Market Update December 2021
Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park
By: Michael Rice | December 3, 2021
Released December 3, 2021
My View From Inside
In spite of the end-of-year slowdown, home prices continued to shoot up in November. The median home price for a Conejo Valley home jumped 19% to $1,014,500.
It’s hard to believe that even after the massive appreciation in home prices over the last several years, the consensus opinion is for home prices to continue up in 2022 and beyond.
CA Association of REALTORS Forecast 2022:
| Median Price | 5.2% |
| Number of Sales | -5.2% |
| Mortgage Interest Rates | 3.5% |
Nationwide:
What’s driving this high demand and appreciation?
- The flight to the suburbs – With work-from-home flexibility, many buyers are moving to the Conejo Valley for excellent schools, more space, and an overall easier lifestyle. Which leads us to…
- Low inventory – We ended the month with barely 300 homes for sale in the Conejo Valley which is the lowest I’ve ever seen. However, keep in mind that’s the existing inventory of homes that aren’t already in escrow. New listings consistently come on the market, but the good homes don’t last long enough to be included in the inventory number.
- Low interest rates – Yes, rates are forecast to increase in 2022 to an average of 3.5% from about 3% today. That’s still historically low and a half a point increase isn’t significant enough to put a damper on buying demand.
The most important lesson home buyers had to learn in 2021 was to be prepared to go all in. Competition is likely to be high again in 2022. Now is the time to start positioning yourself to be successful in 2022. Here are 12 home buying mistakes to avoid in 2022.
DECEMBER 2021 CONEJO VALLEY REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE
- The median price of a Conejo Valley home was up 19% in November to $1,014,000 vs $852,500 last year.
- The number of homes for sale dropped 41% to just 310 homes for sale versus last year and is trending downward.
- 89 homes hit the market in November which is only about 3 listings per day – historically low.
- Mortgage rates remain at about 3% for most borrowers, but the days of sub 3% mortgages are likely behind us for now.
What Should We Expect Going Forward
- Expect a very slow month of December for new listings since most sellers will wait to list in the new year.
- And sellers with older listings more open to negotiation hoping to sell before the end of the year.
- Expect bargain shoppers to be out in full force looking for deals from motivated sellers.
- As many indicators point to a strong local housing market in 2022.
What's The 2022 California Forecast?
According to the California Association of REALTORS
- The median price of a home is expected to increase 5.2% in 2022.
- The number of home sales is expected to decrease by 5.2%.
- Interest rates are expected to average 3.5% on a 30 year fixed mortgage.
Market Snapshot
Price
- The median price of a Conejo Valley home was up in November at $1,014,500.
- That’s now 17 consecutive months up.
- Prices are up 19% from $852,500 last November.
- And up $79,500 from last month.
Homes for Sale
- November ended with 310 homes for sale.
- Down 41% from last November.
- That’s 214 fewer homes than last year.
- And 74 fewer homes than last month.
Days to Sell a Home
- It took 44 days on average to sell a home in November.
- Down 14% from last November.
- That’s 7 fewer days than last year.
- And 4 mores day than last month.
Interest Rates
Median Prices by City
(Prices are for October 2021. City data is two months behind. Keep in mind that low volume of sales can cause large price fluctuations.)
| City/County | # Sold | Oct 2021 | Oct 2020 | Y-T-Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County | 982 | $725,000 | $655,000 | 10.7% |
| San Fernando Valley | 1,211 | $848,000 | $745,000 | 13.8% |
| Agoura Hills | 36 | $973,000 | $855,000 | 13.8% |
| Calabasas | 48 | $2,149,000 | $1,628,500 | 32.0% |
| Camarillo | 114 | $700,000 | $657,000 | 6.5% |
| Moorpark | 50 | $800,000 | $682,500 | 17.2% |
| Newbury Park | 58 | $913,500 | $820,000 | 11.4% |
| Oak Park | 27 | $955,000 | $900,000 | 6.1% |
| Simi Valley | 192 | $720,000 | $635,000 | 13.4% |
| Thousand Oaks | 115 | $848,000 | $742,000 | 14.3% |
| Westlake Village (Ventura County) | 27 | $1,300,000 | $1,250,000 | 4.0% |
| Westlake Village (L.A. County) | 17 | $1,060,000 | $1,406,000 | -24.6% |
| Woodland Hills | 111 | $1,070,000 | $935,000 | 14.4% |
