Southern California home sales drop 20 percent amid housing market shift

Posted by Irvine Sign Company

Posted by Irvine Business Sign Company

Southern California home sales fell for a fifth consecutive month in December, dropping 20.3 percent year over year as the once-hot 2018 housing market cooled considerably, real estate data firm CoreLogic reported Wednesday, Jan. 30.

It was the biggest sales drop for any month in eight years.

With one-fifth fewer homes changing hands, prices basically flattened out, ending the year up just 1.1 percent from December 2017 levels.

Area agents say multiple offers have all but vanished, price cuts are rampant and homes are taking longer to sell than in years past when a hot seller’s market gripped the region.

“I started seeing things slow down,” said Noel Palmieri, a Century 21 agent based in the San Gabriel Valley. “We weren’t getting the showings like we were. Things weren’t flying off the shelf the way they were.”

In all, owners sold 15,781 Southern California homes last month, about a third fewer than the December average, CoreLogic figures show.

The sales drop reflects a variety of factors, CoreLogic Analyst Andrew LePage said.

“Mortgage rates hit a 2018 high in November, affecting December closings, and stock-market volatility created an additional headwind in high-end markets,” he said. “Meanwhile, some would-be buyers remain priced out or unwilling to buy amid concerns that prices have overshot a sustainable level.”

The median price of a Southern California home – or the price at the midpoint of all sales – was $515,000, just $5,500 more than the median paid a year earlier.

It was the smallest year-over-year price gain since March 2012.

The tiny gain reflects in part a shift in the mix of homes sold, LePage said. The higher end of the market represented a slightly smaller share of homes sold than in December 2017.

Home price gains were well below average throughout the six-county region, ranging from a 1.6 percent increase in Orange County to a 4.1 percent gain in Riverside County. Gains averaged from 6.1 percent to 7.3 percent during the previous 11 months.

Here’s a breakdown of price and sales numbers by county for December:

• Los Angeles: Price: $581,500, up 2 percent; sales: 5,291, down 20 percent.
• Orange: Price: $708,500, up 1.6 percent; sales: 2,260, down 26 percent.
• Riverside: Price: $380,000, up 4.1 percent; sales: 2,938, down 14.6 percent.
• San Bernardino: Price: $329,750, up 2.1 percent; sales: 1,992, down 21.5 percent.
• San Diego: Price: $550,000, up 1.9 percent; sales: 2,642, down 22.2 percent.
• Ventura: Price: $575,000, up 2.1 percent; sales: 658, down 13.5 percent.

[Read More ...]

Posted by Irvine Sign Maker

For Free Sign Estimate Visit: Lighted Channel Letters Irvine ca

Posted by https://goo.gl/TXzGV5