Housing tracker: SoCal home prices at a record high

Southern California home prices rose in April, setting a record high with the help of all-cash and wealthy buyers less sensitive to interest rates.

The average home price in the six-county region was $875,388, up 1.6% from March, when values first surpassed the previous record, reached in June 2022.

Southland home prices are now 9.5% higher than a year ago, according to data from Zillow.

Prices climbed in all six counties, including Los Angeles, where the average home costs $890,516.

Economists and real estate agents say prices are rising despite sky-high interest rates because of an extreme shortage of listings.

When rates surged in 2022, home prices fell as buyers pulled away and inventory swelled. But prices started rising again last year as homeowners increasingly chose not to sell, unwilling to give up rock-bottom mortgage rates on loans taken out before and during the pandemic.

Another factor driving prices higher is the wealth gap. Though most Southern Californians can’t afford to buy a home, there are plenty of high-income earners who can.

Many longtime homeowners have built up considerable equity and can sell and plunk down extra-large down payments that lessen the effects of high interest rates. Others are getting help from parents or liquidating stock portfolios.

Of L.A. County homes sold in February, 23% were bought with all cash, up from 16% in 2021, according to Redfin. National survey data from Zillow show that the percentage of people putting at least 20% down has risen as mortgage rates have climbed.

Prospective buyers have received some good news in recent months. Inventory remains extremely tight, but more homes are starting to come onto the market.

In April, the number of homes listed for sale in most Southern California counties was higher than a year earlier, according to Zillow.

Orange was the only county to see a decline, while Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura turned positive for the first time since the first half of 2023, each recording an increase of at least 5%.

In San Diego County, inventory has risen for two consecutive months and is 18% above a year ago.

Some experts believe the rise in inventory won’t be enough to cause home prices to decline, but values should rise less than they would have without the uptick in supply.

Explore home prices and rents for April

Use the tables below to search for home sale prices and apartment rental prices by city, neighborhood and county.

Rental prices in Southern California

In the past year, asking rents for apartments and homes in many parts of Southern California have ticked down.

Experts say the trend is driven by a rising number of vacancies, which have forced some landlords to accept less in rent. Vacancies have risen because apartment supply is expanding and demand has fallen as consumers worry about the economy and inflation.

Additionally, the large millennial generation is increasingly aging into homeownership, as the smaller Generation Z enters the apartment market.

Prospective renters shouldn’t get too excited, however. Rent is still extremely high.

In April, the median rent for vacant units of all sizes across Los Angeles County was $2,072, down 2% from a year earlier but 10% more than in April 2020, according to data from Apartment List.