A for sale sign hangs in front of a home in Pacific Grove, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020.

When Colette Barss sold her Seaside home this spring, her new east Garrison-area home had been sitting on the market for about 190 days. She ended up buying it for about $60,000 under asking price. 

Today, that would be extremely unlikely. 

The price of real estate has soared across the country since the pandemic, and California isn’t immune. Across the state, home prices are up by almost 20% and the Central Coast, a tight housing market to begin with, has been squeezed even tighter with prices up an average of 25%. 

Wealthier residents of San Francisco, San Jose and even Los Angeles are flooding markets from Redding to the Central Valley, hitting each suburb in between.

Fleeing the stifling shelter-in-place brought on by the pandemic and newly endowed with the ability to work from home, Realtors say their clients are searching for bigger floor plans, lots and access to the outdoors. A larger percentage than normal are buying investment properties that can serve as a vacation home, or even a primary residence, should they decide to make the move.