Los Angeles October home sales 68% below peak
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News item from the L.A. Times: Sales of new and resale homes in L.A. County dropped 48% from year-ago levels in October, and the median sales price dropped by $25,000 from September, to $500,000, according to DataQuick. The median sales price in L.A. has now dropped 9% in two months, and sales are stuck at the lowest level DataQuick has ever measured.
Sales in L.A. County were essentially flat from September to October. DataQuick counted 4,368 sales in October -- a stunning decline of 68% from the peak October sales level of 13,535 in 2003. September sales were 67% below peak levels.
At LATimes.com, Peter Hong notes that median prices across Southern California have relinquished two years of gains, rolling back to 2005 levels.
Analysis from DataQuick President Marshall Prentice: ‘A lot of potential buyers seem to be waiting this one out. It’s hard to buy a home when you think it might lose value, especially when you have to borrow money to do it. We can expect issues with jumbo financing to slowly resolve themselves. Meanwhile, demand is accumulating and when the market does level off, there will be a catch-up period.’
More headlines:
--DataQuick describes sales levels across Southern California as remaining ‘at their lowest levels in more than 20 years.’
--The median sales price in Riverside County is down 15.1% from year-ago levels, from $412,136 to $350,000.
Analysis: There is no sign in these numbers the housing slump is easing. The sudden drop in median sales price in the last two months is due in part to the drop in jumbo mortgage financing. That said, during the peak months for median sales price -- May through August of this year -- median sales prices were inflated by the collapse of the sub-prime market.
Month L.A. Median Sales Price y/y change 12-month L.A. sales total
Jan. 07 $520,000 6.0% 108,755
Feb 07 $528,000 8.0% 107,966
Mar 07 $540,000 6.0% 105,514
Apr 07 $540,000 6.0% 103,45
May 07 $550,000 7.0% 100,160
Jun 07 $545,000 5.0% 96,513
Jul 07 $547,500 5.0% 94,478
Aug 07 $550,000 6.0% 90,985
Sept 07 $525,000 1.2% 86,610
Oct 07 $500,000 -3.8% 82,527
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