Southern California new home sales hammered by competition from foreclosures

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From Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Peter Y. Hong

The California Building Industry Assn. reports dismal sales of new homes in May. In the Los Angeles/Long Beach/Glendale area, May new home sales were down 79.4% from a year ago, according to the CBIA/Hanley Wood Market Intelligence report.
That’s 145 new homes sold, compared to 703 in May, 2007. The median sale price of $409,990 was down 23.2% from the $533,990 median price the same month a year ago.

Santa Ana/Anaheim/Irvine fared better, with new home sales down 37.2% in May compared to May 2007. The median May sale price there, $623,000 was down only 1.9% from a year ago.

The CBIA said in a statement that competition from sharply discounted foreclosed homes hurt sales, and called for passage of the housing stimulus bill now in Congress.

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