L.A.’s median home price hits record high of $960K

Los Angeles housing prices continue to hit record highs, thanks to tight inventory and high demand from local and foreign buyers alike.

The median price of a home in the greater Los Angeles area jumped to $960,000 in the fourth quarter of last year, an 8.5 percent uptick from the same period last year and an all-time record, according to a new report by real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman.

The average price per square foot for a property in the area also broke records, coming in at $757 a foot.

The luxury market is certainly hot but the level of price growth is not a case of a few megamansions tilting the scales, experts said.

“It’s not that the luxury market is skewing prices up,” said appraiser Jonathan Miller, who prepared the report on Elliman’s behalf. “It’s that the overall market is rising.”

Indeed, the property types that saw the biggest rises in price were actually one- and two-bedroom homes, for which prices went up by 14.4 percent and 10.4 percent respectively.

“Price growth is stronger bottom to top,” Miller said.

As for the areas seeing the biggest jumps in pricing, Beverly Hills hit a new high, with the median price of a single-family home increasing by 54.6 percent to $5.49 million, and West Hollywood posted a gain of 67.1 percent, with a median sales price of $1.51 million, the report shows.

Meanwhile, prospective sellers are starting to take notice of the rising tide and are listing their homes. Inventory grew by 17.8 percent year-over-year, with 2,139 homes listed for sale last quarter.

Still, it’s unlikely to impact price growth, Miller said.

“It’s not enough to make a dent,” he said.