Los Angeles County Condo Sales for January 2008

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.

Los Angeles County Condo Sales for November 2007

Before we get into what's going on with the condo market in Los Angeles county California we hope that everyone is having a happy Dr. Martin Luther King Day and remembers the great work he did for everyone.

So what has happened in the condo market in Los Angeles county which of course affects long beach condos.

Well let's look at the graph of what happened in 2007 and in 2006 for condos sales and see how that will translate into where we are going in 2008.

• November condo sales in 2007 were up from October sales. This is actually great news when you look at last year sales were down in the same month. In fact sales were up almost 10% from the previous month.
• Overall condo sales are down 32% from the same point in time last year. While this is a large number there are several factors to consider: 2006 was still a record year and home sales were down an even greater number. Check out the post on home sales for more information and detail.

Overall when you look at how home sales are down and the fact that condo sales are down less it is a good sign for sellers who are looking to sell their condos. I am not saying that the condo market is going crazy but it does show there are available condo buyers and people have not abandoned the long beach condo or the Los Angeles condo so happy buying and selling!

Los Angeles County Home Sales for November 2007

The stats are in for November home sales for Los Angeles County. The graph to the left does not include condo sales. We will make a separate post on that so everyone can see what is happening in the condo market separately. So what happened in November of 2007? Well it appears that many were more focused on Thanksgiving than they were on buying a home.

So what does it mean looking at the sales as far as home values are concerned? Let's take a look.

• Sales of homes in Los Angeles County were down just slightly over 47% in comparison to 2006 which was near a record year of real estate in Los Angeles County.
• Values did not drop 47% in the same period. If they did this would be a much more different environment then it currently is.
• We conducted a small survey of a few hundred buyers that are looking and they felt that it was still a great time to buy and felt that they were just waiting for the right kind of property to become available.

What it looks like to me is that with rates continuing to drop and sales being down sellers are going to be happy to work with buyers. I don't think sellers are going to give their homes way for 50% of their value but it does look like they should be willing to help buyers purchase the home they desire.

Los Angeles County Home Sales for October 2007

It is winter here in southern California. Now I don't think anyone in any other part of the country is going to sympathize with what we call winter but never the less that is what it is around here. Home sales take a back seat to Thanksgiving dinner and to Christmas shopping. Let's take a look at what is happening for the entire county for October of 2007. Countywide sales stats are available late which is why it is December and we are reporting on October sales information.

This chart shows only home sales for Los Angeles County and does not include the sales of condos.

• Sales in October 2006 - 5,599
• Sales in October 2007 - 2,638

So what does this mean? Well it means that sales are off about 53% of what they were in 2006. So are prices down 53%? The answer to that is no. Are interest rates up 53%. The answer again, no. Overall the pace of sales has slowed however the median price of homes has actually gone up and interest rates, while they have rise, have gone up modestly. In fact interest rates are still at very low levels when you look at them in a historical context.

We still believe that there is plenty of opportunity out there for buyers to find the right property. While sales are down there are still plenty of willing sellers anxious to work with a buyer who would like to purchase their home.

How Many Condos Sold in LA County?

Earlier in the week we gave a chart of how many homes had sold in Los Angeles County. Now Los Angeles county is a rather large area and covers many different cities. Today though we thought we would chart what is happening with condos in Los Angeles County. Not all cities have condos but many do as a result of the density of population of the area that we live in here in Southern California. While there is no list of all cities that have condos a few of the cities that have condos in Los Angeles county are as follows: San Monica, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Marina Del Rey, Long Beach, Signal Hill, Norwalk, Cerritos, and Lakewood. Now keep in mind this is not a complete list but it still shows that within Los Angeles County there are plenty of cities that have condos that people can purchase.

From the chart we can see a few things.

• Sales of condos are not as far off as those of homes. We believe the reason for that is affordability. Condos tend to be far more affordable than homes.
• Less condos are being sold than 2007 and probably less condos will sell in 2008 but that does not mean that prices are decreasing. The affordability of condos allows owners to possibly rent them out and retain ownership.
• What doesn't show up in the chart is there are still many new brand new condo buildings being built and condo conversion projects that will keep interest in the condo product.

Condos are still selling and even if less condos are selling there are less homes being sold but the values are not decreasing by 100% or falling back to prices in 2001 as some have said.

How many homes are selling in Los Angeles County

Everyone has been reading about what is selling and what is not selling but it is still hard to find out just how many homes have sold. Most cities within Los Angeles county have seen the demand for property drop. Overall rates have not shifted significantly from last year. It is still a great time to purchase when you look at where rates are historically. With that said the number of homes sold across Los Angeles County is down.

We thought we would chart for everyone the sales for the last couple of months of homes sold. This data comes from what has been recorded and does not include condos which we will include tomorrow.

So what does this chart tell us. It tells us a few things for sure.

• August 2007 sales are off slightly more than 42% from the same month as last year.
• September 2007 sales are off 57% from the same period as last year.

These numbers are quite sobering. 2006 was already a year that was down from the previous records and we are off well 2006 pace. The good news in this is that to borrow money and to use first time home buyer programs is still a great opportunity. If you are selling consider your listing price carefully and make sure that you are committed to selling your property. Understand as a seller the easier you make it for the buyer to purchase your property the easier everything will be.