Right now is a good time to be a homebuilder in Santa Clarita.
A glaring reason why, the median price of an existing single-family home is equivalent or higher than some “bottom-end” newly-built homes, which start in the $500,000s.
According to recent data from the Southland Regional Association of Realtors (SRAR), the median single-family home price stood at $530,000 in the Santa Clarita Valley during January. This value equated to a $50,000 year-over-year rise in price.
“It benefits the brand new homes,” said Dean Vincent, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Division of SRAR. “You’re paying just a bit more (for new product) and it’s hard not to look at the shiny object.”
Homebuilders are most active within Santa Clarita’s Five Knolls, a new community that includes six new home collections from Brookfield Residential, TRI Pointe Homes, Meritage Homes and KB Home. Prices are said to start in the $500,000s. The community officially opened last September.
Santa Clarita-based Williams Homes is currently selling product in Stevenson Ranch and the city of Santa Clarita, with plans to build an additional 29-home community in Santa Clarita. The later community’s homes will start in the $800,000s. The builder also has a single-family development and a for-sale townhouse community underway just south in the San Fernando Valley.
Homebuilders continuing to deliver and break ground on new homes within Santa Clarita is indicative of the demand for new product and a sign that homes are indeed selling, Vincent said.
Inventory will push existing home values
Price increases in the single-family resale market aren’t expected to stop moving forward, additional good news for homebuilders.
The primary reason, the lack of existing inventory. As of January there were 363 single-family listings in the valley, which equates to slightly more than two months of supply. The listings total also represents a nearly 18 percent year-over-year drop in existing inventory.
This minimal supply held the median home price at $530,000 last month. For perspective, in only one month last year, May, did the median price reach this level. When looking at average price things look even more pricey, with this value hitting nearly $557,000 last month.
