“How expensive?” tracks measurements of California’s totally unaffordable housing market.

The pain: Southern California last year surpassed having 1 million homes valued at $1 million or more.

The source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed a LendingTree report looking at Census stats on owner-occupied homes worth $1 million or more in 2023 in 50 large US metropolitan areas – including seven from California.

The pinch

There were a total of 1.08 million seven-figure homes last year in Southern California’s three metro areas in this study – Los Angeles/Orange counties, San Diego County, and the Inland Empire comprising Riverside and San Bernardino counties. That’s 28% of the region’s 3.8 million residences.

Ongoing home-price appreciation – despite rising mortgage rates and slumping sales – plus construction of high-end homes helped to nudge Southern California across the million-home threshold.

The region added 97,100 abodes to the seven-figure club between 2023 and 2022 – that’s 10% growth, double the non-California pace.

Pressure points

It’s worse in Northern California.

Its four major metros in this study – San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento and Fresno – had 881,000 seven-figure homes out of 2.14 million. That’s a 41% share of all residences.

Yet Northern California last year added only 34,500 million-dollar homes, or 4%.

Elsewhere in the nation, these big price tags remain a relative luxury rarity.

The other 43 US major metros in the study had 3.75 million seven-figure homes out of 41.7 million, or 9% of all owner-occupied homes.

This out-of-California crowd added 193,400 million-dollar homes in 2023, that’s 5% more.

Depressing details

It’s likely depressing to many house hunters to see how common a million-dollar home is across coastal Southern California …

LA/OC: 36% of residences, third-largest share of the 50 US metros tracked. That’s 797,500 out of 2.19 million more than any of the 50 metros. The two counties were up 72,109 or 10%

San Diego: 35% (No 4 in US) – 224,000 out of 643,300 residences. This rose 23,431 last year or 12%.

Inland Empire: The region’s housing bargain has only 6% of its homes with seven figures, the 17th -largest slice among the 50.  That’s 60,700 out of 976,000 residences. Still, the million-dollar tally is up 1,600 home in the past year or 3%.

Or look north, where’s it’s seemingly worse near the bay …

San Jose: 72%, highest in the nation – 267,750 out of 374,100 residences (up 13,500 last year or 5%).

San Francisco: 57% (No. 2 in US) – 551,600 out of 975,000 residences (up 19,500 last year or 4%).

Sacramento: 9% (No. 13 of 50) – 53,300 out of 564,750 residences (up 1,500 last year or 3%).

Fresno: 4% (No. 28 of 50) – 8,328 out of 222,250 residences (up 74 or 1%).

Quotable

“Million-dollar homes are becoming more common not just because wealthier buyers are more interested in making purchases, but because dwindling supply has pushed the price point of ‘middle-class’ housing higher and higher,” the report said.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

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