Crushing the dreams of wannabe-homeowners just a little bit more are new indications that houses at the lower end of the market are rising in price way faster than those at the top. As the Daily News tells it, April saw the least expensive third of houses rise 20.6 percent in price over last year's numbers (looking at the per-square-foot median price paid for resale houses). Meanwhile, the most expensive third of housing stock only increased about 9.6 percent, and the middle third jumped 17.1 percent. Sales of housing under $500,000 and under $200,000 have taken a hit, with the latter plummeting 35.1 percent from last April's rate, while sales above $500,000 jumped up 9.3 percent; meanwhile, sales of $800,000 and up increased by 5.8 percent. Maybe it's because foreclosures are down, or maybe because all the investors already bought up the good houses, but the spring of anywhere-near-affordable properties appears to be all but dried up.
· Summer buying season in bloom [LADN]
· Only Rich People Can Afford to Buy Houses in SoCal Now [Curbed LA]
· LA Has Second Least Affordable Housing for the Middle Class [Curbed LA]
Filed under:
Loading comments...