The Los Angeles housing market hit new highs over the past year, with a series of trophy properties hitting the market for more than $100 million. But new numbers published by top real estate brokerage the Agency suggest that price growth may finally be starting to slow.
Indeed, the median price for a single-family home in L.A. actually dropped by 1.9 percent in 2015, while the median price per square foot remained relatively stable at $741 per square foot, according to the report.
By contrast, the median price for a home increased by 5.7 percent in 2014 and the median price per square foot rose by 9.2 percent.
The slowdown, prompted at least in part by a rise in inventory across L.A. County, was visible in all segments of the market.
The median price for a single-family home priced between $1 million and $3 million – the largest and most active segment of the market — dropped by 1.6 percent to $1.58 million, while the median price for a home priced between $3 million and $5 million dropped by 1 percent, to $3.58 million. At the luxury end of the market, homes priced at more than $5 million sold for a median price of $7.31 million, a 1.2 percent decrease from 2014.
Sales volume of luxe properties also increased at a much slower pace than in previous years, inching up by just 5.2 percent, compared to a whopping 22 percent the previous year.
“From a valuation perspective, price per square foot inched ahead at a substantially slower clip than the preceding five years,” the report says. “Owing to the much needed increase in inventory, stabilizing prices in Los Angeles could mean smooth sailing in 2016.”
Meanwhile, condo prices also increased more slowly, with the median price for an apartment growing by just 1.1 percent year-over-year, to $750,000. That’s compared to the 3.8 percent uptick recorded in 2014.
“The decrease in average price per square foot is largely attributable to sales valuations for condos at the highest end of the market, which dipped 5.6 percent in 2015,” according to the report.