Median Home Prices Dip 2% in November
Prices of single-family homes in the San Fernando Valley slipped 2% from October to November, continuing a downward trend since prices peaked in August.
The median price for a single-family house in November was $240,000, down from $245,000 in October and a record $255,000 in August, according to Southland Regional Assn. of Realtors.
“It’s very typical for this season,” association President-elect Wendy Furth said. “There’s very little to sell. Property levels are so high and there’s so little inventory that people are turning to condos.”
Furth said uncertainty throughout November about who would be the next U.S. president contributed to the decrease in home sales.
“A lot of things have been put on hold,” she said.
Jim Link, the association’s executive vice president, pointed out that prices are up 8% over November 1999. The median is the number at which half the homes sold for more, and half for less.
“It shows it’s a very healthy real estate market,” he said.
Valley home prices hit $245,000 in June 1989, then crashed--hitting a low of $155,000 in November 1995.
After some ups and downs, prices began steadily rising in 1997 and finally eclipsed the June 1989 mark this summer.
The realty group said 1,032 homes changed hands last month, down 1.1% from year-ago figures but a 7.3% increase over October. So far, 11,435 homes have been sold this year.
The median price for a condominium in the Valley was $147,500, almost the same as the October figure. But the median condo price is up 18%--or $22,600--over figures from one year ago.
Last month, 363 condos were sold, a 4.9% increase over last November but a slight decrease from October’s 397. Condo sales this year, 4,145, have surpassed last year’s sales by 205. Every November since 1998, condo sales have increased.
Yet, experts agreed that the San Fernando Valley market remained strong.
In the Santa Clarita Valley, 194 single-family homes were sold in November, down from 209 in October. The median price was $242,000, a dip from $245,000 in October. The median price for condos was $143,500, a slight decrease from October.
