Where SoCal Has Choices and Where Homes Are Scarce
· Market Pulse
Our MLS feed shows 5805 active listings on 2026-11-09, but choice varies sharply by city. Here is how to read it.
As of 2026-11-09, our MLS feed shows 5805 active listings across the cities we serve, with an overall median list price of $918,000 and median days on market of 26. An "active listing" simply means a home that is for sale and not yet under contract. The day before, the count was 5816, so the overall picture is steady. What matters for a buyer is that those homes are not spread evenly. Some cities give you a long menu, and others give you a short one.
The deepest menus in our feed are in Irvine with 667 active listings, Riverside with 531, Corona with 384, Pasadena with 333, Ontario with 314 and Rancho Cucamonga with 258. These are large cities with many neighborhoods and a steady flow of both new and resale homes, so you can compare several streets, school zones and home ages in one weekend. These counts come from our own MLS feed for the areas we serve, so treat them as a guide to relative depth rather than an official city total. If you are new to the U.S., a deeper menu is useful because you can learn the market by touring many homes before you commit.
The shorter menus right now include Hacienda Heights with 92 active listings, Tustin with 96, West Covina with 98 and Eastvale with 102. Fullerton has 118 and Diamond Bar has 122. Fewer listings means fewer choices at one time, not a weaker place to live. It does mean that if a home matches your list, you may not see another like it for a while. In that situation, being ready to act matters more than waiting for a bigger selection.
Days on market tells you how quickly homes are being taken. It counts the days from listing until a home goes under contract. In our feed, Chino shows 26 days, Hacienda Heights 27 and Pasadena 28. Diamond Bar shows 44, while Arcadia and Eastvale each show 41. A shorter number generally means you should decide faster, and a longer number generally gives you more time to inspect, think and negotiate. No single figure predicts your own outcome, because each home depends on its price, condition and location.
Price level is the other half of the picture. Our feed shows median list prices of $1,600,000 in Irvine, $1,550,000 in Arcadia and $1,491,500 in Yorba Linda. Ontario shows $663,995, Riverside $700,000 and Chino $740,000. For wider context, the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported for September 2026 median sold prices of $1,452,500 for Orange County, $946,950 for Los Angeles County, $632,990 for Riverside County and $522,370 for San Bernardino County. Those are county-level sold prices, not city figures, and they are not the same thing as the list prices above.
Financing is the next question. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week of 2026-11-05 shows a U.S. weekly average of 7.18% for a 30-year fixed loan and 6.57% for a 15-year fixed. These are national weekly averages, not a quote for you. Your own rate depends on credit score, loan size, down payment, property type and whether you will live in the home. Please ask Treasure Mortgage for a current personalised quote before you build a budget.
Here is a worked example with round numbers. Suppose you buy a $1,000,000 home as a foreign national with the typical minimum of 30% down. That is $300,000 down (30% x $1,000,000), leaving a $700,000 loan. Closing costs commonly run about 2-5% of the price, so roughly $20,000 to $50,000 (2% and 5% of $1,000,000). Property tax in California is based on a 1% base rate and commonly lands around 1.1-1.25% in practice. At 1.2% that is about $12,000 a year, or $1,000 a month (1.2% x $1,000,000 / 12). Confirm the details for your own case.
On financing for overseas buyers, foreign-national loans are passport-based, so no U.S. credit history, Social Security number or ITIN is needed. ITIN loans also exist, F-1 students can buy and borrow, and H-1B holders use the same programs as residents. A down payment can be a documented gift. For loan pricing on these programs, please see our rates page at https://tuhaousa.com/rates/ instead of relying on a guess. Escrow typically runs about 30-45 days with financing and roughly 14-21 days for cash.
A practical plan is to pick two or three cities that fit your commute, budget and school needs, then compare how many homes are available and how fast they move. In a thinner city, get your financing documents ready first. In a deeper one, take your time and compare more. If you tell Shirley your budget and target cities, she can walk you through what is actually available and what to do first.
Source: California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), California & County Sales & Price Report, September 2026: https://www.car.org/marketdata/data/countysalesactivity
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