Closed escrows and active listings of homes and condominiums in the San Fernando Valley increased sharply during January while resale prices remained flat or fell, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors has reported.
A total of 352 single-family homes and 136 condominiums changed owners last month for an increase of 37.5% and 44.7%, respectively, according to association statistics.
While well below the totals reported during the COVID pandemic in 2021 and 2022 of 697 and 618 respectively, the January home total was a giant leap from last year’s 256 closed escrows. Similarly, the condominium tally was the highest for a January over the last four years, surpassed by the 196 condo transfers in January 2022 and the 2021 total of 221.
“It’s a welcome robust start to the new year, especially with the increase in active listings offering prospective buyers many more options,” said Nicole Stinson, the 2026 President of the 10,000-member Southland Regional Association of Realtors. “Interest rates are at their lowest levels since 2024 and expected to go lower in the coming months. It’s possible people who have been sitting on the sidelines may decide to jump into the market.
“Plus, for the first time in multiple years,” Stinson said, “homesellers are willing to consider concessions and growing numbers are flexible on pricing. We’re inching closer to a more balanced market, where neither buyer nor seller have an advantage.”
The median price of single-family homes that changed owners in January came in at $1,060,000, which was down 1.9% from a year ago and below the record high $1,150,000 set in June and again in September 2025.
The association also reported the condominium median price at $575,000, which was unchanged from a year ago and the first time in 12 months that the condo median price was below the $600,000 benchmark.
“After watching resale prices climb higher nearly every month over more than a decade it’s refreshing to see even slight increases in affordability,” said Valerie Biletsky, the association’s Chief Executive Officer. “There are plenty of lingering questions that could impact the national and local economies, yet the new year is showing promise for the local residential real estate market.”
Combined pending sales – a measure of future closed escrows – came in at 352, down 29% from a year ago.
The 2,270 active listings, down 3% from January 2025, represented a 4.7-month inventory at the current pace of sales. That number is inching closer to the 38-year average of a 5.3-month supply indicative of a balanced market.
SRAR’s income-to-loan guide for January found that an income of $145,298 was needed to qualify for an 80% loan of $463,200 on a San Fernando Valley median-priced condominium of $579,000.
With the national average interest rate at 6.23% during January – the lowest since December 2024’s 6.31% and well below the 7.79% of October 2023 – the income needed to qualify dropped 3.7% compared to a year ago. The monthly PITI — principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments — totaled $3,632.
Chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors is the voice for real estate in San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys.
