Southern California home price hit a record-high $550,000 in December as buying jumped 22% in a year, CoreLogic/DQ News data indicates.

Cheaper mortgage rates, a shrinking supply of existing homes to choose from, plus a resilient economy got house hunters in a buying mood as 2019 ended. Here are 13 local housing trends within the report …

1. Regional sales: 19,337 residences — new and existing — sold in December in six SoCal counties. That’s up 22.1% in a year, the biggest jump in 37 months. But the region’s latest sales count still is 17% off the December average of 23,317 since 1988.

2. Price: SoCal’s median was $550,000 — up 7.2% over 12 months, the biggest jump in 22 months. That breaks the record of $549,000 set in November.

3. Single-family houses: 12,873 sold in the six counties, up 20.1% in a year. The median selling price was $570,000 — an 8.6% increase over 12 months.

4. Condos: 4,133 sales across the region, up 27.2% over 12 months. Median? $470,000 — a 6.8% increase in a year.

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5. Newly built: Local builders sold 2,331 new homes, up 25.3% in a year. Median? $578,750 — an 0.8% increase over 12 months.

6. Builder share: 12.1% of SoCal sales vs. 11.7% a year earlier. Between 1998 and 2018, new homes accounted for 13.4% of all homes purchased.

7. County by county: Sales rose in six SoCal counties in the past 12 months while prices rose in five.

8. Los Angeles County: 6,293 sales, up 18.4% over 12 months. Median? $628,250 — a 7.4% year’s increase.

9. Orange County: 3,109 sold, up 36.9%. Median? SoCal’s highest at $732,750 — a 3.2% increase.

10. Riverside County: 3,473 sales, up 17.9%. Median? $401,250 — a 6.9% increase.

11. San Bernardino County: 2,411 sold, up 21.5%. Median? SoCal’s cheapest at $355,000 —a 7% increase.

12. San Diego County: 3,282 sales, up 24.1%. Median? $575,000 — a 4.5% increase.

13. Ventura County: 769 sold, up 14.9%. Median? $569,000 — a 1% decline.

Let’s not forget that for much of late 2018 and early 2019, higher mortgage rates and a cooler economy suggested the housing market might tumble.

That brief period of homebuying angst is a key reason why last year’s 228,884 regional sales total was 1% below 2018’s pace and was below the 234,091 annual average since the Great Recession ended in 2009.

Still, as 2020 started, the region’s tight inventories continue, but that’s not deterring house hunters, according to ReportsOnHousing. It tracks brokers’ listing services to gauge existing homes are for sale and pending sales contracts.

Here are conditions as of Jan. 9 in the six-county region …

Listed for sale: 30,242 residences on the market, down 28% in a year.

New escrows: 10,273 deals signed in the previous 30 days, up 16% in a year.

Selling speed: 86 days of “market time” — listings vs. escrows — down 56 days in a year.

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