipse the savings to be found in a correction. Alternatively, those future rates will prevent some potential purchasers from qualifying for a loan.

Second, because economics today is a web that reaches around the world. As we have seen just in the first few days of August; allowing grain movement on the other side of the world will affect our stock market, and available interest rates overnight. We live in a very volatile world and a perfect deal today may not exist tomorrow.

Sales Volume Down, Inventory Up

In March of this year there was essentially no inventory of homes for sale in the South Bay. Sellers were reporting literally dozens of competing offers on the few homes available. Today, in August, there is easily two months of inventory and homes are sitting on the market for increasingly long periods of time.


Sales in July fell in all four sectors. The Harbor area has now shown declining sales in four consecutive months. PV Hill sales have been off three of the last four months.

The Average Days On Market (ADOM) for the homes sold in July was 17, meaning it took 17 days from the time it was listed on the MLS until an offer was accepted. The ADOM for the homes currently active on the MLS is 46 days, a full month longer than those closing escrow in July.

A lesser known indicator of market condition is the number of homes that don’t sell before leaving the MLS. In July alone, 194 homes fell off the MLS. Of those, 41 Expired never having received an acceptable offer. The remaining 153 were removed because buyers were not showing interest at the listed price. Some of those sellers truly need to sell and will come back at an improved price. Most of them were hoping for a financial windfall and have set aside their plans.

Median Price Falling for South Bay Homes


The median price fell in July for all areas. The hardest hit was the Harbor area with a -6% drop in the median. The Hill was next, with a -5% loss, followed by the Beach and the Inland areas with -4% and -3% respectively.

Of the 116 homes sold at the Beach, 22 (19%) required a price reduction before getting an offer. The Harbor required 59 out of 329 (18%), the PV Hill 9 of 53 (17%), and the Inland area 17 of 153 (11%). Those were price reductions necessary to get an offer on the property, followed by a successful sale. Let’s look at properties active on the market, still trying to get an offer.

As this is written, the Inland area, shows 211 properties available with 77 having taken one or more price reductions already, without receiving an offer. That represents 35% of the currently available Inland homes. Homes at the Beach show 96 reduced of 228 (42%), on the Hill 53 reduced of 140 (38%), Harbor 215 reduced of 547 (39%).

So we see that nearly 20% of the homes sold in July needed a price reduction to get an offer. We also see that roughly 40% of the homes currently on the market have had one price reduction and may need further changes to stimulate offers.

Total Sales Revenue

The decrease in the number of homes sold in July, combined with the decline in median price for those homes pretty much guaranteed that the total sales value would drop as well. Across the South Bay revenue fell from last month by -16%. This will not make our tax assessor happy. Interestingly enough, Los Angeles County Tax Assessor Jeff Prang recently announced with pride a $122 billion growth in County property tax assessments as of January 1, 2022.


The Beach area fared the best, dropping only -2% in value. We noted quite a number of homes being sold as furnished rentals in July, like this one in Hermosa Beach. The Beach Cities are noted for their short stay vacation rentals (often referred to generically as AirBnBs) whether approved by the various cities, or not. Unfortunately there is no official accounting system for these properties. Even if one existed, many of the operators would be very resistant to a governmental accounting which could cause them taxation issues.

For the moment, Beach values seem to be the strongest of the South Bay. The Inland area followed with a -9% decline in total sales dollars. The Harbor area was next, off by -17%.

On the surface homes on the Palos Verdes Peninsula took the worst beating with a -41% decline in value from June sales. We remind our readers that the PV Hill is small by comparison to the other areas. As such, statistical measurements often appear distorted because many of the homes are unique and generate significant sales prices. Having said that, this month was a relatively mundane one for PV. Of the 53 sales, the low was an attached two bedroom, two bath condo which sold at $557K. The high sale was a six bedroom, 8 bathroom house in Rolling Hills which sold at $8 million. (For your valuation purposes, click here to see photographs and descriptions of the two homes.)

Lots of Red Ink


The table below shows the percentage of change in the number of homes sold and the median price of those homes two ways. The yellow shows change for the current month versus the prior month. The green shows change for the current month versus the same month last year.

From a seller’s perspective, these numbers would ideally all be black/positive. When any of them become red it shows a retrenchment in the South Bay real estate market.

From a buyer’s perspective the red ink is a good sign. It means purchasers can get more home for their money. For them, the real savings will come when that last column turns red.

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

PV Prices Surge; Beach Plummets

Palos Verdes Median Up +19% From May

We’ve said for years that land on the Palos Verdes peninsula is undervalued. We may not be able to say that much longer. Last month property on the Hill took another big jump upward in median price. That’s the second time in six months. When that yellow line peaked in February we found several new construction homes closed escrow in the same month boosting the median price dramatically.

PV Median Up $364K while Beach falls by $80K

This time we found two homes, selling in the same month, at over $10,000,000. To put that in perspective, during the past 12 months only four properties on the Hill have reached the $10M mark. So what are these rarefied houses that bring in over-the-top median prices? Let’s take a closer look. (Photos at link.)

The listing agent described 2005 Paseo del Mar as a single level with 5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, formal living and dining rooms, 2 family rooms, pool, 4 car garage with gated entry and circular driveway. So what makes it worth $12.4M instead of $2M?

It seems 4582 square feet of house sitting on over an acre of land on the bluffs above the Pacific Ocean is worth about $10M more than if it had an inland address.

Similarly, 1417 Lower Paseo la Cresta is a grand estate offering over 15,000 square feet of lavish living space spread over 3 levels, with 9 bedrooms,13 bathrooms and two full kitchens. Additional highlights include the custom 15-seat theater, Italian Fantini mosaic pool, elevator, generator and an extensive home automation system.

Beach Cities Sales Down -34% From 2021

The Inland cities clearly leap-frogged the other three areas in volume of sales for June. Sales in the Inland area out-paced the rest of South Bay, erasing a -17% decline from May of this year and adding a +13% increase for June .

The next closest monthly sales volume was a +2% at the Beach. Harbor area sales showed the poorest comparable performance, dropping by -4% for the month, continuing a three month slide. Monthly sales volume in the Harbor area has declined 135 units just since March.

Let’s focus on the Harbor and that red line on the chart for just a moment. Remember this is an entry level market, where a little rise in the mortgage interest rate can quickly price a new buyer out of the running. Notice that sales in the Harbor area were at about 300 homes per month in January. By February a few buyers had noticed the interest rates climbing and took the leap.

Then March became the proverbial “last chance” to buy in the fast moving current market. Sales volume shot through the ceiling with a 61% increase in homes sold. Since then we have watched a classic collapse with prospective buyers melting into the woodwork, waiting for another opportunity.

Annual statistics are still reflecting the impact of two plus years of pandemic. Compared to June of last year, sales were down dramatically. The Inland area fared the best, coming in with a drop 0f -6% from 2021. Sales in the Beach cities and the Harbor area fell the farthest with a -34% and a -29% respectively.

Total Dollars Sold Up 71% In Just Two Years

Back in 2020, the first six months of the year had netted slightly over $3.1B in South Bay home sales. Fast forward to the first six months of 2022 and total sales is slightly over $5.3B. Restated, that’s a 71% increase in dollars spent on real estate in just two years.

Much of that increase was the result of the phenomenally low interest rates created by the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) to offset the financial impact of the pandemic. It was good for all those people who wanted homes and had down payment money. Investors did especially well, though we saw another big expansion of the inequality gap.

Coming out of the pandemic, we’re seeing the four areas moving erratically. The steep climbs of 2020 and 2021 seem to be leveling off, as the Fed tries desperately to slow what is viewed as a runaway real estate market.

Total sales dollars in 2019 were $7.9B, in 2020 up to $8.7B, and in 2021 up again to $12.1B. Since mortgage rates are still climbing, it’s a little early for forecasting, but we anticipate 2022 total sales to come in at about $11.3B.

Where Are We Going?

Comparing last year’s market to 2022 shows a continuing decline in sales, while simultaneously a continuing increase in median prices. That may still change before the end of the year.

In May we saw the quantity sold drop into the red numbers across the South Bay. For June the sales volume is only off in the Harbor area, but the Hill and the Beach are both marginal. We expect sales to gradually slow as the year closes. Indications are the Fed will ratchet up the mortgage interest rate another 2% which should bring transaction volume down substantially.

May also saw the median price drop at the Harbor. Then in June the median fell for the Beach cities and the Inland areas, while the Harbor bounced back. We expect both the median and the sales volume to fall back into the red zone by the end of the year.

Sales volume should move first. Then as sales slow and buyers become more selective, sellers will begin retrenching on price. We don’t anticipate major price reductions until 2023. However, there are a lot of moving parts to this years economy. Events on the other side of the world may still make big changes here.

Photo by Josephine Lin on Unsplash

LA South Bay Real Estate: The Recession Has Arrived

In a normal year one would expect April to be the turning point for the LA real estate market. March is still cold and the children are still in school for another 10 weeks. April’s the month when the weather turns warm, the flower buds poke up, and the buyers come out to start the spring buying season. It hasn’t happened that way this year.

Prices had gone through the ceiling by the end of 2021, much of the activity stimulated by fear of escalating mortgage interest rates. Usher in 2022–January and February were typically slow and in March home sales bounced up like an indicator of business as usual. But, interest rates continued to climb and April ended with the total number of home sales down instead of up. Likewise, total sales dollars were down across the South Bay.

Number of Homes Sold

Judging from the charts, entry level homes in the Harbor area were clearly the center of activity for South Bay real estate. As interest rates pushed against the 5% mark, panic set in among first time buyers who had been outbid multiple times. Prices went up as high as buyers could afford, a number that shrinks amazingly fast with each tenth of a percent increase in the interest rate.

Across the South Bay, the number of homes sold in April dropped by -4% from March, which had been an increase of 59% over the prior month. As we see from the chart below, sales were uneven between the various areas.

On the entry level front, at the same time Harbor area home sales were dropping off, Inland homes gained sales. On the high end, sales on the Palos Verdes peninsula were also facing declining numbers, while Beach area sales increased.

So far declining sales counts have been modest, but a decline overall, coupled with a decline in half of the individual areas covered indicates that buyers are pulling back. Part of the resistance is a matter of simply being priced out of the market. Another important piece is the anticipation of price corrections in the near future. We have heard multiple buyers say they are watching and waiting for lower prices later this year.

At this point we’re well into the second quarter of the year and it looks as though those folks may be on track for some savings. even some of our most gung-ho pundits are beginning to see a market downturn on the horizon.

Median Price Sold

Interestingly, Harbor area prices went up at the same time the number of sales went down.The March to April price increase was a modest +6% compared to a +21% increase over April of last year. Similarly, the Beach cities had a month over month increase of +4%, while showing +19% year over year. While sales prices are still rising in those areas, the increase is a fraction of what it was last year.

Sold prices on the Hill continued to slide downwards. Because the February increase in the median price was created by the sale of new construction, and that building phase is now sold out, a downward turn in median price is expected. We anticipate that leveling off soon.

In the Inland area the median price for homes sold during April of 2022, was +12% greater than sales in April of 2021. By comparison, the median price of those sold in March of 2022 versus April of 2022 decreased by -1%. It’s a modest decrease that points to the direction of the South Bay real estate market for the balance of the year.

Area Sales Dollars

The total dollar value of home sales in the South Bay usually tracks right along with the number of units sold. The few times it differs are important times like these when the number of homes sold is dropping, and/or the sales prices are dropping. Today, of the four areas we track, PV Hill has a declining number of sales, both in comparison to last year and in comparison to last month. As we noted above, the area also is declining in total dollars compared to last year and last month.

As we discussed in last month’s issue, some of the reason for the drop is found in new construction homes that sold at a much higher price than the typical Palos Verdes resale home. The rest of it can be found in longer days on market waiting for a buyer, and in price reductions.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Beach cities showed gains last month for both number of units sold and for the total sales value of those homes. The only decline this month for the Beach was in number sold compared to April of last year. Sales this April were off by -21%.

The Harbor area still trended upward in dollar value, both month over month and year over year. But, the number of units sold was down for both time measurements. The price competition was very stiff in what is generally an entry level market. During the past couple years, bidding wars and over-asking sales prices have kept the dollars high. The April numbers show that changing rapidly.

Total dollar sales for the Inland community increased 15% month over month. That was the highest growth of all four areas. Scanning those individual transactions showed an odd pattern. Sales in the price range from about $325K up to about $750K were a familiar mix of some under asking price, some at asking and some above asking. The degree of variance was about what one would expect. Unexpectedly, for sales over $750K, nearly every property sold above asking price, and in many cases well above asking.

We found no clear explanation for why this phenomena occurred. There is a suspicion that buyers who were priced out of Beach properties may have shifted their bidding wars into the increasingly popular parts of west Torrance. This theory is supported by the distribution of sales among the various neighborhoods.

In Summary

In the table below are the core statistics comparing April to March of this year, and comparing April of this year to April of 2021. The prevalence of negative numbers is convincing evidence that high prices and high interest rates are pushing the South Bay real estate market into a recession.

Notable Properties

One of the more interesting properties sold in April is a four bedroom, five bathroom home located in west Torrance. The home was purchased by the seller as their family home in 1990 for just above $360K. The children grew up and the parents remodeled in 2022 and sold the house.

As would be expected in a good neighborhood with a contemporary remodel, the home sold for over the asking price of $2.7M. The final selling price was slightly over $3M. and just happened to be almost exactly $360K over the asking price.

In the 32 years that family owned the home it appreciated at an average rate in excess of $84K per year. It’s the classic “American Dream.”

Main photo by Amy Vosters on Unsplash

Inflation Hits Los Angeles: South Bay Real Estate – March 2022

The Federal Reserve Bank tries to keep annual inflation at around 2%. Over the past 12 months the median price increase of a home in the South Bay ranged from 7% (Inland area) to 32% (PV Hill). Clearly housing in the LA area is exceeding the desired inflation rate.

The recent Fed report to Congress stated, “Mortgage rates for households remain low despite recent increases.” In other words, the Fed considers 5% mortgage rates to be “low.” As part of the battle to control runaway inflation, the Fed is expected to implement rate increases. Estimates for how much higher we can expect mortgage rates to rise in the coming year range from approximately 1% to 2% more.

Rates currently at about 5%, we can already see an impact on sales volume and prices in our local monthly data. Real estate industry pundits are projecting an imminent recession. Some say “mild, in 2023.” Some are comparing the current market environment to the 2007 lead-up to the Great Recession. Keeping a probable recession in mind, let’s look at the March sales data.

Sales Volume

March is the month when South Bay denizens shake off the winter doldrums and get serious about real estate. The chart last year looked very similar to this. This year the Hill and the Beach were up slightly from last year. The Inland and Harbor areas increased at the same rate as in 2021. Compared to last year’s market, 2022 is distinctly more normal.

The chart makes it look like the Harbor area took an especially large leap in March. That’s just because the Harbor area is so much larger and so many more homes are sold there than the other three areas.. On a percentile basis, sales of Beach homes actually increased at a steeper rate. Sales at the Beach were up from the prior month by 71%, while Harbor area sales increased by 61%.

Normally, we would expect the sales volume to level off now and remain roughly a even line until winter when sales taper off again. If, in the battle to contain inflation, mortgage interest rates climb as fast as the Fed has indicated, we can expect to see the number of homes selling decline. We expect buyers who must buy will adjust the size of the purchase to meet their financing capability. Buyers who aren’t compelled to buy will probably delay and wait for better circumstances.

Median Price

Today, the best measure of home prices is comparing to last month. The market in 2021 was recovering, so some statistics are comparable, while others are still showing signs of impact from the pandemic.

March gave us a month-to-month downturn of -4% on the Hill. Of course, if you remember from last month, February saw escrow close on several new construction homes. Those units pushed the median price exceptionally high, so what we’re seeing now is a return to normal.

While median prices on the Hill were dipping, the Harbor area was flat. Prices there were +4% in January, slowed to +1% in February and had no change in March. This is the largest market area in the South Bay and is often a precursor for change.

The Beach and the Inland areas show continuing price increases of 3% and 5% respectively. Looking back to the first of the year, the Beach has been varied. The March price shift at the Beach is down from the February increase of 6%, but is up from the January decrease of -12%. The Inland numbers show steady growth from -2% in January to +5% in March.

Monthly Sales Dollars

The dollar value of March sales in the South Bay showed positive increases for all areas for the first time this year. This is important because normal growth in our capitalist system will almost always show the sold value from the current year to be larger than that of the preceeding year. The negative numbers from January and February are reflections of the troubled economics of 2021.

We expect the sales dollars to level out as the median price pulls back to a normal growth pattern. If the Fed is to realize any kind of reasonable slowdown for inflation, the monthly median prices have to stabilize at a rate of increase barely above zero. As of March the cumulative median for each area ranges from +3% to +20%. We’re not going to get to +2% inflation with those results.

The Statistics

Supposedly, charts are easier to read for most people. I like to include this table because it packs all the data from the three charts above, plus background detail, into a fraction of the space. Here we see the specific quanties sold in each area, plus the median price of the area, for the month of March.

% symbol indicates no change from prior period.

More importantly, the table shows at a glance how March 2022 compared to February of this year, and March of last year. All four areas currently have increasing sales, in part because the inventory is growing. In addition, there’s a bit of panic from the rapid interest rate increase.

At the same time, the table quickly shows that the median price has moderated in all four areas from what was happening in 2021.

Notable Sales

The South Bay in Los Angeles is a highly diverse area. In the distance of a few minutes it’s possible to drive from the lowest priced property sold in March to the highest priced property sold in March.

This studio condo in Long Beach sold for $249,900. It offers 441 sqft of airspace, no assigned parking, has an HOA fee of $149, and was originally built in 1913.


This 7 bedroom, 15 bathroom house in Palos Verdes Estates sold for $17,150,000. It offers 13,000 sqft on a 3 acre lot, has 5 garage spaces and was built in 2006.

Main photograph by Randy Jose on Unsplash

2021 Real Estate Summary – Los Angeles South Bay

2020 versus 2021

2021 was a year of tears for many people. But, not so for most South Bay property owners. Briefly, median sales prices across the area increased between 9% (the Inland areas) and 24% (on the Hill). Those are incredibly large increases. To put it in perspective, the median price increase the previous year, 2020, was less than half that, ranging from 4% (at the beach) to 9% (Hill and Inland).

Similarly, the year over prior year sales volume for 2021 was up in a range from 18% (harbor area) to 22% (beach and hill). This compared to a range from decline of 6% (inland area) to an increase of 7% (hill) for 2020.

Along with median sales value increasing and number of units sold increasing, we also saw astronomical increases in total sales dollars for the year. The change from 2020 to 2021 ranged from 33% (harbor) to 52% (hill). That compared to a range from 2% (inland) to 20% (hill) for the transition from 2019 to 2020.

These huge percentages are uncomfortably like the years 2006 and 2007 leading up to the Great Recession. It’s highly unlikely that 2022 will continue at this pace. We anticipate the year starting out with listings priced on the high end, with subsequent price reductions as “distressed” properties come on the market with more appealing prices.

So called “distressed” properties include those which have been hidden from the market by the Covid-inspired moratorium on foreclosures and evictions. Now that lenders are allowed to process foreclosures, we are beginning to see properties come on the market as “pre-foreclosure.” Here in the South Bay we have yet to see any significant number of bank-owned property come on the market, though at least ten distressed homes have been listed in the past three months in Los Angeles county.

In the end, most real estate sales involve a family home where buying or selling is dictated by events beyond the property owner’s control rather than by market trends. Births, deaths and new employment top the list of reasons for transactions that will happen regardless of market conditions. If you anticipate a need to sell in the next few months, we recommend you consult with your broker/agent early. Ask about marketing or negotiating techniques that will deliver the best result in a slowing market given your circumstances.

Year-End Housing Sales Drop

Regular readers will recognize that we’ve been seeing the sales volume declining for a couple months now. On the one hand, it’s understandable because we report actual sales results, as opposed to seasonally adjusted results. Being the winter season, sales are slower.

On the other hand, nearly everyone has been ignoring the white elephant in the marketplace. Let’s face it, prices have gone up dramatically, the interest rate is climbing at a quickening pace, and inflation is on the rise. Combined, those factors foretell fewer qualified buyers, more inventory on the market and some pullback on the recent price increases. We’ll talk more about that next month when we take a first look at real estate in 2022. If you’re about to make a move and need information sooner, give us a call.

Sales quantity fell off from the November numbers everywhere except in the Palos Verdes area. There we found a healthy 10% increase in activity for December. (With a hundred or fewer units sold in any given month, statistics related to sales volume on the Hill can have some wild variations.) Sales rose by 10% from last month, but fell 11% from last year.

Harbor area sales slowed the most in the South Bay. Of course, sales there and in the Inland cities had increased dramatically early in the year. The confluence of low interest rates threatening to go up, with burgeoning demand from first time buyers, drove sales numbers all year. As the mortgage interest rate passed three percent, many of those first timers fell out of the market.

Year-End Median Prices Mixed

Palos Verdes homes brought in 24% more in median prices last year than the year before, which was 9% above 2019. Most of the 2021 increase came in the first three months of the year. Prices were stable for the summer before dropping in the fall. At the same time, Beach homes went up 19% in 2021, compared to a 4% increase in 2020 over 2019. Much the same in the Harbor area, median prices doubled, up 15% over 2020, compared to 7% above 2019.

In an interesting anomaly, prices in the Inland increased 9% over last year, which was 9% above 2019. It seems the purchasing mania and bidding wars didn’t have as much impact to Inland areas.

By mid-year all areas had seen one or two months of declining median prices on a month-to-month basis. As the year wore on, the “down” months grew and the “up” months shrank. Despite the year-over-year median price being up, three out of the final six months of the year saw declining median prices in all areas.

On a month over month basis, selling prices on the Hill were the most impacted in December, dropping 10% from November. Harbor area homes fell by 4%, while Inland property values were up 6% and homes at the Beach grew 7%.

The Beach areas enjoyed significant appreciation in 2021. Prices at the Beach started the year at just over $1.4M, moved quickly up to $1.7M in August, then lost $150K of those gains before springing up to close the year out at a median price of nearly $1.8M.

Year-End Total Sales Dollars

The total dollar value of all the homes sold in the South Bay in a given month or year is probably only useful to investors or economists. At the same time it can be instructive by way of demostrating market direction. For example, let’s look to total sales on a monthly basis.

In total dollars South Bay homes sales for 2021 were up 38% from 2020 sales. That compares to a 10% increase from 2019 to 2020. Looking at individual months, the bulk of that revenue increase happened between January and July. By August the 2020 to 2021 increases had slowed to single digits. By December, the Beach and Inland areas were already seeing monthly declines compared to 2020.

The December year-to-year decline in total sales dollars was only 5% at the Beach but compare that to an increase of 156% in April. The Inland areas dropped 3% for the same period, compared to a 159% increase in sales for May. Harbor area sales were up 8% compared to 106% in May. Palos Verdes December sales were up 2% compared to 228% in May.

What does all this mean? For most of 2021 we cautioned readers that year to year comparisons were problematic because in 2020 no one was truly prepared for Covid. Business exploded in the first three quarters of 2020. It took until August and September of 2021 to get past the previous year’s damage, so camparisons were even explicable. Until then nothing is there to compare to. Businesses were locked down. Consumers and retailers alike were hunkered down at home. That’s why 2021 annual percentages are so large–they’re an anomaly! Only the last few months of 2021 are valid comparisons to historically relevant statistics.

In Summary

From our perspective it looks like we’re headed into a correction. One might even look at it as a correction from a correction. It’s as though the real estate market over-corrected from the Covid collapse and boomed for about three quarters. Now we’re coming back down to some pretty solid numbers.

We expect January 2022 to look a lot like this table, with some moderation of the numbers. That moderation should continue into the year as sellers and buyers move closer together on their initial expectations. By the end of summer we predict the market will show the first indications of pulling together for another roughly 10 year cycle.

We like to think of the proverbial real estate cycle as three steps forward–one step back. It’s important to note that this is the “back step” of the cycle. As such, it’s probably the lowest price a purchaser can expect to see for that product in the next decade, if ever again. At the same time, it’s probably the last opportunity for a seller to trade up without having to make significant upgrades to the product, or taking a big hit for deferred maintenance. By 2023 we should be working on building long term market value.

Thank you for reading. Our lead photo is courtesy of Michael Fallon. See https://unsplash.com/@fallonmichaeltx . As always, we’re here if you have a question or want to bounce an idea off us.

July South Bay Real Estate Slows – Takes Back Prices

Even with mortgage interest rates under 3% the July market had a hard time keeping momentum. March looked like a game changer, but May went soft. Total dollar sales were up in June but by July prices and sales volume were both headed down again.

So what’s going on here? Sales are yo-yoing across the charts like the economy can’t make up it’s mind. Are we leaving a pandemic or entering one? Banks have started raising the interest rates multiple times. Each time buyers walk away and the rates come down again.

The Coronavirus pandemic has been so pervasive most of us haven’t noticed there is a concurrent recession happening. One pundit I follow recently referred to it as a “two month recession–the shortest in history.” That’s a great punch line, but highly mis-leading. Real estate is a long term business proposition, not an impulse buy.

That’s part of the reason forecasting is so challenging this year. The statistics we would normally compare are last year versus this year. To do so is meaningless in today’s situation because last year was anything but normal and the result of a comparison makes no sense. To demonstrate, this table shows the comparison from this month to last month of the current year, and from last month of the current year to the same month last year.

Is the market good? Or just looking good?

Notice that comparing June to July of 2021, nearly every statistic is negative. Quantity sold was up 3% for the Inland cities, but down in all other areas. Prices were flat in the Harbor area, but down in all other areas. Looking just at the current stats, it looks like a slowing market.

However, it’s easy to portray everything as rosy when you only compare 2021 activity to 2020 activity. Reading it that way, sales volume is down 2% at the Beach, but volume and pricing are up in big numbers everywhere else. For those readers who like to study punditry, watch the authors you read to see who compares both ways, versus who only talks about positive numbers.

Sales volume flat last four months

By March of this year, all areas took a big jump upward in the number of units sold. The Harbor area, which is often the most friendly to first time buyers, took the biggest jump increasing from roughly 350 units per month to nearly 500 units per month.

Since March the number of units sold has remained stubbornly flat across the South Bay. The Harbor area showed strong activity, recovering almost immediately from a sharp dip in May.

Prices flat last four months

More accurately, Beach prices have been flat the last three months after a $100K jump in May. Inland and Harbor prices have seen very little change since the first of 2021. PV moved upward from January through April, picking up about $400K in median price appreciation. Since then the Hill has also been stable.

Usually more stable than the Beach or the Hill, the median Inland prices have remained very close to their starting point in January. Harbor area prices have bumped up about $100K since the first of the year. We see some of that in appreciation related to retail growth and renewal in San Pedro. On the Long Beach side, we’ve seen good appreciation in the first time buyer community and in the 1-4 rental community.

In summary, real estate in the Los Angeles Suth Bay is on the mend. Don’t mistake that for astronomical growth. We’re getting back to where we were and leveling out.

Photo by Mark König on Unsplash

LA South Bay Real Estate in a Post-Pandemic World

It’s official. We’re now in the post-pandemic phase. So what’s the real scoop on local real estate? Follow along as we review the May statistics and tease you with a little early June data.

Putting Statistics in Perspective

The first thing we want to do is remind everyone that in the first three months of the pandemic, the number of sales in the Los Angeles South Bay had dropped to approximately 50% of 2019 activity. So, when we say sales are up 100% from last year, what we’re really saying is that sales volume is pretty much back to normal. That is, “normal” in 2019.

Similarly, the fact all areas show higher sales prices than 2020 is relatively meaningless. We can only look to recent months or pre-pandemic statistics for market indications. We’ll get into more detail below, but remember that comparisons of 2020 to the Great Recession can be misleading.

Median Price Climbs: Everywhere

The median price in May of this year is shown in the chart below. Because 2020 wasn’t very meaningful in terms of normal real estate activity, we pulled up 2019 statistics. Respectively, the median price is up from 2019 by 25% at the Beach, 20% in the Harbor, 18% in PV and 16% Inland. That’s more than a healthy increase in prices for two years of appreciation. We can see from the charts there was some rapid inflation the first quarter of the year. More so at the Beach and in PV than elsewhere. Probably we’ll see some of that taken back as the market cools.

What we’re not talking about is what part of the market is selling? High? Low? Let’s look at the sales volume to find the hot spot in the market.

Sales Volume Starting to Smooth

The number of home sales per month across the South Bay has just about returned to normal. Sales in May 2020 were off by 45%-55% across the board from 2019. Now, comparing May of 2021 to 2019 we find that the Harbor cities have had virtually zero change in the number of sales. By contrast, the Beach shows 2% more sales, the Inland cities 5% growth in sales, and Palos Verdes 19% growth.

Two things stand out for me. The two year lack of growth in sales volume for the Harbor cities tells me the pandemic hit those cities the hardest. The recovery there will lag behind the rest of the South Bay offering some opportunity for those ready to buy now.

The second hot spot is 19% growth in sales volume on the Palos Verdes peninsula. Looking over the actual sales, I’ve concluded it’s simply that there are far fewer homes on the Hill, so minor change in sales statistics can look like a major fluctuation.

Total Sales Down Across the South Bay

Our chart below shows the total sales dollars climbing out of a winter slowdown that was accentuated by the pandemic. All areas rose uniformly in March and April of this year ending in May just about where they were the prior fall. June results will give us a better picture, but we expect a gradual leveling as inventories grow.

As of now, activity indicates that the peak of recovery from the pandemic is passing by us right now. Things should level out over the summer leaving us with a statistically somewhat normal sales year.

South Bay Summary

Across the South Bay we’re seeing a moderation of the wide swings and extreme numbers generated throughout the pandemic. For example, monthly March sales volume for all areas was up 57% over the prior month. By the end of April volume was only up by 6%. For May it was down -8%. Taking a peek at sales to date in June, it should be at -2% next month.

What we’re watching is the panic leaving the marketplace and stability returning. Pent-up demand earlier this year pushed property prices up as much as 14% on a month-to-month basis. While still steep, the high for May was 10%. Our forecast for June price increases in SoBay is a high of 9%, with a low of 0%.

At the moment there is little indication prices will move into negative territory beyond losing some of the rapid inflation of recent months. That may change as moratoriums on eviction and foreclosure dissipate. Currently slated to end September 30, 2021, some fear that the end of local moratoriums will release a flood of foreclosures and cause prices to plummet.

Locally, Los Angeles county and city have offered several alternative plans to minimize the impact. In some cases the entire debt may be covered by combined State, Federal and local government funds, completely rescuing both the tenant and the landlord from housing loss. As a result, many in the industry expect prices and activity levels to return to approximately where they were prior to the pandemic.

We believe the level of inventory will be nearly normal by this fall. Already we see offer prices declining and Average Days On Market (ADOM) stretching past 30 days for 15-20% of available homes. Following the usual slowdown for the holiday season, we predict a robust January in 2022 as the pandemic becomes a fading memory.

Judging from the downturn in May, we’re now returning to a more normal market. So, logically speaking, homes listed in June and later should come on the market at slightly lower prices. Our expectation is for area median sales to fall back by approximately $175K in the Beach and Harbor areas, with a decline of about $100K for PV and Inland area sales.

Cover photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash

April 2021 Real Estate Surprises

As we discussed in this column last month, comparative analysis of real estate between “the year of Covid” and any other year will be relatively meaningless. Starting in August we may have something approaching useful data in the year-over-year category. Until then, the best guidance will come from the month-to-month numbers and paying close attention to buyers and sellers.

The Beach cities is a great example. A 2020-to-2021 comparison of March sales shows an increase of 136%. Compare that to the March-to-April decrease of 2% and we immediately see the dramatic difference. The table below shows how huge the difference is. The year-0ver-year statistics are all skewed way to the high side because there were significantly fewer sales in 2020 than in a normal year.

April 2021 LA So Bay residential sales stats

Moving on to the monthly statistics, let’s look at how the year is shaping up. There was a minor decrease of-2% in the quantity sold at the Beach last month. The rest of the South Bay showed increased sales, with the inland cities showing a big bump up, in addition to a lower median sales price.

Entry level buyers who can now afford to become home owners, due to pandemic stimulus interest rates, make up a big part of those added sales. Another sizable component is made up of investors who can make cash offers, then leverage their investment to do it again.

Slowdown in Volume of Sales

The chart below shows steep growth in the number of homes sold in all areas for March. Sales in the Harbor cities were especially strong. It looked like the bright light at the end of the Covid tunnel. But, in April we see sales level off everywhere except the inland cities. The pent up demand we spoke of last month seems to be easing already.

April 2021 LA So Bay residential sales volume chart

When the volume of sales drops off, there is typically a decline in the price point, too. So far prices have been on the ascendant. The low interest rates kept buyers in the market, and the shortage of homes drove the prices up.

Home buyers are typically most active in the months surrounding school vacation for students. No parent wants to change schools during a regular session. We’re in the month of May, and the sales stats coming out next month will give us a better picture of how much recovery we will see this summer.

Prices Level Out Across South Bay

Like the number of sales, the median prices have flattened and in some cases turned down this month. Palos Verdes homes seem to have taken a strong upward trend with a 14% jump in price. However, looking a little deeper we find there were two exceptionally large sales which combined to create an illusion in the charts. That yellow line should drop back down around $1.6M next month.

April 2021 LA So Bay residential sales median price chart

Considering the rate at which prices have been increasing over the 2020 prices, leveling off is a necessary thing. In each of the first four months of this year, home prices have escalated as much as they would in a normal year. Continuing at this rate threatens us with another “bubble” coming on the tail of Covid-19.

Total Sales Dollars Still Climbing

April 2021 LA So Bay residential total sales $$ chart

Elevated prices combined with increased sales last month to push total monthly sales dollars way up. The chart looks like everything is hunky-dory. If only we didn’t know this is growing out of the disaster we lived through in 2020.

Actually, we’ll be quite lucky if some excessive price increases are the only fallout from the pandemic. We’ve written a number of articles recently on the probability for a rash of foreclosures coming after June 30, when the prohibition of eviction and foreclosure come to an end. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you abreast of the situation as it develops.

LA South Bay Gets Hotter!

From the Beach to the Harbor, from Inland to the Hill, the month of March brought an average of 57% more home sales than February! This, after February fell 10% from January, and January was down 30% from December! It’s almost as though spring’s sunlight is breaking through a crack in the Covid wall.

Last March we were seeing healthy spring growth ranging from 8% to 29% in sales volume over the prior month. By comparison this March is in a range of from 42% to 69%. That’s a tremendous jump in sales, and it corresponds nicely with the 35% to 70% annual increase in sales over March of 2020. Rarely do we see year over year sales growth above 35% in any given area, so that level of growth across the South Bay is a strong indicator that we are coming out of the erratic market of the past year.

We need to remember that home sales recorded in March of last year were transactions initiated in February for a Close of Escrow 30 days later. The comparison we’re looking at is the last normal March sales, pre-pandemic, compared to the most recent March sales as we roll into vaccinations en masse. That means they were the final set of “normal” transactions before the Covid pandemic was declared. It also means comparing statistics for this April to last April won’t be terribly useful.

That spike in sales is the “pent up demand” we’ve been hearing about. Circumstances that create a need for people to relocate have continued throughout the pandemic. Simultaneously, sellers have been very reluctant to put their homes on the market and take a chance on contracting Covid-19 from a visiting buyer. Now that threat has diminished, so buyers and sellers are making up for lost time.

We anticipate continued froth in the form of increased prices and bidding wars for the balance of 2021. Gradually everyone will catch up with their real estate goals and things will settle down. There is a good chance most of the price increases will stay with us. That’s a plus for sellers, while buyers will only be hurt by the higher prices.

Prices Skyrocket with Pent-Up Demand

Switching our attention from sales volume to median value, let’s look at how prices have been changing. Year-over-year, the median price came in above last March in the range of 8% to 18%. This is stubbornly high compared to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 4.7% for increased housing costs in the Greater LA area during 2020. The last time annual price increases were this dramatic was just before the Great Recession.

When we look a little closer, we’re seeing some weakness in the more current sales prices. Beach and Inland areas both showed big month-to-month improvement over February of this year. The Hill had a more modest 2% increase. The single negative showing in the first quarter, Harbor prices are down -5% for March, despite rising 1% in January and another 9% in February.

As the pandemic ends, we’re seeing a lot of people trying to escape the lease trap (rental prices are going up even faster than sales prices) by taking advantage of historically low interest rates. However, rising sales prices are meeting resistance on the part of some buyers. Possibly because interest rates have starting climbing again. Possibly because the employment picture is still untenable for many.

2021_mar_med_price_chart-1

As the chart above shows, prices for the first quarter are wobbly–a little up and a little down. The Fed is trying to stimulate financial activity to pull our nation through the pandemic by keeping the overnight bank loan rate at near zero. Meantime, the investor market is smelling money and gradually hiking mortgage rates. As the mortgage interest rate edges up, more and more potential buyers are priced out of the market. The first place this shows up is in the entry level market, which is predominately found in the Harbor and Inland areas.

Real Estate for Spring / Summer??

So what’s the forecast for the hottest selling months of the year? The pundits are split about 50/50 on whether the stimulus funding will turn this into a booming economy, or when we emerge from the pandemic, we’ll run smack into a wall of recession.

There is definitely money flowing. The Beach and the Harbor areas show the steepest growth, both adding about $135M in overall sales from February to March.

Anecdotally, there’s a significant percentage of first-time buyers who are now able to qualify for a loan, because of the interest rate. That group is looking at entry level homes throughout the area. Another set of buyers is now able to buy an additional investment property to rent out, because of the interest rate. First time buyers and investors are looking at the same properties and bidding against each other.

As mentioned earlier, April 2020 is when the pandemic blew holes in the economy. Whatever April brings this year, we’ll have to find a new way of looking at it. April and May last year plummeted with drops ranging from 25% to over 50%. Comparisons to last year could be interesting, but most likely uninformative.

Main photo by Barthelemy de Mazenod on Unsplash

2020/2021 Housing Summary & Forecast for the South Bay

The year 2020 was very nearly the least predictable time in local real estate history. Seriously, what other time have we experienced massive unemployment and rising home prices simultaneously? All indications suggest 2021 will be a tad more conventional.

Home Values Grew in 2020

Despite “turmoil” being the watchword of 2020, the year produced some remarkable results in the Los Angeles South Bay. The Beach cities recorded a 28% increase in median price for December compared to December 2019. The cost of building didn’t rise at that rate, so clearly there was a heavy investment in anticipated value. As the chart below shows, Even with all the up and down motion, during the final half of the year buyers & investors were betting heavily that things were headed for calmer, more profitable waters.

That activity was spread across the spectrum of prices, as you can see tracing the community lines shown above.

Note that May reflects the sudden market contraction from the Covid announcement the beginning of March. This is a rare moment when the chart shows how much delay there is between signing a purchase agreement, and closing escrow. In April, 30 days after the announcement of a Covid pandemic, escrows were starting to drop off and were at or slightly down from March closings. By May, 60 days later, the number of closed sales had fallen by ~50K units in each of the four market areas. It took the classic 45 day escrow period to show that the pandemic took away nearly 30% of the business in the local real estate market.

How Many Sales? Where? Why?

While the Beach and the Harbor areas fought it out for the highest total sales dollars throughout the year, the Harbor clearly enjoyed the highest number of units sold every month as we see in the chart below. While the number of sales climbed across the South Bay, at the end of the year it was the Harbor with the largest increase in sales. Starting 2020 with 315 sales in January, the number climbed consistently through the year to a strong finish with 476 in December.

Two factors play into the volume of Harbor area sales. Part is the sheer number of homes in what is physically a larger area. The more interesting aspect of Harbor area sales increasing while the rest are relatively flat is the reason.

Homes in the Harbor cities are lowest priced in the South Bay by about $100K. Interest rates are currently running below 3%, and it’s in the lowest price points of the market where low interest rates are most effective. The low rates mean more buyers can afford to purchase at the same price point, on the same income stream. The larger number of buyers competing creates multiple offers and drives the price higher, which is a major factor pushing the market today. If we are to believe the Federal Reserve Bank, current interest rates are expected to remain historically low for the foreseeable future. The demand should hang around for just about as long.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

In the chart below, it’s interesting to note that the Inland and Harbor cities progress across the months with stability and only a slight change from beginning to end. At the same time, the Beach and PV cities gyrate through the year, sometimes with $200K jumps from one month to the next. One is tempted to say it’s the comparative size of the market area, but the Inland cities have very nearly the same number of homes as the Beach cities.

This difference is often thought of as reflecting the nature of the home buyer in these communities. Looking at stereotypes, it’s easy to imagine an owner in Torrance or Long Beach, for example, who buys in their early twenties and doesn’t move again until retirement–very stable. In the Beach and PV price ranges, where a home is often considered more as an investment vehicle than a residence, it’s easy to see where market forces can result in sudden changes to where one lives.

Moving From 2020 to 2021

The beginning of 2021 marked the end of some of the more impactful aspects of 2020. A ferocious political battle is ended, and a new Federal administration looks inclined to use “all the available tools” to bring our collapsed economy back on line quickly. Time will tell how much that helps us here in the South Bay.

The ever-changing story of the international pandemic may be coming to an end with the approval of multiple vaccines for Covid-19. Rumors still abound as to the actual efficacy of the drugs, and rates of infection are still climbing dramatically, especially here in Los Angeles county. It will end, whether sooner or later. The big question today is if the price increases we’ve seen as a result of bidding wars will sustain as the pandemic eases and government assistance is strengthened.

Looking at December activity, we see big increases in sales volume for Month over Month (M-M) and Year over Year (Y-Y) statistics. A continuance of this trend could make 2021 an exceptional year for real estate in the South Bay.

Median prices show a large variation from area to area, and importantly show a slowdown in the climbing prices. Y-Y price growth was strong in December, reflecting the high demand at current interest rates. However, M-M prices predominantly showed a reversal in price growth. Some of the slowdown could be seasonal, but if you’ve been reading our blog posts you already know there’s a growing backlog of homes poised on the edge of foreclosure. The only thing preventing a mass of short sale and foreclosure properties on the market is the forbearance rules put in place to prevent a sudden jump in homelessness during the pandemic.

Beach

December activity in Beach cities showed insane growth for M-M and Y-Y sales, both in the the number of sales, and especially in the prices of sold homes.

As if annual growth of 28% in median price wasn’t crazy enough, look at that monthly increase of 18.2%! Annualized, that would be over 114% growth! Statistics with this much reach can only be attributed to a profound belief that prices will continue to increase at a similar rate. Or, continue until the property can be flipped, that is.

Palos Verdes

Palos Verdes in December was almost a reverse image of the Beach cities. The explosive growth in PV came in the number of home sales which shot up 18%, bringing the annual number to a phenomenal 42% growth in volume for the year.

Median prices in PV showed modest increases, ending the year only slightly higher than the Fed’s target growth rate. The shift from positive growth to shrinkage in December hints at an overall market trending toward lower median sales prices.

A side note: Homes on the hill have not maintained the “investment quality” image of those on the Beach. PV was once considered the place to buy a home from a prestige angle and from an investment perspective. New money moving into the Beach cities has diminished that role in recent years. I predict a rebirth of property values in the Palos Verdes cities over the next few years, which will make having a home on the peninsula key in local business and society.

Inland

For the most part, Inland homes are family homes. They are the places with hoops in the driveway and lemonade stands at the sidewalk. Investment here is a long term concept.

So, when we see over 20% M-M growth in number of homes sold accompanied by nearly 30% Y-Y, we’re seeing market movement rather than shifts in investment strategy. As it is throughout South Bay, the cause of that movement appears to be the sub-3% interest rate which enlarged the entry level market segment. More buyers flooding in created bidding wars and drove sales and prices higher.

Compared to last December, median prices in the Inland cities were up 5.5%, peaking at $733K. That’s a good healthy increase, only slightly above the expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers. Caution though–the M-M median is down 2.3%. It could be a momentary blip; a result of the holiday season, or the Covid surge. That year end drop may also indicate that the $750K median from November is the market ceiling.

Harbor

In addition to the largest home sales volume in the South Bay, the Harbor area boasts the most entry level homes. There’s a good deal of lifestyle overlap with the Inland cities, to be sure. The Harbor dramatically displays the same message we see across most of the South Bay. Everything was going strong until December, then buyers put the brakes on.

Today’s environment in the Harbor points the direction to the future. Sales here had a stronger growth than the Inland cities over the months leading up to December, and show a more pronounced decline in December.

Some of the slowdown will ultimately prove to be driven by the holiday, and some the election, and some by the pandemic. Even then, it’s hard to avoid the feeling that some of the decline is a recession held back by a thin wall of regulations temporarily preventing foreclosure and eviction.

We can certainly hope for better news from the new year, but as of the end of 2020 many of our indicators are calling for a deeper recession in coming months. It’s possible. Somewhere in the range of 20%-40% of homeowners are in forbearance now, and a roughly equivalent number of tenants are building up deferred rent payments. If adequate measures are taken to protect both sides of the debt, all of this will amount to footnote in history. Otherwise, it’ll be the second worldwide recession in this generation.

Photo ‘Work From Home’ by Nelly Antoniadou on Unsplash

Real Estate Sales, Oct. 2020

We’re looking at sales in the South Bay area of Los Angeles a little differently than usual this month. Typically we analyze the area as a single entity. This month we’ll divide the South Bay into four parts, allowing you to see a greater level of precision about those four areas.

Within each area the homes will be more similar, both in style and in pricing. We started by combining the four beach cities, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach. Each of the cities has it’s own unique character, but they share many common traits. (If your home is in Hollywood Riviera, you can consider yourself one with the beach cities.)

The cities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula come together naturally, so we’ve combined Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills Estates, Rolling Hills and Rancho Palos Verdes.

While Torrance does have it’s own beach, most of the city has more of an inland character, so we’ve combined it with Lomita and Gardena. One immediate benefit is the median prices are more representative of actual prices in those three communities.

Finally, we conjoined San Pedro, Long Beach, Harbor City, Wilmington and Carson, collecting the harbor area cities together.

Beach Cities

Prices have been trending up at a pretty rapid pace for most of the year, so it was a real surprise to find the median price in the Beach Cities had dropped by 6% from the September numbers. Last month the median price was $1.5M, while October only came in at $1.41M. Likewise, the number of sales dropped by a surprising 20%, from 209 sales in September, to 167 in October.

Year over year, beach prices increased by an impressive 17%, from $1.2M last October to $1.4M this October. Over the same time frame, sales volume went up by 45%, climbing from 115 units in October 2019, to 167 units in October of 2020.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Palos Verdes

On the Peninsula is where you really want to be in 2020. Prices and sales volume increased month to month and year to year. From last month to this month was on par with most of the South Bay, with the October median price of $1.68M coming in 5% above September’s median of $1.6M. The sales volume increase was a modest 3%, going from 95 units to 98.

The real treat for the PV cities is the 2020 over 2019 sales prices. October of last year showed a median price of $1.2M versus $1.68M this year. That’s a whopping 36% median price increase in 12 months. At the same time, October unit sales jumped 51% from 65 homes sold in 2019 to 98 sold in 2020.

Inland Cities

Going just a short distance away from the sandy shores of the beach, or from the bluffs of Palos Verdes, makes a huge difference in property prices. Like the coastal cities, the inland cities showed a 6% increase in prices from September to October. In contrast to the beach and the hill, the median price only went up $40K, from $719K to $759K. Like the beach cities, fewer inland homes were sold in October falling 11% from September. The drop wasn’t as great, going from 183 units in September to 163 in October of 2020.

October of 2020 versus October of 2019, the inland cities had median prices go up by 9%, from $600K to $656K. At the same time, the number of sales dropped by unit, from 164 homes sold, to 163 homes sold this October.

Photo by Dominik Lückmann on Unsplash

Harbor Cities

Median price in the harbor cities is typically lower than anywhere else in the South Bay. Similarly, price increases are slower. For example, while the rest of the areas saw 5-6% increases in month to month sales prices, the harbor came in at 3%. From September to October, the median increased from $636K to $656K. During the same time frame, the number of homes sold climbed 5%, from 435 to 457 units.

Comparing last October to this October, homes in the harbor area enjoyed a slightly more sustainable 9% rise in median price. The median for October 2019 was $600K compared to $656K this October. Sales volume jumped by 15%, from 397 units last year to 457 this year.

Why These Crazy Numbers?!

They are crazy, you know. There is no way prices can continue to climb at 5-6% per month. That’s more like what we would expect on a year over year increase.

October2020September2020ChangeM-M
Med Sales $Sales #Med Sales $Sales #Med Sales $Sales #
Beach1,407,5001671,500,000209-6%-2%
PV1,682,750981,600,00095+5%+3%
Inland759,000163719,000183+6%-11%
Harbor656,000457636,000435+3%+5%
So Bay820,000885799,500922+3%-4%

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Beach Cities prices decline. We’ll be watching November closely.

The answer lies in the interest rates. One the borrowing side, mortgage interest rates have been under 3% for some time now. With rates that low, many people who couldn’t afford to buy a home before, now qualify for a loan. Those who are still employed despite Covid-19 are buying homes if at all possible.

The demand created by that phenomenon has created a plethora of bidding wars. Homes with 20 offers on them are not uncommon. All those offers are pushing prices up at clearly unsustainable rates.

October2020October2019Change %Y-Y
Med Sales $Sales #Med Sales $Sales #Med Sales $Sales #
Beach1,407,5001671,202,00011517%45%
PV1,682,750981,233,0006536%51%
Inland759,000163680,00016412%-1%
Harbor656,000457600,0003979%15%
So Bay820,000885699,00074117%19%

Adding to the entry level buyers who are driving the market at the low end, there is another group who have cash in the bank. Unfortunately, that cash is only earning 1%, or less. Those buyers are watching the price of real estate climb astronomically, and are hoping to cash in on a windfall profit. Some of them will.

The Crystal Ball

Watching the median price drop at the beach by 6% is a hint at what’s coming next. We can’t be sure when it will happen, but steeply escalating prices inevitably plummet in a subsequent correction. Current increases are reminiscent of the rapid run-up of prices in 2006-2007 which resulted in the Great Recession.

Further complicating matters, today we have government and consumer response to Covid-19 as a uncontrollable factor. The third quarter of 2020 looked really good compared to the second quarter, until we remember the coronavirus struck in March. Business during the second quarter was essentially nil.

We can’t forget the election. Fallout from the presidential election could push the economy in any one of several directions depending on who the President is, and the degree of polarization in the Federal government.

One would need a crystal ball to forecast this winter, but I predict a volatile ride for the real estate market.

Crystal ball image by Jamie Street on Unsplash