LA home sale prices just set another record high

The median price of a home in Los Angeles County inched just a little higher last month compared to a year ago, but that uptick was enough to set yet another record. The number of sales also dropped significantly.

The county’s median sales price in June hit $618,000, around $3,000 higher than the same time in 2018, according to CoreLogic numbers cited by Curbed.

The modest year-over-year increase continues a trend of slowing growth that follows years of strong gains.

Coupled with slowing prices growth is slowing sales, despite the county and state’s housing shortage. Sales dropped 12.1 percent year-over-year last month. Home sales across the Southern California region were 21.6 percent below the average for June.

CoreLogic said home prices are growing beyond the reach of prospective buyers, a trend that has led to slowing down sales.

“Southern California home prices have been close to flat all year,” LePage said. “This reflects tepid demand — at least at current prices.”

It was a similar story in May — year-over-year growth was 1.7 percent and sales dropped 3 percent during that period.

Buyers who can afford to make offers at least can take advantage of cheap financing. Mortgage rates have dropped back down to below 4 percent after rates rose steadily from the fall through the spring to a peak of around 5 percent. The drop in rates means more Southern California buyers are qualified for starter home mortgages. [Curbed] — Dennis Lynch