SoCal home prices hit all-time high in February due to pandemic housing boom

Los Angeles Times

4 years ago

In this Feb. 12, 2020, file photo, a housing development stands in El Dorado Hills, Calif. California voters have rejected a proposal to partially dismantle the state’s cap on property taxes, a move that would have have raised taxes for many businesses in a pandemic-hobbled economy. Since 1978, California has limited tax increases to 2% a year until a property is sold. With prices climbing at a much higher rate, taxpayers who have held homes and businesses for many years pay far less than what the market value would determine. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Southern California home prices reached an all-time high in February as buyers competed amid a shortage of homes for sale, adding to signs that pandemic home-buying trends are extending into 2021.

The six-county region’s median sales price jumped nearly 15% from a year earlier to $619,750, according to data from real estate firm DQNews.

Sales surged 17.6% from February 2020.

The numbers, published Tuesday, show how a pandemic housing boom driven by historically low borrowing costs and by demand for more space is extending into 2021. Another factor: Many millennials are entering their early 30s — a time when many people purchase their first home.

Read the full story at LATimes.com.