Home sales, prices climb

Despite overall home sales being down in December 2005 from a year earlier in Southern California (30k vs. 28k or minus 4.5%), numbers provided by DataQuick Information Systems show Riverside and San Bernardino counties continue to buck local trends with sales increases of 16.5% (6,305) and 5.7% (4,580) respectively.

2005
Sycamore Creek
Temescal Valley

Along with the sales increase has been a steady rise in median prices as well, now pegged at $411k (Riverside) and $361k (San Bernardino). Overall, Southern California's median home price stands at $479k, up from $424k in December 2004 (a 13% increase).

With that said, a report by Demographia lists the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario housing market as the 9th least affordable major urban market among 6 nations surveyed (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States). Of course, this high-ranking owes itself partly to buyer spillover from neighboring Los Angeles-Orange and San Diego markets, which, according to the report, were ranked #1 and #2 respectively.

It's hard to say exactly where the local housing market stands in worldwide terms (the variables simply seem too great). But without a doubt, affordable housing anywhere within Greater Los Angeles indeed is becoming difficult to find these days.

On a related note, Inland Southern California's apartment rental market led the West in year-to-year price increases, rising 7.3% to an average of $1,086.

Related

• Riverside Press-Enterprise - Inland home prices draw closer to coast


• Riverside Press-Enterprise - Inland region posts highest rent increases