Santa Clarita Market Report March 2016

This market in Santa Clarita keeps surging upwards with low inventory and influx of new buyers. The millennials are starting to buy in limited numbers but many are still renting by being seduced in to renting nicer places without the stress of buying a lesser luxurious place further from the Valencia “center”  for the same monthly expenditure.  The problem with these millennials waiting to buy is that rents are rising at a faster pace than listing prices and they may not realize it as a group.  Soon, this talented generation making money in the creative fields and technical industries will see themselves priced out of the housing market like their predecessors, the X generation and now again baby boomers, still recovering from the financial crisis in 2010.  My hope is that the millennials will get into the market of buying before they leave all available real estate to foreign investors who may not even live here most of the year. Time is money when it comes to investing in real estate in Los Angeles.

In other areas, any interest rate hike would slow the market appreciation even more but in an area like Santa Clarita, with so many multiple offers, I don’t foresee prices stalling much, especially Valencia and Stevenson Ranch, but rather continuing to go up slowly. In that regard, it’s important that sellers and agents keep a steady eye on the market and react accordingly.  That is why I have written this column so that I can know the market better and so can you. They say the “teacher” learns as he teaches. The following information was taken from the Southland Regional MLS and is deemed to be correct. I’m only reporting on listings taken, sold and or closed that had a status change during the month of March.  The absorption rate at end of this article will use data from the first quarter for terms of that calculation.

Active Listings:

So to bring you up to date, there are currently 382 active listings on the market in Santa Clarita. Of this total count of 382, only 272 of these were listed during the month of March. The most expensive one listed during March was priced at $3,900,000 and was located at 25390 Twin Oaks PL.  It had interior square footage of 8843 with a lot size of 17,517 square feet.  It had 5 bedrooms and 7 bedrooms. It came on the market in March but had been on the market for 172 days prior to it being listed again.

The second highest listing was priced at $1,999,650 and is located at 29650 San Francisquito Cyn. The third most expensive listing was located at 24122 Cross St in Newhall and had a list price of $1,699,000. It was a 4 bedroom and 2 bath home with total of 1576 square feet with a lot size of 258,203 sq. ft.

The average priced listing in Santa Clarita taken during the month March was $606,501. The average of all homes listed during March had an average square footage of 2139.  On average, the bedroom count of a home listed in March was 3 and the average bathroom count was also 2.81 The average cost per square foot was $294.75.

The medium of all March listed properties came in at $530,000. The difference between medium price and average price is this: Average price is just an average of all listing prices while the medium price is the middle price in a one liner list of listed properties.  This means that it’s not the highest, lowest or average but the specific listing price that’s right in the middle of the list line item list of address in ascending order.

Back Up Offer Listings:

There were 127 listings that went into “Back Up Offer” status during March. These type listings are under contract but not put in pending status yet as they are encouraging “backup offer” for some reason. In most cases, these homes are in escrow but being reported as in Back Up status versus Pending Status.

Of the listings in this Back Up Status, the most expensive one had a list price of $1,100,000. It was a 5 bedroom and 4 bath located at 25808 Fleming Pl in Stevenson Ranch. It had 3689 square feet and had only been on market 15 days, when it accepted a signed contract.  It has a dollar per square foot of $298.18 The medium priced listing came in at $487,444 and contained 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths all in 1705 interior square feet.  Medium time on the market was 21 days.

The average list price of all the Back Up listings was $510,007. The average bedroom count was 3 and the average bathroom count was 2.63.  The average for square footage of all these listings in Backup Status was 1846 square feet.  The average dollar per square feet came in at $286.88.

Pending Status Listings:

There were 77 listings that went into Pending status in the month of March. The highest listing that went pending had a list price of $1,150000. It had 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, all in 2904 square feet.  The dollar per square feet was $396.01.  It was located at 21841 Parvin, behind the gates at top of Circle J Ranch in Saugus.  The medium list price of a home that went pending was priced at $502,450 with a dollar per square foot at $281.19. The average listing in this category had an average price of $511,955.  The average pending listing had 3 bedrooms with an average bathroom size of 2.612. The average dollar per square foot for all pending listings was $280.09.

Sold Listings:

During the 31 days that make up March, there were 319 homes that closed escrow. The highest listed price for a listing sold during March was $1,415,000. This listing was located at 26422 Valley Oak Lane in Valencia and featured 5 bedrooms and was highlighted by 6 bathrooms.  The square footage for this one came out to 8,578 and had a lot square footage of 14,461.  It was on the market for 101 days.  The dollar per square foot for this home was $307.41. The medium sold listing had a list price of $470,000.  The medium was 3 bedrooms, 3 baths in 1717 square feet.  The average price for a listed home that closed escrow during March was $494,994.  The average bedroom count was 3 while the average square footage was 1979.  For homes that sold during March, the average days on the market were 86.

 

Absorption Rate:

So with their being 382 active listings on the market and the average 319 homes selling per month, the absorption rate is 1.19. The absorption rate is the rate at which active listed homes are sold in a measured real estate market during a given time frame such as one month. It is calculated by dividing the number of available listings by the average number of sales per month. In other words, it will take just 1.19 months to sell all available listings.  That is a really low absorption percentage rate.

Summary:

In closing, I would like emphasize the fact that prices will continue to edge up as inventory continues to decrease. With interest rates predicted to go up later this year, my feeling is that this is the time to invest in the market.  For those people who want to make money, profit and have the ability to maintain an almost carefree investment, let me recommend a real estate investment.  It could be your first home, replacement home or a rental but be smart and buy now.  You can always sell at top of the market.  Until next time, Cheers.