Slumping OC Home Sales Reflect Lack of Affordability

The median price of a home in Orange County rose by 1.1 percent compared with the same month a year ago while the number of homes sold fell by 0.7 percent, a real estate information service announced today.

According to CoreLogic, the median price of an Orange County home was $600,000 last month, up from $593,500 in October 2014. The number of homes sold dropped from 2,877 in October 2014 to 2,858 last month.

Comparatively, the median price of a home in Los Angeles County rose by 5.8 percent in October, compared with the same month a year ago, while the number of homes sold fell by 0.4 percent.

“After a relatively strong summer, Southern California home sales lost steam in October, dipping more than usual from September and rising only slightly from a year earlier,” said Andrew LePage, a research analyst for CoreLogic. “Sales remain constrained by a tight inventory of homes for sale and lower affordability. So far this year -- January through October -- sales are up 9 percent year over year and are the second-highest for that 10-month period in six years, behind 2013.”

The median price of a Los Angeles County home was $490,000 last month, up from $463,000 in October 2014. A total of 6,968 homes were sold in the county, down from 6,999 during the same month the previous year.

A total of 19,930 new and resale houses and condos changed hands in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month, according to CoreLogic. That was down 5.5 percent from 21,093 in September and up 1.3 percent from 19,673 in October 2014.

The median price for a Southern California home was $435,000 in October, unchanged from September and up 5.6 percent from $412,000 in October 2014.

City News Service