California Homeowners Keep Their Homes the Longest

Redfin reported that the typical homeowner stays in their house for 11.8 years, but homeowners in California—where Proposition 13 can lock owners into low property tax rates—are staying put much longer, according to a new report from Redfin.

​In Los Angeles, where homeowners hold onto their houses longer than any other metro, the median tenure in 2024 was 19.4 years —the longest span on record for the area. It’s followed by San Jose, with a median tenure of 18.3 years. Homeowners in San Francisco, San Diego and Riverside also stay put longer than the average American.

California is also home to three of the five metros with the biggest increases in homeowner tenure over the last decade according to Redfin. Providence, R.I. had the biggest uptick, hitting a median tenure of 16.8 years in 2024, up from 10.9 years in 2014. It’s followed by Los Angeles, San Jose, New Orleans and San Francisco.

California homeowners tend to hold onto their houses for a long time because a state tax law incentivizes them to do so, according to Redfin. Proposition 13, adopted in 1978, mandates that homeowners pay property taxes on one percent of their home’s assessed value, and strictly limits tax increases.

The effects of Proposition 13 on homeowner tenure have likely been exacerbated in California by the rapid rise in mortgage rates during the last three years, as many homeowners are now locked in not just by low property taxes, but also by low mortgage rates, due to the record law mortgage rates obtained by many homeowners during the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent elevation in response to central bank interest rate increases.