Capital of slow sales: Paramount, CA

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The New York Times crunched home sales numbers from across the country and found that home sales have collapsed the most dramatically in ... Paramount, Calif. Home sales dropped 78% in Paramount from the third quarter of ’06 to the third quarter of ’07.

Columnist David Leonhardt reports Paramount fits the profile of places where sales have dried up: moderate-income towns on the outskirts of big cities. His analysis: Sellers are refusing to budge, refusing to believe prices are falling: ‘We’re going through that transition where sellers can’t accept that prices are falling,’ said Gary Endo, a real estate agent in Paramount. ‘They’re still caught up in this idea that their property is worth more than it is. It’s just strange.”

Why the white picket fence in the photo? The blog featured Paramount back in June, linking to a story about its program of subsidized picket fences. Back in June, Paramount resident Jose Luis Romero (pictured), told the The L.A. Times: ‘I bought my home in 1994 for about $120,000. Now, I could get $400,000 for it, no problem.’

Your thoughts? Comments? Email story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Photo Credit: L.A. Times