Los Angeles Housing Market
More homes hit the market as Los Angeles buyers take their time
More Los Angeles homeowners listed their homes in August, giving buyers more choices, but high prices and mortgage rates kept many cautious. This translated into slower sales, though home prices continued to rise, suggesting demand remained strong enough to support price growth.
Buyers are taking a step back
Home sales fell 4% from a year ago to 3,945 in August as affordability challenges kept some buyers on the sidelines. Condo sales posted the steepest drop, falling 12.9% to 768; townhome sales fell 4.3%, while single-family home sales slipped 1.2%.
Homes spent a median of 53 days on the market, unchanged from a year earlier. That suggests buyers were willing to take time with their decisions as housing costs and mortgage rates remained elevated. While fewer homes changed hands, sales activity remained steady enough to help support home values.
More listings give buyers additional options
New listings increased 10.8% year over year to 6,759, as more homeowners chose to put their properties on the market. New single-family listings rose 6.9%, while townhome and condo listings climbed 21.7% and 18.6%, respectively.
Even with the increase in new listings, total inventory dipped slightly by 0.5% to 20,451 homes. Single-family inventory dropped 4.3%, while the number of available townhomes and condos grew by 5% and 7.6%, respectively. More homeowners are now attempting to sell, but fewer transactions are occurring.
Months of supply edged down 0.6% to 5.1 months. Buyers had about the same number of homes to choose from as a year ago, despite an increase in newly listed properties.
Home prices are still rising
The median sale price increased 2% year over year to $928,000, up $18,000. Townhomes posted the strongest price growth, rising 5.9% to $900,000. Single-family home prices increased 1.5% to $1.04 million.
Condos were the only property type to decrease in price, falling 2.8% to $632,000.
Although sales slowed, inventory remained relatively limited, and buyers continued to compete for desirable homes. As a result, prices continued to rise, keeping Los Angeles among the country's most expensive housing markets.
Home prices in the Los Angeles area are projected to rise faster than prices nationwide through late fall. With the supply of homes for sale likely to tighten, sellers are expected to retain the advantage.