Socal housing market stays tepid in July

L.A. County homes sales fell 4.3 percent from the previous month, according to Dataquick, and almost 5 percent from a year earlier. The median price was $320,000, up a touch from June and down 5.6 percent from July 2010. The figures aren't all that bad, considering that sales typically dip between June and July, and that consumer sentiment has been a notch short of suicidal. From press release:

"The latest sales figures look a bit worse than they really are, given this July was a fairly short month, but they still suggest some potential homebuyers got spooked. Reports on the economy became increasingly downbeat and, no doubt, some people fretted over the possibility the country would default on its obligations," said John Walsh, DataQuick president. "If there's a shred of good news in the data it's that last month's sales weren't much worse than a year earlier. For the first time in many months, we get an apples-to-apples comparison to year-ago sales, given that in July 2010 the market lost its crutch - federal homebuyer tax credits."

Statewide, July home sales were basically unchanged from June, according to the California Association of Realtors, and down 4.1 percent from a year earlier. But given all the market tumult, it would not be surprising to see sluggish activity in August and September, and that could be a serious problem for the overall economy.

JULY HOME SALES (% change from July 2010)
Los Angeles 6,193 -4.9%
Orange 2,455 -2.8%
Riverside 3,288 -6.8%
San Bernardino 2,378 -7.0%
Ventura 735 -1.9%

JULY MEDIAN PRICE (% change from July 2010)
Los Angeles $320,000 -5.6%
Orange $437,500 -2.8%
Riverside $190,000 -5.0%
San Bernardino $151,000 -2.6%
Ventura $360,000 -2.7%

Source: DataQuick, DQNews.com