LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Despite the lowest interest rates since spring, home sales in the Los Angeles metro region and the state as a whole stalled in September and hit the lowest level in nine months, the California Association of Realtors announced Thursday.
September’s sales pace decreased 3.4% from the 262,050 homes sold in August and was up 5.1% from a year ago, when a revised 240,840 homes were sold on an annualized basis. The sales pace has remained below the 300,000-threshold for the past two years, while year-to-date home sales edged up 0.9% from the first nine months of 2023, according to statewide figures.
California’s median price of a single-family home slipped in September by 2.3% from $888,740 in August to $868,150 in September, it continued to grow from a year ago but at the slowest rate since July 2023, according to CAR.
September’s figure was 2.9% higher than the revised $843,500 recorded in September 2023. The year-over-year gain was the 15th straight month of annual price increases.
Home prices could soften further in the coming months as the market enters the traditional off-season but should continue to post year-over-year growth for the remainder of the year, the association said.
“The inventory of homes for sale has steadily improved in recent months as the market moves into the typical off-peak home-buying season,” CAR President Melanie Barker said in a statement. “With home prices likely to moderate further in the coming months, the fourth quarter could offer an opportunity for potential buyers who have been waiting to re-enter the market, especially as interest rates gradually return to historical averages.”
The median price in the Los Angeles metro area was lower in September at $810,000 compared to the previous month’s $827,000, a 3.8% increase from last year at this time. The median price in Los Angeles County increased by 2.2%, from $919,890 in August to $960,370 last month.
Orange County saw its median home price decrease by 0.2% from August to $1.39 million in September, 6.7% higher than the same month last year.
In Southern California, the lowest median price in September was Imperial County’s $397,500, showing a 3.2% decrease from the previous month’s figure.
The median number of days it took to sell a California single-family home was 24 days in September, six days more than September of last year.
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