The Ventura County, Calif., housing market is enjoying a strong start to the spring selling season, but a lack of midrange housing inventory remains an issue that is pushing prices higher.
Spring is typically a prosperous period for home sellers and real estate professionals, and Ventura County kicked off the season with 22,042 homes being sold in March. It was the highest number of sales in the region in the month of March since the Great Recession, according to data from CoreLogic, an Irvine-based firm that tracks the housing industry.
Although sales have continued to improve in the county and in Southern California as a whole throughout the past decade, making snap judgments from month-to-month reports is ill-advised, as they don't necessarily indicate a trend, said Andrew LePage, a CoreLogic research analyst. LePage noted that home prices have steadily climbed alongside sales numbers, which could create problems, given Ventura County's limited housing supply and slow economic growth. While high demand is advantageous for the county's home sellers, it is troubling for potential homeowners, LePage said.
"I wouldn't read too much into any month-to-month sales increase, but if we continue to see this build over the next few months, that might be a different conversation," LePage said. "Affordability has long been a concern in Ventura County and though there's housing demand, there is not a lot of supply being added and prices are continuing to go up. If you're a seller, you're probably pretty pleased because of healthy sales in March, but if you'd like to own in Ventura County, that's not good news because of price increases."
Local real estate agents and economic experts agree that the most pressing issues facing Ventura County's housing market are in its midrange properties, which are generally priced between $400,000 and $700,000. Perpetually high demand and a similarly steady lack of supply is pushing home prices up, which presents issues given that the county's economy — and therefore jobs that pay a livable wage — is not keeping pace with midrange home prices, said Dan Hamilton, director of economics at California Lutheran University's Center for Economic Research and Forecasting in Thousand Oaks.
"Construction is slow because it is hard to find land that is appropriately zoned to build on," Hamilton said. "Construction of midrange housing takes up a lot of property. In a lot of metropolitan areas, home appreciation rises when the growth of the economy rises. But here limited inventory means those trying to buy a moderately priced home end up bidding up the prices because there are more families trying to buy than there are people trying to sell."
While midrange properties are facing severe supply-and-demand issues, Hamilton noted that lower-end properties are faring at least somewhat better. Although a sheer lack of appropriate building space is constricting construction of midrange housing, cheaper alternatives such as condominiums, attached homes and other projects take up comparatively less property and are therefore easier to approve, Hamilton said. That said, he added that construction of new lower-range properties is not something buyers can count on happening on a regular basis.
Many properties across the county are being purchased almost as quickly as they're listed, said Brian Nix, a local real estate agent with RE/MAX Gold Coast Realtors who primarily deals in midrange housing. Nix noted that due to the competitive sellers' market and high midrange prices, potential buyers would be wise to seek out more affordable housing options.
"Though spring has been a bit light due to lack of inventory, everything is moving very quickly, and anything that is priced well is moving within a couple of weeks, if it even stays up that long," Nix said. "Anything under $500,000 is selling very quickly because it's a strong sellers' market. Potential homeowners should keep their options open and people, especially first-time homebuyers or millennials, should keep an eye on the county's more affordable markets."
Despite continued price increases, Ventura County's housing market is more affordable than some other parts of Southern California.
Of the six counties analyzed for CoreLogic's Southern California housing data report, Ventura County ranked third in median March sales prices, at $538,000. Orange County and Los Angeles County were more expensive, at $665,000 and $549,000, respectively. San Diego County was only slightly cheaper than Ventura County, at $515,000. On average, Riverside and San Bernardino offered the most affordable housing of the listed counties, at $352,955 and $305,000, respectively.
Ventura County's March median price was still up 8.4 percent from the same month last year, when the figure stood at $497,000. Overall home prices in the six-county area rose 7.1 percent during that period.
For potential homeowners such as Santa Barbara resident and nurse Lydia Thompson, Ventura County's housing market is appealing despite its issues. Thompson, 39, and her husband, Brody, decided to search for homes in Ventura County because they are affordable compared to Santa Barbara, even with the daily commute in mind.
"Homes in Ventura County are more affordable compared to Santa Barbara," Lydia Thompson said. "There's actually more inventory here than in Santa Barbara for the lower and lower midrange properties. You can find the neighborhood that you're looking for."
Regardless of the severity of issues facing Ventura County's midrange market, the higher-end market is undeniably thriving in the county and nearby areas, experts say. Hamilton noted that higher-end neighborhoods in Thousand Oaks and the neighboring Los Angeles County cities of Westlake Village and Agoura Hills receive a great deal interest and influxes of cash due to their attractive properties.
That's a sentiment shared by Fred Evans, a real estate agent who specializes in high-end markets with Remax Gold Coast Realtors. The difference between midrange and high-end markets is stark, and while the former's issues are causing a variety of struggles, potential high-end homeowners are enjoying a flexible and appealing market.
"Low inventory has caused some bidding wars, and some sellers are intentionally underpricing their properties so they can get more offers," Evans said. "On the lower end, there's probably less supply and more demand, but on the higher price point, $700,000 and up, there's quite an inventory."
Still, Evans noted that Ventura County offers several significant benefits to potential homeowners. The county's pricing and midrange inventory issues notwithstanding, the region is nonetheless more financially accessible than neighboring counties and offers a particularly high quality of life, Evans said.
"The biggest advantage buying here is that we're still less expensive than other parts of Southern California," Evans said. "People are buying retirement or secondary homes because this is an area that they want to come to. You might need to drive into the valley for work, but potential homeowners still do it for the price advantage, weather and lifestyle here."
