The median resale prices of single-family homes and condominiums sold during April throughout the Santa Clarita Valley hit their highest levels since 2007, the Southland
Regional Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

The home median price of $538,200 was up 7.6 percent over a year ago and 3.5 percent higher than this March. It was the highest median price since October 2007, yet was
16.3 percent below the record high of $643,000 set in April 2006.

“The home median had been hovering around $530,000, a number posted three times since last May, but a tightening inventory appears to have pushed it past that plateau
into new territory,” said M. Dean Vincent, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Division of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. “We need more new homes to satisfy
burgeoning demand and to ease the upward pressure on resale prices.”

Similarly, the condominium median price of $348,000 was up 20.0 percent over 12 months ago and 5.5 percent higher than this March. It was the highest monthly median price posted since September 2007, yet came in 12.3 percent below the record high of $397,000 established in January 2006.

The lack of inventory appeared to play a leading role in the drop of 7.4 percent in singlefamily home sales compared to a year ago. Following seasonal patterns, home sales
were up 4.4 percent from this March.

Realtors helped close escrow on 118 condominium transactions last month. That was up 28.3 percent from April 2015 and 42.2 percent ahead of this March. It was the highest tally for the month of April since 2006, yet was 42.2 percent below the record high of 204 condo sales set in April 2003.

“Today’s buyers tend to need a more significant downpayment and need to be able to decide very quickly if they want to snag a home in this market,” said Jim Link, the
Association’s chief executive officer. “Quick sales are the norm, with properly-priced listings selling quickly, often with multiple bids.”

There were 507 active listings throughout the Santa Clarita Valley at the end of April.

That was down 17.3 percent from a year ago. At the current pace of sales, that represents a 1.5-month supply, down from the 1.9-month inventory of a year ago. The inventory has been sliding since May of last year after post monthly increases for all of 2014 and half of 2013.

The 385 open escrows — a measure of future sales — reported at the end of April were up 2.1 percent from a year ago.

There were relatively few distressed sales during April in the Santa Clarita Valley, the Association reported: a total of three single-family and one condominium foreclosure related REO sale, for a combined market share of 1.2 percent.

Short sales totaled 10 transactions, eight homes and two condominiums, capturing a 3.0 percent market share. Traditional residential sales of homes and condominiums accounted for 95.2 percent of the 330 homes and condos that changed owners last month.