LA home prices inch up to a new all-time high

The median price of a Los Angeles home rose just half a percentage point between June 2018 and last month. But was still enough to break an all-time record.

According to a new report from real estate tracker Corelogic, the county’s median sale price was $618,000 in June, $3,000 above the old record—set 12 months earlier. Across all of Southern California, the median sale price for homes and condos was $541,250, also an all-time record.

A year ago, LA home prices were climbing as much as 8 percent annually. The market has slowed considerably since then, but so far home values have plateaued, rather than fallen.

The 1 percent bump in home prices across the region was the lowest annual increase in June since 2011, when the Southern California housing market was still mired in a recession-era slump.

While prices aren’t coming down, the willingness of prospective buyers to make an offer may be. In LA County, the total number of home sales dropped 12.1 percent year-over-year in June. The 20,790 sales recorded across all of Southern California was 21.6 percent below the June average.

CoreLogic analyst Andrew LePage writes that in spite of relatively low mortgage interest rates and “a healthy economic backdrop,” the June market was “sluggish, suggesting many would-be buyers remained priced out or concerned about buying near a possible price peak.”

Those market conditions are likely to persist as long as home values remain at or near all-time highs.

“Southern California home prices have been close to flat all year,” LePage says. “This reflects tepid demand—at least at current prices.”

The silver lining for those with the financial means to make a purchase is that, while prices remain sky-high, an apparent shortage of buyer interest suggests home shoppers may have more negotiation power when making an offer.