LA homes are selling in 30 days or less

Sales of Los Angeles homes surged in March, according to a new report from the California Association of Realtors, while sale prices dropped off about 1 percent from February numbers.

The median sale price in Los Angeles County was $465,810 in March, down from $470,200 in February but well above the $441,700 price that median single family homes were selling for one year ago.

If those prices seem low, that’s probably because the association does not factor newly constructed homes into its calculations, which are typically more expensive. For comparison, a recent report from CoreLogic, which does include new houses in its analyses, found the county’s median sale price in February was $525,000.

The association’s data suggests that, even while statewide prices rose 4 percent since February, LA County isn’t quite seeing the same bump in cost for homebuyers. That trend may not last long, though, with the number of sales rising and homes spending less time on the market.

According to the report, total sales were up an impressive 45 percent since last month and 8 percent over March of last year.

Meanwhile, the median amount of time homes spent on the market before finding a buyer dropped below 30 days—from 38.8 in February and 43.2 last March. That’s the shortest amount of time on the market in at least more than a year, according to the association’s available data.

The group’s president, Geoff McIntosh, suggested that strong sale numbers statewide may be the result of rising interest rates and persistent warnings of future hikes that have inspired homebuyers to make purchases sooner rather than later.

Whatever the reason, the uptick in sales has cut into the total supply of homes available for purchase—which could in turn lead to higher prices down the road.

• The number of homes sold in LA dropped in February [Curbed LA]
• LA County’s median home price rises to $525K [Curbed LA]
• More than half of LA homes sold for over $1 million in February [Curbed LA]