Southern California home prices reached an all-time high in February as buyers competed amid a shortage of homes for sale, adding to signs that pandemic home-buying trends are extending into 2021.

The six-county region’s median sales price jumped nearly 15% from a year earlier to $619,750, according to data from real estate firm DQNews.

Sales surged 17.6% from February 2020.

The numbers, published Tuesday, show how a pandemic housing boom driven by historically low borrowing costs and by demand for more space is extending into 2021. Another factor: Many millennials are entering their early 30s — a time when many people purchase their first home.

The data show that the increase in demand, however, has not been met by a surge in listings, leading to bidding wars and subsequent higher prices.

According to Redfin, the number of new listings coming onto the market in L.A. County during the four weeks that ended March 7 was just 4% higher than in the same period last year.

And with homes selling quickly in recent months, people had 13% fewer options to choose from over that period, the data show.

Daryl Fairweather, chief economist with real estate brokerage Redfin, said more homes aren’t coming up for sale because some owners don’t want to buy another home in a tough market, and some may have refinanced at record lows and are satisfied with their mortgage.

Some wealthy owners are also choosing to buy another house farther from their jobs, she said, but holding on to their old home, unsure where they want to settle down as the pandemic recedes and the economy starts to recover.

Builders are trying to ramp up to meet demand. But that takes time, and soaring lumber costs have made projects more difficult to get off the ground.

“New construction can’t keep up with demand,” Fairweather said.

Sales and prices are rising throughout the region.

• In Los Angeles County, the median sales price rose 14.3% to $708,500 in February, while sales climbed 19.1%.
• In Orange County, the median sales price rose 9.6% to a record $820,000, while sales climbed 13%.
• In Riverside County, the median sales price rose 16.5% to a record $465,000, while sales climbed 18.3%.
• In San Bernardino County, the median sales price rose 17.7% to a record $412,000, while sales climbed 21.5%.
• In San Diego County, the median sales price rose 14.6% to a record $672,750, while sales climbed 13.8%.
• In Ventura County, the median sales price rose 13% to $650,000, while sales climbed 23.9%.

A major factor in the sales and price boom has been a drop in borrowing costs during the pandemic, with the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage falling below 3% for the first time.

Rates have been on the rise in recent weeks and now average slightly above 3%. If the economy improves, rates could keep rising, but many experts expect borrowing costs to remain low by historical standards throughout 2021.

The California housing market ended the previous year on a high note as sales remained strong in December and median house price reached another record high. The same momentum has been carried forward in 2021. In the first month of 2021, the California housing market had its largest increase in sales and pricing in 17 years. Continuing the California housing market’s hot streak, home sales record eighth straight year-over-year gain, C.A.R. reports. Year-to-date statewide home sales were up 15.9 percent in February.

Home sales and prices ease as compared to the previous month but strong buying interest continues to provide support to the market. The median price paid for all homes sold in February was $699,000, down 0.1 percent from January but up 20.6 percent from February 2020, according to new data from the California Association of Realtors. Homes are moving 56% faster than a year ago; the median time on the market was 10 days in February.

The existing single-family home sales totaled 462,720 in February on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, down 4.5 percent from January and up 9.7 percent from February 2020. The year-over-year sales gain was the eighth consecutive. Tight supply and steady demand from home buyers boosted home sales across California real estate market. All major regions, except for the Central Valley, experienced a surge in sales from a year ago.

These trends show us that the California housing market remains very competitive. Growth of sales are prices are driven by low mortgagee rates, buyers seeking more living space, and a perennial shortage of houisng supply. Homes are selling quickly with a minimal price reduction. The statewide sales-price-to-list-price ratio was 101 percent in February 2021 and 99.1 percent in February 2020. If it’s above 100%, the home sold for more than the list price. If it’s less than 100%, the home sold for less than the list price.

High demand across all California’s sub-markets means that low inventory and lightning-fast market conditions are not going away soon. There just aren’t enough homes listed for sale to satisfy the demand from buyers. C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index (UII) remains low at 2 months in February and was down sharply from 3.6 months in February 2020. The index indicates the number of months it would take to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current rate of sales.

The housing affordability index has decreased by 13% for the last quarter (Q4 2020). According to the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.), over a third (35.5 percent) of homebuyers paid more than what home sellers asked for in 2020, compared to a quarter (26.7 percent) in 2019. In fact, last year’s level is the highest in seven years and is 16 percent higher than the long-run average.

Mortgage companies could face penalties if they don’t take steps to prevent a deluge of foreclosures that threatens to hit the housing market later this year, a U.S. regulator said Thursday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warning is tied to forbearance relief that’s allowed million of borrowers to delay their mortgage payments due to the pandemic. To avoid what the bureau called “avoidable foreclosures” when the relief lapses, mortgage servicers should start reaching out to affected homeowners now to advise them on ways they can modify their loans.

“There is a tidal wave of distressed homeowners who will need help,” Dave Uejio, the CFPB’s acting director, said in a statement. “Servicers who put struggling families first have nothing to fear from our oversight, but we will hold accountable those who cause harm to homeowners and families.”

In a separate compliance bulletin released Thursday, the CFPB said that companies “that are unable to adequately manage loss mitigation can expect the bureau to take enforcement or supervisory action.”

More than 2 million borrowers as of January had either postponed their payments or failed to make them for at least three months, the bureau said. Once government-authorized forbearance plans begin to end in September, hundreds of thousands of people may need assistance getting back on track.