Local Home Sales Down 25% From Last Year
Southern California's housing market showed more signs of deteriorating in August as sales plunged more than 25% from year-ago levels and prices rose at the slowest pace in more than seven years.
The region's median sales price for all homes — including condominiums and new construction — rose 2.7% in August from the same month last year to $489,000, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a real estate information company. The annual increase for the six-county region was the smallest since July 1999, when the median price rose by an equal amount.
Prices continued to rise last month, but sales remained stuck in a tailspin. August home sales in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties totaled 25,628 properties, down 25.3% from the same month last year, according to DataQuick. Regionwide sales have posted year-over-year declines for nine consecutive months.
Sales have plunged as mortgage rates have risen from near historic lows and buyers have become more selective amid a growing inventory of unsold properties.
"There's an awful lot of moaning going on right now," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president, in a statement. "Potential buyers and sellers need to be careful what they believe and exercise common sense in their decision making.... Prices have doubled the last 4½ years. So does the market keep all of that gain, or only 90%?"
The Inland Empire, which offers some of the region's most affordable housing, posted the biggest price gains in August despite sales declines that exceeded 20%. Riverside saw the median sales price rise 7% to $415,000 and San Bernardino posted a 6.1% increase in the median to $365,000.
Price gains were much more modest in the more expensive coastal counties. Orange County, the region's most expensive market, posted a 2.6% increase in the median price to $633,000. In Ventura County, the median inched up 1% to $592,000.
Prices for Los Angeles and San Diego counties, which were released last week, also continued to weaken last month. The median sales price in Los Angeles County rose 4.7% to $517,000, while San Diego reported a 2.2% decline to $415,000, DataQuick said.
In a separate report, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that construction starts, a measure of new home construction, fell by a larger than expected 6% in August from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.665 million units.
The region's median sales price for all homes — including condominiums and new construction — rose 2.7% in August from the same month last year to $489,000, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a real estate information company. The annual increase for the six-county region was the smallest since July 1999, when the median price rose by an equal amount.
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Sales have plunged as mortgage rates have risen from near historic lows and buyers have become more selective amid a growing inventory of unsold properties.
"There's an awful lot of moaning going on right now," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president, in a statement. "Potential buyers and sellers need to be careful what they believe and exercise common sense in their decision making.... Prices have doubled the last 4½ years. So does the market keep all of that gain, or only 90%?"
The Inland Empire, which offers some of the region's most affordable housing, posted the biggest price gains in August despite sales declines that exceeded 20%. Riverside saw the median sales price rise 7% to $415,000 and San Bernardino posted a 6.1% increase in the median to $365,000.
Price gains were much more modest in the more expensive coastal counties. Orange County, the region's most expensive market, posted a 2.6% increase in the median price to $633,000. In Ventura County, the median inched up 1% to $592,000.
Prices for Los Angeles and San Diego counties, which were released last week, also continued to weaken last month. The median sales price in Los Angeles County rose 4.7% to $517,000, while San Diego reported a 2.2% decline to $415,000, DataQuick said.
In a separate report, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that construction starts, a measure of new home construction, fell by a larger than expected 6% in August from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.665 million units.
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