Southern California’s homebuying crash continues, but the depth of that collapse varies by county.
Homebuying data provider Attom has revised its sales data reaching back to 2005, using new methods to identify, from public records, a true home sale. These totals include closed transactions for houses and condos, both existing and newly built.
My trusty spreadsheet analyzed the new numbers through July 2026. Sales are still scraping the bottom, and the few buyers who close a deal are paying near record-high prices.
And the cost that really matters — the monthly house payment — has soared. That’s based on a calculation including mortgage rates, home insurance, property taxes for a buyer putting 10% down, plus the extra cost of a lower down payment.
Remember, these estimated house payments dwarf local rents, even if ownership has its perks.
Now, real estate is local. So where did all these house-hunting impediments hit hardest?
Here’s how each county stacks up, ranked by how far the past year’s sales are from the 21-year average pace.
Biggest drop: San Bernardino County
The region’s sales laggard is also home to the cheapest housing market, showing that buyers with smaller budgets are most stressed about buying.
The county’s July sales pace was 38% below normal and just 3% above the lows reached at the Great Recession bottom.
July’s median price was $533,500, the county’s 10th highest. That’s just 3% off the peak.
However, price gains over the past three years have slowed to 3% a year, after running 9% a year for the decade before.
Monthly costs? $4,505 – up 97% in five years. Plus a $53,000 down payment.
Compare that to typical rents of $2,468 – 45% less.
No. 2 Riverside County
The second-largest dip is also the second-cheapest.
Riverside’s sales pace was 36% below normal through July and just 1% above the crash low.
July’s median price hit $605,000, the county’s seventh-highest. That’s 2% shy of the peak.
But price growth over the past three years has slowed to just 1% a year, after running 9% over the previous 10 years.
Monthly costs? $5,109 – up 93% in five years. Plus a $61,000 down payment.
Compare that to typical rents of $2,573 – 50% less.
No. 3 San Diego County
Sales were 32% below normal and 8% below the crash low.
July’s $920,000 median price – the county’s second-highest – was 1% below peak.
Nevertheless, gains in the past three years cooled to 3% a year, down from 7% in the previous 10 years.
Monthly costs? $7,769 – up 110% in five years. Plus a $92,000 down payment.
Compare that to typical rents of $2,957 – 62% less.
No. 4 Los Angeles County
Sales were 31% below normal and 4% below the crash low.
July’s median price was $899,000, the county’s 11th highest. That’s 4% under the peak.
Yet price gains over the past three years have slowed to 2% a year, down from 7% over the decade before.
Monthly costs? $7,592 – up 93% in five years. Plus a $90,000 down payment.
Compare that to typical rents of $2,798 – 63% less.
No. 5 Ventura County
Sales were 31% below normal and 3% below the crash bottom.
July’s median price was $848,500, the county’s 22nd highest. That’s 6% off the peak.
Nonetheless, price gains over the past three years were only 1% a year, down from 6% over the previous 10 years.
Monthly costs? $7,166 – up 92% in five years. Plus an $85,000 down payment.
Compare that to typical rents of $2,958 – 59% less.
No. 6 Orange County
Curiously, the region’s priciest market has the smallest sales gap between 2026 and history. This reflects a broad economic truth: these are better times for folks with better incomes.
Still, July’s sales pace for Orange County was 30% below normal and was only 7% above the crash bottom.
July’s median price was $1.2 million, the county’s fifth-highest. That’s 2% under the peak.
Price gains over the past three years slowed to 5% a year, down from 7% over the previous 10 years.
Monthly costs? $10,303 – up 125% in five years. Plus a $122,000 down payment.
Compare that with typical rents of $3,221 – 69% less.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
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