Across California, home prices have continued rising while incomes haven’t kept pace. In Orange County, for example, buying an average home now takes more than a six-figure income. Listings that would have sat for months a decade ago draw multiple offers and sell in about two weeks, with sellers collecting nearly their full asking price. For many young people, the math reads like a door closing on ownership altogether.
The shortage behind those bidding wars never went away. Inventory sits below where it stood before 2020, and new construction is only part of the reason it remains thin. Some of the people who sold and left the state to wait out prices are discovering that the way back in is harder than the way out.
Louis DiGonzini, a Southern California real estate broker and founder of the DiGonzini Group, joins us again with listings stretching from Bakersfield to San Diego and clients ranging from 24 to 85 years old. He explains who is actually buying in this market, where the openings still are, and what he tells young buyers who are convinced they were born too late to own a home in California.
00:00 - Introduction 01:19 - Real Estate Market Overview 03:45 - Pre-Approval and Market Opportunities 10:00 - Inventory Shortage and Government Policies 18:11 - Opportunities and The Path to Home Ownership
