LA home sales continue slide: Douglas Elliman report

The number of closed home sales have fallen in Los Angeles County as mortgage interest rates have climbed. The slide continued in October, according to the Elliman Report, which was compiled for brokerage Douglas Elliman by the Miller Samuels real estate consulting firm.

New sales declined for October by 46.7 percent in L.A. County in a year-over-year comparison, but report author Jonathan Miller wrote that the year-over-year comparisons have been distorted by the high numbers of the 2021 boom. In a month-to-month comparison, new sales declined 13 percent. In October, 2,022 home sales closed compared to September when 2,308 sales closed.

One of the biggest declines came in luxury, defined as single-family homes priced at more than $5 million. There was a 52 percent decline in a year-over-year comparison. In the month-to-month comparison, there was a 19 percent decline. In October 33 houses priced more than $5 million were sold compared to 40 houses with asking prices more than $5 million in September.

For residential agents on the hunt for listings, the report contained some mixed statistical news.

There was an uptick in available listings in October, as the number of L.A. County homes on the market increased 5.2 percent in a year-over-year comparison.

But when monthly data is compared, there was a 5 percent dip in available listings. In October, there were 2,426 houses listed in the county; in September there were 2,559 listings.

Douglas Elliman’s October report agreed with information coming from other groups taking the pulse of the market. Research from the Redfin listing site said that pending sales in Los Angeles declined 59 percent in the four weeks ending Oct. 23 compared to the same time period in 2021.

Stephen Kotler, chief executive officer of Douglas Elliman’s Western Region, said that there’s still business in the market, despite the Federal Reserve Bank’s 0.75 interest rate increase on Nov. 2.

“(The) rate hike won’t have an effect on the market. The Fed forecast where it is going. So it’s no surprise,” Kotler said. “There are still buyers out there. They are more focused on affordability than interest rates. They are adjusting their expectations of what they are going to buy. Instead of a $3 million house, they’ll look at a house priced more at $2 million.”