L.A. real estate news and insights.
A new study has found that home prices in Los Angeles are on the decline year-over-year.
In December 2022, the median price of a home in Los Angeles was $810,000; down $40,000 or 4.7% from December 2021.
That was the second largest decline in the study for all US cities, behind only San Francisco which saw a 5.1% decrease.
Considering rising interest rates, inflation, major layoffs, and recession fears, a 4.7% decline is not that bad.
Source: RE/MAX
Despite the sharp increase in December, recent housing data has indicated that rents have begun to fall: Realtor.com®, for example, reports that rents have dropped in many of the nation’s hottest real estate markets after rising more than 20% over the past three years.
Also, robust apartment construction likely will raise rental vacancy rates, which could help further ease rental prices in the months ahead.
Source: The National Association of REALTORS®
Share of U.S. homes bought with all cash hits highest level since 2014. Roughly one-third (31.9%) of U.S. home purchases were paid for with all cash in October.
However, expensive West Coast metros dominate the list of places with the lowest share of all cash-purchases. They’re least common in the Bay Area: Just 14.3% of home purchases in San Jose and 16.5% in Oakland were made in cash. Next come Seattle (19%), Los Angeles (19.2%) and Newark, NJ (20%).
Source: Redfin analysis of county records
Despite higher interest rates negatively impacting housing affordability and demand for homes, not all buyers have been sidelined.
According to the latest Housing Trends report by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in Q3 2022 59% of prospective buyers had moved beyond the planning phase and had become fully engaged in the buying process. This was up from 46% in Q1 2022 and 49% in Q2 2022.
The share of prospective buyers actively searching for a home rose in every region between the second and third quarter of 2022, with the West having the largest share at 68%.
Less competition and more inventory were the driving force for the share increase in the recent quarter.
