House, Condo Sales Decline 15% in June
Sales of existing single-family houses and condominiums in the San Fernando Valley in June fell 15% from the previous month as a record number of properties went begging for buyers, the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors said Monday.
The board said the early June collapse of Mike Glickman Realty, one of the Valley’s biggest real estate companies, probably slowed sales and contributed to the increase in listings of unsold housing. A record 4,223 listings came to the market last month, lifting the total number of active listings to a record 13,749 properties, the board said.
“The new-listings total was distorted because of the number of properties previously listed with Mike Glickman Realty that were canceled and re-listed with other companies,” Jim Link, the board’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “Those were considered new listings when, in reality, they were properties that have changed from one company to another.”
Regardless, the Glickman failure only added to what is already a sharp slowdown in the housing market. The sales of 751 single-family houses in June not only fell from 882 in May, they also were off 38% from the 1,209 sold a year earlier.
And there has been no significant falloff in prices to lure buyers. The average price of the single-family houses that were sold last month inched up 0.5% from May, to $307,800 from $306,400. Last month’s average price was also virtually unchanged from a year ago, when it was $308,100.
The median price climbed even more last month, 2.5%, to $240,900 from $235,000 in May, and it was down only 2% from $245,000 in June, 1989, the board said. The median price means half the houses sold for more than that price, and half sold for less.
“Properties priced under $280,000 continue to sell at a very healthy pace,” board President Becky Roberts said in a statement. “But in price ranges traditionally dominated by the trade-up market, buyers inexplicably appear to be waiting when they should be negotiating while the inventory is at record high levels.”
Meanwhile, sales of condominiums last month totaled 287, down from 339 in May--and a decline of 22% from the 369 sold a year earlier. The average condominium resale price was $155,600 in June, up 2% from $153,100 in May and up 9% from $143,400 a year earlier. The median price for condominiums sold last month was $140,000, down 1% from $141,500 in May and up 9% from $128,500 a year ago.
JUNE VALLEY HOUSE SALES
NORTH WEST Avg. Price: $301,900 Sales: 33
NORTH CENTRAL Avg. Price: $292,200 Sales: 126
NORTH EAST Avg. Price: $182,143 Sales: 143
SOUTH WEST Avg. Price: $335,400 Sales: 151
SOUTH CENTRAL Avg. Price: $384,200 Sales: 101
SOUTH EAST Avg. Price: $326,400 Sales: 197
