LA County Home Prices Jump While Sales Plummet

LOS ANGELES, CA — The median price of a home in Los Angeles County rose by 8.4 percent in May, compared with the same month a year earlier, a real estate information service announced Thursday.

According to CoreLogic, the median price of a Los Angeles County home was $609,000 last month, up from $562,000 in May 2017. A total of 7,323 homes were sold in the county, down 4.2 percent from 7,643 during the same month the previous year.

In Orange County, the median price was $738,500 last month, up 6.3 percent from $695,000 in May 2017. The number of homes sold dropped by 4 percent, from 3,665 in May 2017 to 3,519 last month.

A total of 22,874 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 up 10.2 percent from 20,752 in April, and down 3.4 percent from 23,671 in May 2017.

The median price of a Southern California home was a record $530,000 in May, up 1.9 percent from $520,000 in April and up 8.2 percent from $490,000 in May 2017.

"With inventory tight and affordability worsening, the number of Southern California homes sold has fallen on a year-over-year basis during three of the last five months," said Andrew LePage, research analyst with CoreLogic. "Total sales during the first five months of this year fell about 2 percent from the same period last year, reflecting limited inventory particularly in more affordable price ranges."

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock