In the first half of 2008, as the global financial system was crashing, 27,283 Inland Empire homes were sold.
In the first six months of 2025, only 24,116 residences in Riverside and San Bernardino counties were bought, or 12% below the real estate market’s ugliest point.
This is a stark reminder, courtesy of my trusty spreadsheet, of the depths of the recent homebuying collapse using sales data from Attom. These stats track a broad swath of transactions – including houses and condos, both existing residences and newly constructed.
Think about how the pandemic era altered Inland Empire homebuying by examining some simple math: ranking first-half sales going back to 2005 .
The Inland Empire’s lowest sales count was this year. No. 2 is 2024. The third-slowest was 2023.
And bubble-squashed 2008? No. 4.
The price is wrong
In Riverside County, June’s $600,000 median selling price ranked No. 7 all-time after gaining only 1% the past three turbulent years. That’s quite a cooling from the 53% price surge between 2019 and 2022.
In San Bernardino County, June’s $525,000 median selling price ranked No. 9 all-time after gaining 3% since 2022 – a sharp reversal from the 56% jump of 2019-22.
But note the price slippage in the three years before 2008’s debacle. Riverside County was off 29%, San Bernardino County was down 25%.
Don’t overlook the role of those mid-crash discounts in spurring a homebuying rebound. Riverside sales jumped 49% in the 12 months ended June 2009. San Bernardino? Up 76%.
Who can afford it?
What’s up with this slump? Well, it’s what’s down: The number of people who can pay up for a home.
Ponder homebuying affordability indexes from the California Association of Realtors.
This study tells us that only 21% of Riverside County’s households can theoretically qualify to buy, the same as three years ago, as mortgage rates began their rise from historic lows. And 33% could qualify at mid-year 2021, when home loans were still below 4% compared to 2025’s near 7% financing costs.
It’s slightly better in San Bernardino County. Affordability was 29% this year vs. 30% three years ago and 43% in 2021.
And mid-2008 affordability? 37% for Riverside and 41% for San Bernardino.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
