Homeowners in California’s Big Cities Stay Put Nearly Twice as Long as National Average, Report Finds

Low property taxes in the Golden State are keeping people in their homes longer, according to Redfin.

A home for sale in San Jose, Calif., on Aug. 15, 2024. Loren Elliott/Getty Images

Low property taxes are keeping homeowners in California’s major cities in their houses nearly twice as long as the average U.S. homeowner, real estate company Redfin reported March 12.

The typical Los Angeles homeowner stays in his house for 19.4 years before moving, longer than homeowners in any other U.S. city and the longest span on record for the area, Redfin reported.

“Long-term homeowners tend to have low monthly payments,” said Gregory Eubanks, a Redfin Premier agent in Los Angeles, in the report. “If they were to move—even using their equity as a down payment—they would have a much higher monthly payment because home prices and interest rates have soared over the last several years.”

In San Jose, about 55 miles southeast of San Francisco, the median tenure of homeowners reached 18.3 years.

Homeowners in San Francisco, San Diego, and Riverside also stayed in their homes longer than the average American, according to Redfin.

Nationwide, the median homeowner stay was 11.8 years, down from a peak reached during the COVID-19 pandemic, but nearly double what it was in the early 2000s, according to the report.

The typical U.S. homeowner stayed put for 6.5 years in 2005. That number gradually increased over the next 15 years, probably because the nation’s population is aging, and older people are less likely to move, Redfin reported.

California’s Proposition 13, passed in 1978 as a constitutional amendment, limits property taxes to 1 percent of a home’s assessed value at the time of purchase, though it does allow for additional taxes to cover voter-approved bond issues to provide local services.

Also, assessed values in California can increase no more than 2 percent per year, unless there is a change in ownership or new construction. The assessed value is determined each year by the county.

California is home to three of the five U.S. cities—Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Francisco--with the biggest increases over the past decade in length of time their homeowners stay put.

Los Angeles increased by 4.8 years, followed by San Jose at 4.6 years, and San Francisco at 4.2 years.

Providence, Rhode Island, had the largest increase, 5.9 years, mainly fueled by an aging population. New Orleans recorded the fourth-biggest increase with 4.4 years.

The report was based on a Redfin analysis of median homeowners in the United States in 2024, using county records. The data go back through 2005, according to the company.

“Many older homeowners are adding on and creating a multigenerational home, with their kids and grandkids moving onto the property,” Eubanks said. “And even many people who do move hang onto their house and rent it out because low property taxes and low monthly payments make them view it as a financial asset.”

The Redfin report also noted that in 2020, California voters passed Proposition 19, which lets older homeowners keep their low property tax base when they move, even if the new home is more expensive. “It’s unclear how effective Prop. 19 has been at freeing up housing inventory,” the report said.

On the lower end of the spectrum, homeowners in Louisville, Kentucky, remained in their homes for an average of eight years, which was the shortest stay in the nation in 2024. Las Vegas recorded an average of 8.4 years, while Charlotte, North Carolina, reached an average stay of 8.7 years.

The typical home value in each of these cities is under $440,000, compared with about $900,000 in Los Angeles and $1.5 million in San Jose, according to Redfin’s report.

Long-term homeownership is an obstacle for first-time buyers nationwide, the report said, “because it contributes to the country’s housing shortage and pushes sale prices higher.”