REAL ESTATE
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Housing: prices drop; sales surge
Sales jump 17.1 percent over July ’07. However, the median price is down 28 percent.
By Susan BelknappPublished: August 19, 2008 01:45 PM
DataQuick reported yesterday that the number of Southern California homes sold last month edged up to its highest level in more than a year as foreclosures were bought up by bargain hunters. This was the first time since September 2005 that sales rose above the same month, year-ago level.
A total of 20,329 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties in July. That is up 16.7 percent from the previous month and up 13.8 percent from July last year.
According to DataQuick, last month’s sales were the highest since 21,856 homes sold in March 2007. From last September through June, sales for each month were at an all-time low for that calendar month, with the exception of April, which was second lowest.
The median price for a Southland home was $348,000 last month, down 31.1 percent from its peak of $505,000 that was reached in March, April, May and July of 2007. The median has fallen because of depreciation, especially in the inland market, and because of a steep drop in home financing in the jumbo category, which until recently was loans above $417,000.
Orange County sales for July ’08 were 2,799 – an increase of 17.1 percent; the median home price was $461,000, or down 28 percent from its peak of $640,000 in July ’07.
Photo by Chris Radburn/PA Wire, AP Images.
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A total of 20,329 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties in July. That is up 16.7 percent from the previous month and up 13.8 percent from July last year. According to DataQuick, last month’s sales were the highest since 21,856 homes sold in March 2007. From last September through June, sales for each month were at an all-time low for that calendar month, with the exception of April, which was second lowest. The median price for a Southland home was $348,000 last month, down 31.1 percent from its peak of $505,000 that was reached in March, April, May and July of 2007. The median has fallen because of depreciation, especially in the inland market, and because of a steep drop in home financing in the jumbo category, which until recently was loans above $417,000. Orange County sales for July ’08 were 2,799 – an increase of 17.1 percent; the median home price was $461,000, or down 28 percent from its peak of $640,000 in July ’07. Photo by Chris Radburn/PA Wire, AP Images. |
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