As the economy continues to recover in the midst of the pandemic, housing prices continued to increase, hitting record numbers for this time of year in the Santa Clarita Valley.
The median price of homes hit a record of $830,000 in June, up 27.7% from a year ago, then decreasing to $810,000 in July, which was still up 23.7% from this time last year, according to reports released in August by the Southland Regional Association of Realtors.
The condominium median price rose 15.9% to $495,000 in July, down from the record high of $520,000 reported in May, per the SRAR report.
A total of 277 homes were sold last month, an increase of 1.8%, and 3.1% lower than the 286 sales reported in June, which was the highest tally since November, according to SRAR data.
“The local home market typically starts to slow around this time of year, though these remain unusual times,” said Nicole Stinson, chair of the SCV Division Council of the SRAR. “We’re still seeing strong sales, many with multiple offers, yet the pace appears to be slowing slightly, even as more homes hit the market and interest rates remain below 3% for 30-year loans.”
Meanwhile, the historically low supply of homes on the market — with a record low 193 listings reported in December — improved slightly in July, with the 337 active listings the highest monthly supply reported since October and up 7.3% from last year.
“The increase in inventory is slight and comes primarily in single-family homes,” Stinson said, “yet even a few more homes listed for sale may ease upward pressure on resales prices.”
New developments, such as Vista Canyon in Canyon Country and FivePoint in Valencia, will assist in providing inventory to those looking to purchase homes in the SCV, Stinson and SRAR officials agreed.
New developments, such as Vista Canyon in Canyon Country and FivePoint in Valencia, will assist in providing inventory to those looking to purchase homes in the SCV, Stinson and SRAR officials agreed.
KB Home unveils Clover community’s model homes
Of the new Valencia project builders is KB Home, whose 70-home Clover community is under construction at the site situated just north of Magic Mountain Parkway and west of Commerce Center Drive on Adventure Avenue.
The community consists of three floor plans, ranging from approximately 1,400 to 1,700 square feet, with up to three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms
“The project has had a long path to get to where it’s at, so it’s definitely been a long time in the making,” said Keltie Cole, President of KB Home’s Los Angeles and Ventura County division.
Each home is set to be ENGERGY STAR-certified, built with construction techniques and materials that ensure higher than average energy efficiency, as well as with healthier home living standards, using MERV-13-rated air filters.
In total, the Valencia project consists of approximately 15,000 acres and approximately 21,500 planned homes, along with 11.5 million square feet of commercial space, new schools and 10,000 acres of open space, among other amenities.
“Santa Clarita has been just always a strong marketplace for us in home building,” Cole said, adding that the KB Home’s Vista Canyon in Canyon Country has had a great response. “Coming off of that project and into Valencia has just gave us a lot of enthusiasm that we’re delivering the right product and people are really responding to our floor plans and our pricing.”
Grading is also underway across town on the Dockweiler project, near the intersection of Dockweiler Drive and Sierra Highway, with KB Home’s Trenton Heights community models set to begin construction in early 2022.
Additionally, KB Home already has an additional three communities planned for phase 2 of the Valencia project, including Vesper, consisting of 54 homes ranging from 1,700-1,900 square feet, Sage, with 91 homes ranging from 1,900-2,600 square feet, and Crimson, with 84 homes ranging from 1,800-2,000 square feet.
The Valencia project is set to open to the public next month, but in the meantime, interested parties can contact KB Home to view its model homes by appointment. (More information can be found at KBHome.com.)
Impact of new developments on the market
It’s these new developments that Holly Schroeder, president and CEO of the SCV Economic Development Corp., said provide more opportunity in the community.
“We’ve had low inventory for some time now, and this provides new inventory, which allows people who’ve been in their homes to move up or move down, depending on what their needs are, and then that opens up resale homes, and really just creates that velocity and turnover in the market that gives people the housing choices that they need over the course of their life,” Schroeder explained.
The housing supply shortage is not just local, as growth in housing inventory slowed in the aftermath of the 2008 housing crisis, creating an “underbuilding gap” of 5.5 million-6.8 million housing units across the country since 2001, according a June report from the National Association of Realtors.
“We have underproduced housing in the United States, relative to our population needs, so it’s really great to see all the new inventory coming on, but we still are just bringing ourselves out of the hole,” Schroeder added.
Market starting to ‘cool off’
While multiple offers and high prices are still the norm, Stinson noted that she’s seeing the market cool off a bit, adding, “We are for sure shifting from a market that just a month or two ago was crazy.”
Stinson believes this may be a slight correction to the market. Rather than 20-30 offers, there are now 3-6 offers on a property, and rather than offers coming in $50-100K over asking, offers are coming in at asking price or $10-15K over asking price, Stinson added.
With many buyers exhausted from getting outbid for months, some have slowed or stopped their search, others with hopes that new developments could quell the market.
