Home prices in Southern California fell slightly in May compared to a year ago, the first annual decline since 2023.
In May, average home prices in the six counties Southern California area fell 0.07% from April to $876,044, according to Zillow data. Prices have decreased by 0.2% since May 2024.
Economists and real estate agents say a number of factors are slowing down the market, including high mortgage rates, higher inventory levels and economic uncertainty caused by tariffs.
Last month’s previous year’s price decline was the first since July 2023. At the time, home prices were falling as mortgage rates increased knocked out many buyers from the market. Value began to increase again when the number of offerings plummeted as sellers retreated.
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In May, Los Angeles County sold 38% more than a year ago, and similar increases were seen elsewhere in Southern California.
Real estate agents want existing homeowners to move more and more, rather than keeping ultra-low mortgage rates. However, many first-time buyers remain locked out without access to equity.
Adding economic uncertainty will help you win a market that has been significantly downshifted.
If Trump’s policies ultimately push the economy into a recession, some economists say housing prices could fall even further.
For now, Zillow predicts that the economy is avoiding a recession and avoiding a slight drop in home prices. By May 2026, real estate companies expect home prices in the Los Angeles-Orange County Metro area to be 1.1% lower than they currently do.
City and Neighborhood Home Prices
Beware of readers
Welcome to the Los Angeles Times Real Estate Tracker. Each month we publish a report containing data on home prices, mortgage fees and rental prices. Reporters will explain the meaning of new data in Los Angeles and the surrounding area, and help them understand what they can expect to pay for apartments and homes. You can read the breakdown of last month’s real estate here.
Explore home prices and rent in May
Use the table below to search for home sales and apartment rental prices by city, neighborhood, and county.
Rental prices in Southern California
In 2024, many parts of Southern California were seeking apartment rent, but the January fire in LA County could have reversed the downward trend in some locations.
Housing analysts say rising vacancy levels since 2022 have forced landlords to lower rent. However, the fire destroyed thousands of homes and suddenly pushed many people into the rental market.
Most of the destroyed homes are single-family homes, and some housing and disaster recovery experts say the biggest increase in rent for large units adjacent to the Pacific Palisade and Altadena burn areas will reduce upward pressures for units smaller and far away from the disaster zone.
A recent LA Times analysis of Zillow data showed that the ZIP code closest to Fire Rent rose significantly between December and April than in other parts of the county.
Other data sources show similar trends.
According to apartment list data, Hardhit Pacific Palisades and neighboring Santa Monica saw median rents rise by 5.1% in May from the previous year.
Rents fell 0.33% last month, including many areas not adjacent to Palisades and fires, across the city of Los Angeles.
There is no data for Altadena in the apartment list, but there is data for the adjacent city of Pasadena. Rents rose 6.2% in May of the previous year.
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