Dr. Richard Green, Director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, is quoted in the May 20, 2009 edition of the Los Angeles Times
Southern California median home price falls to $247,000 in April
Los Angeles Times
By Peter Y. Hong
...Southern California's median home price slipped slightly in April, new figures show, but the volume of home sales tells a tale of two housing markets. In distressed areas such as the Inland Empire, homes are selling at a quickening pace, as buyers snap up foreclosed properties at cut-rate prices. But in more expensive areas such as Pacific Palisades and Corona del Mar, activity is still largely frozen. Many well-heeled homeowners who aren't under financial pressure to sell are keeping their properties off the market or holding out for prices that buyers are either unable or unwilling to pay.
"Until those people are forced to sell, they're not going to," said Richard Green, director of USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate. "That might change if lots of high-income people lose their jobs..."
...But Los Angeles County's median home price actually held steady in April for the fourth month in a row, and San Diego's median rose a bit from March to $290,000, up from $285,000. The median price can rise as a greater number of higher-priced homes sell -- even if prices for those individual properties fall.
"If the bottom is flat but the top goes down, you can get a paradoxical outcome," Green said. "The median price goes up even as prices are falling..."
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May 20, 2009