Record Prices in Inland Empire

The busiest November in 14 years pushed Inland Empire home prices to record highs. In Riverside and San Bernardino counties, a combined 6,888 residences sold, existing and new, a study of closed transactions by DQNews said. That’s up 22% in a year and the largest November tally since 2006.

The region’s homebuying rebound continued in November as historically low interest rates and a limited inventory forced house hunters looking for more space into bidding wars. Here’s how that broke down:

Riverside County:

Price: $455,000 countywide median selling price – up 12.3% over 12 months. The latest median breaks the record of $447,000 set in September. Since the Great Recession, prices are now 5% above the bubble-era high.

• Purchases: 3,894 homes sold – up 20% in a year. Last month was 24% above the previous five year’s average purchases. Year to date there have been 37,984 Riverside County sales – down 1% versus 2019.

• Existing single-family houses: 2,816 sold, up 25% in a year. Median of $471,500 – an 18% increase over 12 months.

• Existing condos: 491 sales, up 38% over 12 months. Median of $351,000 – a 20% increase in a year.

• Newly built: Builders sold 587 homes, down 8.4% in a year. Median of $455,500 – a 3% increase over 12 months.

San Bernardino County:

• Price: $400,000 median – up 14.3% over 12 months. This ties a re- cord high of $400,000 set in September. Since Great Recession? Up 5% versus bubble-era high.

• Purchases: 2,994 homes sold – up 25.7% in a year. Last month was 27% above the previous five year’s average purchases. Year to date there have been 28,542 San Bernardino County purchases – up 4.4% versus 2019.

• Existing single-family houses: 2,422 sold, up 26.9% in a year. Median of $385,000 – a 16.7% increase over 12 months.

• Existing condos: 168 sales, up 41.2% over 12 months. Median of $380,000 – a 13.4% increase in a year.

• Newly built: Build- ers sold 404 homes, up 14.1% in a year. Median of $508,636 – a 3.4% increase over 12 months.

Regionally

November was another chapter in homebuying’s odd 2020. Around the six-county region, 21,777 homes sold, up 18.9% over 12 months. Median? $603,000 – a 10.8% increase.

Swift autumn purchasing followed the region’s summertime homebuying reversal from what had been a pandemic-induced chill in spring. The buying binge produced Southern California’s fastest-selling November in 14 years, according to the DQNews database.

How cheap is money? Rates on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.83% in the three months ending in November vs. 3.66% a year earlier. That translates to house hunters having 11% more buying power thanks to coronavirus-era policies by the Federal Reserve.

Source: SB Sun