As of February, it took a median of 70 days to sell an existing single-family home, up from 53 days twelve months earlier, CAR said. Continued demand for homes, scarcity of vacant apartments and relatively low interest rates helped push prices up, said Delores Conway, director of USC's Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast. "There's still lots of people moving to Los Angeles who need a place to live," Conway said. Turbulence from the sub-prime real estate market is starting to be felt in Southern California, but mostly in areas of the Inland Empire, which saw more home construction than in other areas, Conway said. The uptick in foreclosures for these riskier mortgages could eventually be felt in Los Angeles, she said. "I'm sure we'll see it here, too," Conway said. "We are watching it closely as it unfolds." Despite CAR's reported year-over-year price increases in most South Bay communities, it is still a buyer's market now, Manhattan Beach Realtor Adolph James said. He said the South Bay housing market likely peaked in July or August of 2006.
March 24, 2007