LA listing prices now down $149K from peak

Interesting numbers tonight from Housing Tracker's weekly analysis of MLS listings: Median listing prices in Los Angeles County dropped sharply over the past week, falling by more than $10,000, as inventory of for-sale houses and condos spiked higher. Here's your headline: Median listing prices in Los Angeles have now fallen $149,000, or 25.8%, from their April 2006 peak.

Numbers: Housing tracker reports median listing prices fell from $439,999 to $429,900, marking a decline of 20.2% over the past year. That 20.2% rate of annual decline marks the highest rate of decline in this housing cycle. This tracks pretty close to median sales prices as reported by DataQuick: down 23.3% over the past year in Los Angeles, to $422,000.

Inventory of for-sale homes and condos rose by more than 3,000 units, to 45,493, and is pacing 8.2% ahead of year-ago levels.  That sharp rise broke a long streak during which inventory had stayed fairly flat.

Analysis: A decline in the median sales, or listing price, doesn't necessarily mean the value of a typical home has declined by the same amount. It suggests some decline in overall values, but also that the market of listings and sales is increasingly dominated by cheaper homes.  This is the foreclosure factor: more and more homes on the market are cheaper, foreclosed homes.

Date               Median listing price                      Inventory

4/06               $579,666                                      27,251
4/07               $545,000                                      35,489
5/07               $545,000                                      38,297
6/07               $540,000                                      40,766 (up 20.4% y/y)
7/07               $535,000                                      42,685 (up 14.5% y/y)
8/07               $529,000                                      44,483 (up 13.6% y/y)
9/07               $520,000                                      46,414 (up 16.9% y/y)
10/07             $510,000                                      46,603 (up 15.6% y/y)
11/07             $499,900                                      46,503 (up 19.0% y/y)
12/07             $495,000 (down 10.0% y/y)      43,174 (up 28.2% y/y)
1/08               $479,900 (down 12.6%)            40,850 (up 33.3% y/y)
2/08               $475,000 (down 13.5%)            43,625 (Up 38.3%)
3/08               $464,900 (down 15.5%)            42,098 (Up 31.4%)
4/08               $450,000 (down 17.4%)            42,430 (up 16.7%)
5/08               $449,900 (down 17.4%)            42,532 (up 11.1%)
6/02/08         $446,500 (down 17.3%)            42,458 (up 4.9%)
6/09/08         $440,000 (down 18.5%)            42,398 (up 4.0%)
6/23/08         $429,990 (down 20.2%)            45,493 (up 8.2%)

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.

Comments

[Big E]

Are we seeing the fall-off already? All I have to say is, September is going to be U-G-L-Y..