'Cracks appearing' in Southern California housing market, one analyst says
Southern California house hunters are putting 9 percent fewer existing homes into escrow this spring, a dip that caused one analyst to make Cracks Appearing the title of his latest report.
ReportsOnHousing tracks regional homebuying patterns found in real estate broker networks: supply (active listings); demand (new escrows in past 30 days); and market time (a measure of selling speed of days it takes a typical listing to enter escrow).
Steve Thomas, the man behind ReportsOnHousing, wrote: Noticeable cracks have appeared that illustrate a cooling market. It is not as if housing has suddenly tilted in favor of buyers. No, there are still multiple offers and plenty of homes flying off the market and into escrow just moments after the FOR SALE sign is pounded into the front yard. Buyers are still frustrated by the lack of available homes on the market below $1 million. Sellers are still in the drivers seat. Nonetheless, trends have surfaced that highlight a cooling marketplace.
Take the four-county region covered by the Southern California News Group. Thomas data from May 3 shows demand at 13,669 new escrows down 1,341 sales contracts in 12 months or 9 percent. Thats also off 5 percent vs. the previous five years at this time of year.
Read more: https://www.ocregister.com/2018/05/11/cracks-appearing-in-southern-california-housing-market-one-analyst-says/