L.A. sales down 50% in August
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News item: The first look at August home sales in L.A. County shows sales dropped by 50% from year-ago levels. That is not a typo -- half the sales market disappeared.
Los Angeles Business Journal: ‘The expanding morgage crisis and credit crunch slammed the Los Angeles housing market in August, with home sales plunging 50% from the same month last year and 25% from July ... The pain was widespread, as only a handful of the county’s nearly 300 ZIP codes managed to eke out any sales gains.... August’s median sales price dropped slightly from its record July level to $579,000.
More: ‘Everything was great until about a month ago,’ said Beverly Hills real estate agent Syd Leibovitch. ‘Then, on one day -- Thursday, Aug. 9 -- everything changed as lenders shot up rates on jumbo loans to 9% and further tightened guidelines.... It became almost impossible to find a jumbo loan.’
Our take: We wonder if a drop-off like this is unprecedented -- anyone out there remember a month when the market dropped this sharply -- 25% from the previous 30 days? 50% from the previous year’s level? We only ask because we’re starting to believe the current downturn may not look like previous slumps. Yes, California real estate is cyclical, but as Countrywide said yesterday, this cycle is different.
Thoughts? Comments? Insights? E-mail story tips to lalandblog@yahoo.com.
Hat tip: Cal
Photo Credit: L.A. Times