L.A. County Home Sales Take a Step Back
Los Angeles Business Journal
By Jacquelyn Ryan
As the rest of the nation seems to be on the brink of a double dip in home sales, people were feeling timid too in Los Angeles County about buying homes in March.
New and existing house sales fell 12 percent to 4,258 units, compared with the same month last year. Condo sales remained relatively flat, falling nearly 2 percent to 1,746, according to HomeData of Hicksville, N.Y.
Even though interest rates are at historic lows, the median price for a home sold during the month fell 3 percent to $330,000 compared with a year earlier.
The slowdown is likely due to a declining supply of desirable homes and a drop in the number of people who can come up with a 20 percent down payment, local analysts said.
"People have less money for down payments and that's the real key, more than the interest rate," said Richard Green, chairman of USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. "Lots of people can't take advantage of (the low prices), because they can't make the down payment."