L.A. listing prices slip another $900

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Listing prices in greater L.A. slipped by $900 over the past week as inventory held steady, as the housing market showing signs of possible stabilization, according to Housing Tracker’s weekly analysis of MLS listings.

Numbers: Median listing prices slipped from $449,900 to $449,000. That’s a decline of 17.6% over the past year. Inventory of for-sale homes and condos held steady at 42,532, and is now trending just 8.8% ahead of year-ago levels.

Signs of stabilization? Possibly. Does that mean we’re near a bottom? Not necessarily. This is an unusual market, with foreclosure sales taking a greater market share each month, now closing in on 40% of the California market, according to DataQuick’s report on April sales. There’s no sign the wave of foreclosures has crested. We haven’t seen a market like this before. Uncharted territory.

Date Median listing price Inventory

4/06 $579,666 27,251
4/07 $545,000 35,489
5/07 $545,000 38,297
6/07 $540,000 40,766 (up 20.4% y/y)
7/07 $535,000 42,685 (up 14.5% y/y)
8/07 $529,000 44,483 (up 13.6% y/y)
9/07 $520,000 46,414 (up 16.9% y/y)
10/07 $510,000 46,603 (up 15.6% y/y)
11/07 $499,900 46,503 (up 19.0% y/y)
12/07 $495,000 (down 10.0% y/y) 43,174 (up 28.2% y/y)
1/08 $479,900 (down 12.6%) 40,850 (up 33.3% y/y)
2/08 $475,000 (down 13.5%) 43,625 (Up 38.3%)
3/08 $464,900 (down 15.5%) 42,098 (Up 31.4%)
4/08 $450,000 (down 17.4%) 42,430 (up 16.7%)
5/5/08 $450,000 (down 17.4%) 42,647 (up 13.7%)
5/12/08 $449,900 (down 17.4%) 42,532 (up 11.1%)
5/19/08 $449,000 (down 17.6%) 42,532 (up 8.8%)

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