Los Angeles County homebuying tumbles 16% as house payments soar 37%
Los Angeles County homebuying cooled by 16.1% in May as rising prices as soaring mortgage rates created 37% higher house payments.
Across Southern California, 20,470 single-family, condominium, existing and newly constructed homes — sold in six counties, down 5% for the month, and down 16% over the past year. The region’s median price of $760,000 was flat for the month, and up 13% over 12 months.
Here’s what my trusty spreadsheet found in DQNews’ report on closed transactions in Los Angeles County in May …
Sales
The tally: 6,550 Los Angeles County residences sold. This was the fifth-slowest May of the 35 since 1988.
One-month change: 6% decrease from April. Since 1988, sales have fallen in this 30-day period 21% of the time with an average 6% increase from April.
12-month change: 16.1% decrease — No. 60 biggest decline since 1988 (or it’s been worse only 15% of the time.)
Prices
The median: $860,000 countywide for all homes — down 0.6% in a month and up 11% in a year. Record L.A. high? $865,000 set in April.
One-month trend: 0.6% decrease. Since 1988, a typical May had prices dip 63% of the time with with an average 1.1% gain.
One-year trend: Latest gain tops 71% of all 12-month periods since 1988.
Pandemic era? 14 price records have been broken since February 2020. The median’s $240,000 increase equals a gain of $12.14 every hour over these 27 months.
Key slices
Existing single-family houses: 4,445 sold, down 16% in a year. Median of $930,000 was up 9% over 12 months.
Existing condos: 1,821 sales, down 15% over 12 months. Median of $720,000 was up 15% in a year.
Newly built: Builders sold 284 new homes, down 29% in a year. Median of $825,000 was up 14% over 12 months.
Builder share: 4.3% of sales vs. 5.1% a year earlier.
Bigger picture
Rates: How pricey has money become? Rates on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.79% in the three months ending in May vs. 3.03% a year earlier. That translates to 19% less buying power for house hunters. (Larger drops occurred only 2% of the time since 1971.)
Payment pain: Changing rates meant a buyer paid $3,607 a month for May’s $860,000 median priced-residence vs. 12 months earlier $2,625 monthly on a $775,000 median. So prices rose 11% vs. a house payment’s 37% increase.
Downpayment: 20% down was $172,000 last month, up $17,000 in a year.
What sellers are thinking: Inland Empire listings are up 52% in the 12 months ended in May — No. 4 jump of 50 big metro areas, according to Realtor.com. Los Angeles-Orange County inventory is up 5%, No. 31 of 50.
Affordability: Ponder how much house you get for $1 million, according to Zillow. Los Angeles County buyers get 1,684 square feet — 33% smaller than the U.S. average of 2,528. Orange County is 1,687 square feet (33% smaller), San Bernardino County is 2,582 square feet (2% larger), and Riverside County is 3,032 square feet (20% larger).
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com