Los Angeles home prices continued to climb last month, but the number of sales dropped, according to a new report from CoreLogic.
The median sale price in July jumped to $531,500, an 8.5 percent increase compared to the same time last year and the largest gain of all the Southern California counties. But compared to the month prior, it was just a .3 percent increase. (The July median across Southern California was $465,000.)
The number of home sales fell 12.6 percent compared to the same time last year, down to 7,285. CoreLogic research analyst Andrew LePage suggests this drop might partly be attributed to a calendar "quirk": July 2016 had two fewer business days than June 2016 and July 2015—20 business days instead of 22. A similar drop in sales (about 12 percent) was also recorded the last time this calendar quirk occurred in July.
The Orange County Register notes the, "Price drops and sales slowdowns also are typical this time of year as families take time off from house hunting for vacations and for getting kids ready for school." But LePage also chalks the market sluggishness up to daunting prices (a four-year high!), a lack of inventory, and "tight credit," says the newspaper.
Across the region, the median sale price has increased year-over-year for 52 months in a row, though, "the median's year-over-year gains have been single-digit for the last 26 consecutive months following nearly two years (22 consecutive months) of double-digit annual increases."
"The median price paid for a Southern California home in July held steady compared with June at a nine-year high," LePage said. "Although the June/July median is only about 8 percent below the all-time high recorded in the spring and summer of 2007, when adjusted for inflation it remains about 18 percent below its peak."
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