The Los Angeles housing market is expected to reach a new milestone soon. The latest Zillow data shows that median listing prices for homes in the area will soon cost more than $1 million.
As of June 30, the median home listing price was $975,333, a more than 30% increase from five years ago. Some California cities, such as San Francisco and San Jose, have already crossed the $1 million mark.
California is notorious for having high living expenses, so it’s no surprise that homes in another city will soon reach the seven-figure range. The high housing costs have proved to be too much for some residents who have decided to leave the Golden State in hopes of finding more affordable housing prices elsewhere.
A July report from Storage Café found that 111,000 people, or 300 per day, decided to move from California to Texas in 2021, hoping to find cheaper housing prices.
The mass exodus of Californians in 2021 was an 80% increase compared to 2012, according to data from the U.S. Census and data company IPUMS.
The moving trend, which has been a thing for years, gained traction during the pandemic as permanent remote work became the reality for many employees. No longer saddled with the burden of living in high-cost cities, many people moved to cities in more affordable states like Texas.
But for those who still want to call California home, finding affordable housing options can be a long process but not entirely impossible.
Cities in Kern, Imperial and Tulare counties have homes that cost less than $400,000; however, they are a great distance away from popular metro areas such as L.A.
On the political front, some representatives in Sacramento think cutting the red tape on new construction could provide some relief for the ultra-expensive L.A. housing market.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat representing San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County, told KTLA in March that he has introduced multiple bills to ramp up housing production. Some of his bills, like SB 423, would help streamline and accelerate the housing permit process.
Last September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills into law that will create new housing units across the state. His office touted the signing of AB-2011 and SB 6 as a path to new housing units for low- and middle-income Californians, new jobs, and increased use of public transportation.
However, even with the updated housing legislation, it can take a long time before Californians start to see some relief in the market.
