Have all the condo buyers disappeared? Well I don't think so but let's take a look at what is happening across Los Angeles County. The chart to the left represents sales of Los Angeles county condos for January of this year, 2008, and compares it to last years sales in January. So purchases of condos in January of this year was down over 50% from the same period last year.
While we don't have it in the chart condo sales last year were also down from 2006. So what, if anything does all of this actually mean? Well let's discuss a few points and see what others have to say about the values, sales, and number of condos that will or won't be sold this year in Los Angeles County which includes the fine city of Long Beach.
- 2006 was a record year for real estate transactions and condos were no exception to this so the fact that 2007 was down from 2006 should not be a big surprise.
- January is typically a slow month for sales of real estate and there were more market concerns this year than the previous year. In my opinion many over reacted to how bad they felt the market would be.
- Values are not down 50%. That is HUGE news. Many thought things would fall apart but while sales volume is down 50% the prices of the condos in Los Angeles County are not down 50%.
- Condos are still being sold. The number is 1 or 2. We still had 758 homeowners find qualified buyers to sell their condos to.
Condos are going to continue to be sold. Many see them as a first time place to own. Others see condos as a great place to go for retirement. Still others see them as a place that gets them closer to the areas that they work in the downtown's of Los Angeles County. While condos are seeing some pressure on price there is still room for buyers to get a square deal and for sellers to find a buyer for their place.
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