Double-Dip Housing Plunge? Not Now in L.A.

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Despite a national housing market that’s verged into double-dip territory, Los Angeles County home prices resisted the trend in May.

The median price of a home remained at $340,000 for the second straight month, whilecondo prices did even better, rising $22,000, or 8 percent, to $297,000, according to Home- Data of Hicksville, N.Y.

However, with both home and condo sales down a fraction of a percent since April (when adjusted for the number of sales days each month), few were excited by the figures.

“It’s a continued trend of numbers that are lower than what we are hoping,” said David Kissinger, director of government affairs at the South Bay Association of Realtors. “The economic recovery is taking longer than anyone would desire.”

The latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of U.S. housing prices showed 20 metropolitan areas hit new lows in March since the burst of the housing bubble.

But the index also indicated that Los Angeles and Orange counties were doing better, with prices at 5.4 percent above lows hit in 2009. The May figures from HomeData indicate the pattern is holding.

Los Angeles County median homes prices hit a post-bust low of $303,000 in April 2009 but have not fallen below that level even with the coming and going of a federal home buyers credit.

The $8,000 credit toward the purchase of a first home, which expired last spring, boosted median prices to $359,000 last September before they fell again, to $325,000 this February. This spring, prices recovered a bit before steadying.

However, Kissinger, like other analysts, believes that the housing market will remain weak as long as the economy is fragile. “We are certainly looking to see the job situation improve. People need to get hired and get a regular paycheck to pay for housing,” he said.

Among the county’s ritziest neighborhoods, the housing market showed inconsistency.

In Malibu, 10 homes sold for a median price of $1.68 million, 17 percent higher than a year ago. However, in nearby Pacific Palisades, 17 homes sold for $1.57 million, 17 percent lower than last year. Similarly, prices were down in Beverly Hills, while up slightly in Brentwood.

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