Home Prices, Sales Spiral in L.A. Areas

Housing sales continued strong during August, despite a continuation of the upward trend in home prices, the Los Angeles Board of Realtors reported.

The average sale price of a single-family home was $506,115, up almost $6,000 from the average price of the homes sold in July. The last figure is up nearly $108,000, or 27%, from a year ago.

A total of 296 single-family houses and condominiums were sold in the areas of the city served by the board’s 4,000 realtor members. That area extends from the Central City, Los Feliz, Hollywood, West Los Angeles, Westwood, Brentwood to Pacific Palisades but does not include Beverly Hills.

The median sale price was $425,000, up $36,000 from July and $115,000 higher than the August, 1987 median price. That is a 37% rise.

William Chin, president of the board, noted that the Pacific Palisades area “was the hot spot for August,” with 50 homes sold there, with an average price for these sales of $744,808. The second most active area was Westwood, with 35 home sales at an average price of $463,385.