Zillow: sales continue to rise on falling prices

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Zillow.com has released its housing stats for the second quarter. Los Angeles metro-area sales were up 11% over the same quarter last year, and prices were down 35% from the 2006 market peak.

As has been true for some time, high-end sellers continue to hold homes on the market longer. Some of the higher median days that homes were listed for sale were in:

Malibu: 153 days
Manhattan Beach: 127 days
Newport Coast: 120 days
Palos Verdes Estates: 127 days
Rolling HIlls: 146 days

The highest sale price per square foot, $707, was in Laguna Beach and was down 23% from a year ago.
The lowest per-square-foot price was $75 in Lancaster, down 41% from a year ago.
The full Zillow report can be accessed here.

Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist, said the rising sales in some markets were encouraging. But he warned: “There are still many hurdles to true market recovery. Foreclosure resales are buoying overall sales numbers, but their low prices are keeping home values down. Reports of increasing mortgage defaults signal that foreclosures are likely to increase again and peak in mid-2010. With increasing unemployment and high rates of negative equity, we have a fertile breeding ground for even more foreclosures, which add to the already-high level of for-sale inventory that needs to be cleared before values begin to rise.’

-- Peter Y. Hong