Condo prices in DTLA are up to nearly $600K, report says

Condo prices in Downtown LA rose 2.4 percent in the first three months of this year, shows a new report from real estate firm Douglas Elliman.

From January to March, condos in DTLA sold for a median price of $599,000, up from $585,000 in the same time period last year. And, the average DTLA condo spent 67 days on the market—a drop from 82 days in the first quarter of 2016.

The report also looks at what it calls Greater LA, which, in addition to DTLA, includes the Westside and Central LA (but leaves out several important parts of LA, such as the Valley and South Los Angeles). Across that area, the average sales price, median price per square foot, and median price are all up year-over-year, the report found.

The median price in “Greater LA” in the first quarter of 2017 was $1.45 million—a 5.9 percent increase over the same period last year.

Courtesy of Douglas Elliman

The number of homes for sale, on the other hand, dropped slightly by .2 percent. But that’s significant, because, “it’s the first time more than a year that we haven’t seen inventory rise,” says Jonathan Miller, of Miller Samuel, who prepared the report. There was also a slight drop in the number of sales, compared to the first quarter of 2016.

“When you see prices rising and sales level off, there’s some concern that you have affordability holding back purchase activity,” says Miller. “Inventory’s sort of stuck and that’s keeping sales from rising.”

It’s a seller’s market, and the market remains tight, but Miller says there’s evidence that sellers are willing to negotiate.

He points to an increase in the year-over-year “listing discount,” which is the difference between what a house sells for and what it lists for, is increasing. In the first three months of 2017, the average listing discount was 3.5 percent—up from 2.4 the same time last year.

“In this market, it is a little more likely that the sellers are traveling further over the 3.5-percent gap to meet the buyer than the other way around, since sales slipped, suggesting buyers are a little more resistant,” says Miller.

View the full report here.

• Greater Los Angeles Sales [Douglas Elliman]