Countywide Home Prices Unchanged, Sales Slide

S&P Index Shows Continued Rise In Home Prices

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SANTA ANA (CNS) - The median price of a single-family home in Orange County was unchanged last month, and sales of existing homes fell by double digits, the California Association of Realtors reported today.

The median home price countywide in May was $1.1 million, identical to April, according to CAR.

On a year-over-year level, the price was 32% higher; in May 2020, the median price of an existing single-family property was $834,550, data showed.

Statewide, the median price last month was $818,260, compared to $814,010 in April -- up .5%. In May 2020, the median price was $588,070, reflecting a year-over-year rise of 39%.

The median represents the point at which half of homes sell above a price, and the other half below it.

“A lack of housing inventory continues to push up prices,'' CAR Chief Economist Jordan Levine said.

He said rising interest rates and “declining affordability'' are keeping some buyers out of the market, but “new listings have finally started to rise, which could help to sustain a higher level of home sales deeper into summer by providing much-needed supply.''

Last month, home sales countywide sank 10%, but they were up an astonishing 131% year-over-year, according to CAR.

The association's Unsold Inventory Index for May indicated the median time a property was on the market before it sold in California was seven days, and it was the same in Orange County.

Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc.


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