After rising for four consecutive months, closed escrows of existing single-family homes and condominiums fell during May throughout the San Fernando Valley, while the number of properties listed for sale climbed to the highest level in five years, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported today.
While low by long-term historical standards – the record for any month for combined home and condo listings was 14,976 active listings set in July 1992 – the 2,201 single-family home active listings reported this May surpassed the peak tally reported prior to the COVID pandemic of 2,161 in June 2019.
Similarly, the 649 condominium active listings in May came in just under the totals reported in April through September 2019.
The home active listing total was up 46.0% while the condo tally rose 64.7% compared to May 2024.
“Prospective buyers were coming out in numbers, eager to sort through a suddenly expanded selection as the inventory swelled,” said Anthony Bedgood, President of the 10,000-member Southland Regional Association of Realtors. “Then the impact from the January wildfires, the threat of international tariffs, and now lingering economic uncertainty continues to cloud the future, making some buyers hesitant.
“Sales were rising, as they often do in the early months of each year,” he said. “But after a hopeful start, May totals went in the other direction.”
The Association reported the close of escrow on 536 single-family homes and 119 condominiums. The home total was down 9% while the condo tally plunged 20.7% compared to May 2024 – numbers closer to when the economy shut down due to the pandemic.
“There’s always opportunity, regardless of the market,” said Valerie Biletsky, SRAR’s Chief Executive Officer. “Slowing sales and rising inventory typically translate into slower price appreciation or even price reductions, especially if an owner must sell in a hurry.”
The median price of single-family homes that closed escrow last month was $1,060,000, which was down 3.6% from a year ago and well below the record high $1,140,000 of July 2024. The condominium median price – which means half the sales had prices higher and half lower – of $610,000 fell 6.2%.
Pending escrows – a measure of future closed escrow totals – reported a 32% drop for homes and a plunge of 51% for condominiums.
Bedgood and Biletsky agreed that rising inventory, softening prices and fewer closed escrows are all reflections of ongoing buyer concerns over the direction of the economy.
Plus, listings are staying on the market longer – 30 days for homes, up 6 days from a year ago, and 44 days for condos, up 21 days.
At the current pace of sales May saw a 4.4-month supply of homes and condos, a number approaching a historical tipping point where sellers’ grip on the market loosens and buyers gain bargaining leverage. (For perspective, over 38 years, SRAR reported a 5.3-month average supply while the five-year average from 2019 to 2024 came in at a 2.6-month supply.)
SRAR’s Income-to-Loan guide for May found that an income of $158,326 was needed to qualify for an 80% loan of $488,000 on a San Fernando Valley median-priced condominium of $610,000. With the national average interest rate at 6.64%, the income needed to qualify was down 9.1% from a year ago. The monthly PITI — principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments — totaled $3,958.
