As we head into the Fathers Day Weekend, I will share with you the real estate stats from last month, May 2021.
Let’s look at some statistics for those of us who like to put numbers to the stories we are hearing all around us (source: Infosparks, MLS) :
First, median prices for the entire Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for our area in Southern California:
May 2021 – $735,000 – compared with a month ago, April 2021 – $720,000, and March 2021 – $680,000; and a year ago, May 2020 – $553,000; and 2 years ago, May 2019 – also $553,000.
That’s a 4% increase from last month, so the increase is slowing down (last month saw a 6% increase month over month), but a whopping 33% higher than this time last year, and 33% over 2 years ago’s median prices of homes in our Southern California MLS.
So you can see, in just the past year and 2 years, median prices in our regions, Southern California, have increased astronomically. But we are seeing the increase in prices slowing down, and that is good news for our buyers as we tend toward a flattening of prices.
How about specifically for the city of Long Beach, California? Median prices:
May 2021 – $665,000, compared to last month April 2021 – $675,000 and the month before that, $657,750; and last year May 2020 – $634,000, and the year before that May 2019 – $575,000.
It looks from these numbers, in the city of Long Beach, median prices did not make as drastic a change up compared the other parts of Southern California, which have seen even higher price jumps. For the city of Long Beach, median prices appear to have decreased 1.5% compared to last month, increased 5% from last year, and increased 16% from 2 years ago. Still a significant increase in Long Beach, but also perhaps a bargain for a beach city in Los Angeles county.
Where will prices go from here?
Active listings in the entire MLS in Southern California and in Long Beach specifically remain low, but we are seeing a slight, very slight upward trend in inventory, as more sellers come on the market looking to take advantage of the high prices and sell.
In the entire Southern California MLS, active listings in May 2021 were 34,069, up from 31,951 in April 2021, a 7% increase from last month. Comparatively, active listings in May 2020 were 61,299, and in May 2019 they were 82,880. So we are still way low in inventory levels this year (56% of last May’s inventory, 41% of May 2019’s inventory), but they are slightly creeping up.
In Long Beach, active listings in May 2021 were 446, up from 391 in April, a 14% increase in inventory month over month. Comparatively, last May’s active listings were 623, and May 2019’s active listings were 694. We are currently at 72% of last year’s inventory at this time of year, and 64% of the level from 2 years ago.
Conclusions & Teasers for June 2021:
Price increases are slowing down.
Inventory is still at historic lows, but creeping up.
Market is shifting ever so slightly in favor of buyers, though it is still very much of a seller’s market.
Still very competitive for buyers, but at least we can get in the home to see it before it sells, and at least we are competing with 3 or 4 offers instead of 20+.
Sellers are still getting good prices for their homes, with the right marketing and exposure.
From what I have heard from my colleagues around the country – this is a trend around the country. What are your observations and thoughts?
Nancy Deprez
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