LA’s median home price stands at $619K in August

Homebuyers hoping for prices to come down amid a recession might need to keep on waiting (or give up hope).

While median home prices in Los Angeles County dipped in August after a record-setting July, they’re up year-over-year. A new report from CoreLogic pegs the median price of a home at $619,000 in August, a 0.7 percent increase from August 2018.

Homes sold for $500,000 or more accounted for 70 percent of all sales last month, up from 68.2 percent in August of last year. Overall, however, sales are sluggish year-over-year; 443 fewer homes sold last month compared to the year prior, according to CoreLogic.

“Some buyers no doubt remain parked on the sidelines, concerned about the possibility of buying near a price peak, and affordability remains a challenge for many,” says CoreLogic analyst Andrew Page.

But that’s not translating to lower prices, and some price points, especially the $800,000 to $1.7 million range, remain competitive, says Mica Campbell, a Sotheby’s agent who works primarily in Northeast Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Buyers, she says, “better be including a dear-seller letter, and they better be prepared for multiple offers.”

Still, the Los Angeles housing market has slowed considerably since last year—when home prices were climbing as much as 8 percent annually.

In the very high-end market, Compass agent Ari Afshar says properties with “aspirational” price tags are selling for “what buyers know to be real value of the market,” giving an example of a home on the Bird Streets that was asking $25 million but was scooped up for $15 million.

“We’re all hoping that this is the stabilization everyone was looking for,” he says.