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Just not much enthusiasm out there to buy or sell - and it's reflected in the January numbers from Dataquick. Homes sales in L.A. County plunged almost 25 percent from December and 6.1 percent from January 2010. It's not quite as bad as it looks - sales from December to January almost always drop sharply (the decline has averaged 28.3 percent since Dataquick began assembling housing stats in 1988). The year-over-year results are more telling - and troubling. Meanwhile, the median price of $300,000 was down 9.1 percent from December and 7.7 percent from January 2010 - probably the result of an increase in cash sales. From press release:
"Last month was sort of a flashback to January last year: Sales were lousy, but many investors and others looking for bargains stayed active. They kept working the distress-heavy, lower-cost markets through the holidays, which translated into a relatively high level of investor and cash deals closing last month. It helps explain the larger-than-usual, month-to-month dip in the median sale price," said John Walsh, DataQuick president. "Once again, we're seeing data that tells us as much about who's not buying as who is buying," he added. "Lots of potential buyers continue to hold back, waiting for a sign prices have bottomed, that their jobs are safe, or that loans are easier to get. Meanwhile, plenty of potential sellers are still waiting for a stronger market. Some could technically sell now but can't swallow the perceived loss in value compared with the market's peak. Others are 'upside down,' owing more than their homes are worth, and can't afford to budge until prices climb again."
JANUARY HOME SALES (% change from January 2010)
Los Angeles 4,908 -6.1%
Orange 1,929 +3.3%
Riverside 2,738 -13.4%
San Bernardino 2,085 -7.4%
Ventura 550 +3.8%
JANUARY MEDIAN PRICE (% change from January 2010)
Los Angeles $300,000 -7.7%
Orange $415,000 -2.4%
Riverside $190,000 -2.6%
San Bernardino $151,500 1.0%
Ventura $350,000 -2.8%
Source: MDA DataQuick, DQNews.com
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.