Slow housing market

November home sales in L.A. County were up sharply from a year earlier, down sharply from a month earlier, and in general going nowhere fast. Prices, too, followed the pattern of recent months, according to Dataquick. L.A.'s median was $329,000, up $4,000 from a month earlier and down $11,000 from a year earlier. From press release:

"This market is still really lopsided. Foreclosures and short sales are huge factors. There's still not a lot of discretionary buying and selling outside the more affordable markets. Anybody who can sit tight is doing just that. The market won't fully rebalance itself until financing becomes available for the higher price ranges," said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president.

Besides foreclosures, much of the action has centered on that $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, and the availability of FHA-guaranteed loans. Meanwhile, mortgages above $417,000 accounted for just 15 percent of all home loans in November, about where it's been for months. Before the credit crunch, those loans made up nearly 40 percent of purchases. In other words, nobody is buying or selling unless they absolutely have to. By the way, sales almost always decline from October to November.

NOVEMBER HOME SALES (% change from November 2008)
Los Angeles 6,257 +24.2%
Orange 2,528 +16.1%
Riverside 3,745 +0.7%
San Bernardino 2,751 +15.3%
San Diego 3,148 +17.8%
Ventura 752 +3.2%

NOVEMBER MEDIAN PRICE (% change from November 2008)
Los Angeles $329,000 -3.2%
Orange $432,250 +8.1%
Riverside $200,000 -9.1%
San Bernardino $160,000 -13.6%
San Diego $325,000 6.6%
Ventura $365,000 2.8%

Source: MDA DataQuick, DQNews.com