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Southland Home Sales Fall Yr/Yr Again; Prices Rise at Slower Pace

As seen on DQNEWS.com

Irvine, CA—Southern California home sales fell to a three-year low for the month of July as supply continued to fall short of demand, some buyers struggled with higher prices, and investor activity fell. Cash deals declined to the lowest level in more than four years, while the median sale price dipped from June and rose from a year ago at the slowest pace in more than two years, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 20,369 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 1.4 percent from 20,654 sales in June, and down 12.4 percent from 23,253 sales in July 2013, according to Irvine-based CoreLogic DataQuick.

On average, sales have declined 6.3 percent between June and July since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick statistics begin. Southland sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis for 10 consecutive months. Sales during the month of July have ranged from a low of 16,225 in July 1995 to a high of 38,996 in July 2003. Last month’s sales were 19.4 percent below the July average of 25,269 sales.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region last month was $413,000, down 0.5 percent from $415,000 in June and up 7.3 percent from $385,000 in July 2013. The June 2014 median was the highest for any month since January 2008, when it was also $415,000. The median’s 7.3 percent year-over-year gain in July was the lowest since June 2012, when the $300,000 median rose 5.3 percent.

“Prices came a long way in a couple of years, and now a lot of would-be buyers just can’t stretch their finances enough to buy in today’s more conservative lending environment. That’s not the only reason price appreciation is easing, but it’s one of the main ones. July was the first month in two years in which all but one of the six Southland counties posted a single-digit year-over-year increase in its median sale price. The more spectacular annual price gains of a year ago – over 20 percent – seem far back in the rear view mirror now. Looking ahead, such double-digit price jumps seem unlikely unless there’s a burst of pent-up demand, perhaps triggered by more robust income growth, a loosening of mortgage credit or a significant move in interest rates,” said Andrew LePage, CoreLogic DataQuick analyst.

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