The median price of condominiums sold during October in the Santa Clarita Valley tied the record high, while home and condo sales increased, and the inventory of properties listed for sale fell for the fourth consecutive month, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported Friday.

The condo median price of $420,000 matched the record reported in August and was 5.0 percent higher than a year ago. Five of the last seven months have seen a condominium median price above the $400,000 benchmark.

The single-family home median price was $610,000, up 2.5 percent from October 2018. The record high of $643,000 that was set in April 2006 has yet to be surpassed.

“Today’s incredibly low interest rates on home loans keep sales moving and help offset some of the impact of rising prices,” said Amanda Etcheverry, chair of the Santa Clarita Valley Division of the Southland Regional Association of
Realtors. “But continued drops in the inventory are worrisome. To satisfy demand and restrain prices, we need more housing.”

There were only 467 homes and condominiums listed for sale at the end of October. That was down 28.7 percent from a year ago for the fourth consecutive monthly decline after 13 consecutive months of increases in the inventory.

For comparison, the record low inventory of 312 home and condo listings was set in March 2013, while the record high of 2,630 active listings came in September 2006.

The 467 active listings represented a 1.7-month supply at the current pace of sales. That is well short of the 11-year average of a 4.1-month supply that would indicate a market that favors neither buyers nor sellers.

“Owners who in generations past would have been selling, now are refinancing or remodeling,” said Tim Johnson, the Association’s chief executive officer. “Buyers are locked out of the market by high prices and low supply while owners are locked in place by California’s severe housing shortage.”

Yet even with constraints, a total of 191 single-family homes changed owners. That was up 9.1 percent from a year ago.

Similarly, Realtors helped close escrow on 77 condominium sales, which were up 5.5 percent from October 2018.

Not surprisingly, of the total 268 escrows closed during October, 99.3 percent were standard sales involving traditional buyers and sellers. Only one transaction was a distress sale — a single-family home that was the result of a foreclosure.

The Southland Regional Association of Realtors is a local trade association with more than 10,300 members serving the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys. SRAR is one of the largest local associations in the nation.