Realtors have been talking about it for months. The number of homes available for sale in the Santa Clarita Valley is low, the lack of inventory is putting the brakes on sales volumes after six consecutive months of increases, according to a report issued by the Southland Association of Realtors on Friday.
Sales of the 176 existing single-family homes in April came in 3.8-percent below a year ago, and down 2.2 percent from March. It was the first year-to-year drop since September, and only the second drop since last June.
Still, the market is ripe for recovery with April sales up nearly 78-percent above the low-point set in January 2008 and with buyers crowding the marketplace creating bidding wars over the limited number of homes listed for sale.
“It’s a complex, rapidly evolving housing market that offers plenty of stumbling blocks along with plenty of opportunities,” said Erika Kauzlarich-Bird, president of SRAR’s Santa Clarita Valley Division.
Buyers, sensing the time to buy is now, know the housing market has not been this affordable or mortgage rates this low in decades, she said.
“Inventory, rather the lack of it, appears to be holding back the market at a time when interest rates remain near historically low levels,” she said. “Prices have hit record affordability, and buyers are showing up in great numbers.”
The number of homes for sale is so low locally the market represents only a 2.4-month supply, well below the desired 5- to 6-month inventory supply that represents a balanced market. A year ago, the index was a 4.8-month supply.
“People are surprised to learn that the inventory is so limited,” said Jim Link, the association’s CEO. “There’s a false impression that we have the same large inventories of distressed properties found in other regions of the country, but the Southern California market is very different and we really need more homes and condos to satisfy a pent-up demand.”
Condominium sales surged with 101 closed escrows, up 53 percent over a year ago and 50.7-percent better than March, the association reported.
After sales flattened during much of 2011, condo sales have been up every month this year, so much so that the April sales numbers swelled 225.8-percent higher than the record low set in January 2008.
Despite bidding wars over list prices reported by local Realtors, however, the median price of single-family homes sold in April of $375,000 was unchanged from a year ago according to SRAR. As sales prices continued to drop in 2011, however, April’s median price may still reflect both improvement in the local market and evidence of bidding wars.
April home sales, which had been harder hit in the San Fernando Valley, have turned a corner marking recording a 12.4 percent jump in median prices over a year ago, and 5.4-percent higher than March. It marked the second consecutive month that the median price came in higher after 10 straight months of declines, the SRAR reported.
“There have not been enough homes listed for sale in the entry-level price ranges for quite some time now,” Link said. “Now, it’s gotten even tighter in lower-priced homes and has extended to higher-priced homes.