Median price for homes in Glendale drops; inventory still light
Glendale’s real estate market stayed tight last month and the median price of a single-family home declined for only the second time this year, according to the latest real estate report.
The median price of a home fell 3.7% compared to June 2012, going from $680,000 to $655,000, according to statistics compiled by Realtor Keith Sorem with Keller Williams Realty in Glendale.
The median price of a single-family home dipped by 1.6% in March.
The market for condominiums continued to rise, however, as the median price of a condo rose 15% from $280,000 a year ago to $322,000 last month.
Realtor Hamlet Nersesian, an independent Realtor associated with Alajajian Properties in Glendale, said the city is seeing the same trend that’s sweeping across Los Angeles County.
“Prices are going up artificially as a result of not enough availability for sale and too much money that comes into the market from all directions,” he said, adding that he’s still seeing many all-cash transactions.
Housing inventory remains thin, according to Sorem’s report. There were 113 homes on the market last month, a 5% drop from 119 a year ago.
However, in a month-to-month comparison, June’s statistic is a sharp increase from May, when there only 83 homes for sale.
Homes continued to sell quickly — and for over the asking price —as potential buyers clamored around the still limited number of homes for sale.
The lack of inventory was reflected in the differential between how much a home was listed for and the price buyers actually paid. In June 2012, Glendale homes sold for 98% of listing price, while they sold for 102% of listing price last month.
Nersesian said he expects prices to start leveling out soon, at which point more inventory will come onto the market as sellers try to catch prices at their high point.
“They will want to sell now before… there is another correction [to the market],” he said.
The number of condos on the market saw a similar decline, sliding 32%, from 53 for sale in June 2012 to 36 last month.
The number of homes sold declined. Transactions on 41 homes closed last month, compared to 51 last year. Condo sales increased, however, with 45 sold last month, up from 35 in June 2012.
In the La Crescenta-Montrose area, 35 single-family homes were on the market last month, a 22% drop from 45 in June 2012, according to Sorem’s report. Forty-two homes sold last month, up from 24 a year ago.
The median price of a home in La Crescenta showed healthy growth, climbing from $498,000 in June 2012 to $658,000 last month.
In La Cañada Flintridge, the number of single-family homes for sale declined to 66, a 12% drop from 75 a year ago, but the number of homes sold rose from 21 to 31.
The median price of a home rose 44% to $1.36 million.
-- Daniel Siegal, daniel.siegal@latimes.com
Follow on Google+ and on Twitter: @Daniel_Siegal.