The median prices of Los Angeles County homes and condominiums didn’t budge in May, but sales volume in both categories increased slightly compared with April. However, prices were significantly higher than the same time last year.
The data are suggesting that the county’s housing market, which has seen fairly steady year-over-year sales for 21 months, has passed its nadir – especially given some gains in the local jobs market.
“There’s not a ton of stability right now, but we’re seeing a very gradual ascent in prices, driven by slow and modest economic growth,” said Paul Habibi, a professor of real estate at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management who is a developer and owner of multifamily housing.
The county’s median home price was $350,000, exactly the same as in April, but slightly higher than in the first quarter of the year. Following roughly the same pattern, the median price for condos hovered at $310,000. Sales volume in both categories grew slightly, from about 4,150 to 4,380 units for homes and 1,520 to 1,560 units for condos, according to data provided by HomeData of Hicksville, N.Y.
According to statistics released last week, pending home sales in the United States rose in April beyond projections, prompting some to question whether the government’s $8,000 tax credit was artificially boosting sales. Buyers needed to enter escrow by April 30 to qualify for the credit, and the May data for Los Angeles County, which is for sales, would include any boost from prior months.
However, Habibi maintained that, given the relatively high prices of L.A. real estate, the buyer’s tax credit only created a temporary market floor and “any real boost has to come from solid fundamentals – and we’re seeing that happen now.”
Indeed, year-to-year prices were up significantly in several disparate areas including Altadena, where the median home price increased 51 percent, from $371,000 to $562,000; Beverly Hills’ 90212 ZIP code, where it jumped 37 percent from $1.7 million to $2.3 million; and Bell Gardens, where it spiked 22 percent from $252,000 to $308,000.
The most dramatic increase in sales volume involving more than a handful of houses occurred in Agoura Hills, where sales jumped 88 percent from last year to this. One area that bucked the upward trend in year-over-year pricing was Artesia, where prices dropped 41 percent.
