Housing tracker: SoCal home prices at a record high

Southern California home prices set a record for the third-straight month in May.

The average home price in the six-county region was $875,409 last month, up about nearly 1% from April and 9% from a year earlier, according to data from Zillow.

Prices climbed in all six counties, including Los Angeles, where the average home costs $889,458.

Economists and real estate agents say prices are rising despite sky-high interest rates because there are simply too few homes for sale.

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, enabling them to sell and plunk down extra-large down payments that lessen the effects of high interest rates for another home. 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. Although the inventory remains extremely tight, more homes are starting to come onto the market.

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

In Los Angeles County, inventory was 13% higher; Orange County, 6%; Riverside County, 14%; San Bernardino County, 15%; Ventura County, 18%; and San Diego County, 30%.

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 May

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 last year, asking rents for apartments 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 May, the median rent for vacant units of all sizes across Los Angeles County was $2,080, down 1.9% from a year earlier but 11% more than in May 2019, according to data from Apartment List.