LAT: Southern California Housing Price Slowdown Continues

[DeepModem Mom]

Housing Price Slowdown Continues
The median cost of a home in Southern California rises to $469,000 in July.
By Annette Haddad, Times Staff Writer


Southern California home prices hit new highs in July for the sixth consecutive month, although signs of a real estate slowdown continued to grow, data released Monday showed.

The median price in the six-county region reached $469,000 last month, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based company that tracks real estate prices. Although that was a 16.7% increase on a year-over-year basis, price growth has been hovering near that pace since the spring — after exceeding 20% nearly every month last year.

Price gains in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the region's two hottest markets, slowed for the first time in about a year. San Diego County's increases continued to decelerate, while sales there dropped nearly 16%, the region's biggest dip.

Sales overall in the Southland fell 5.8% versus the year-ago period, according to DataQuick. Still, more than 31,000 homes were sold last month, the fourth-highest total for a July since 1988.

The latest DataQuick numbers intensified the debate over whether the region's housing market was merely easing to more normal growth or setting up for a deeper decline. The region's cooling trend is also evident in a rising supply of homes for sale, and lengthier durations needed to sell a home....


http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-homes16aug16,0,762231.story?coll=la-home-business

[msongs]

1. excess immigration & population growth + low housing stock =

continuing price increase. here in so cal the price is population driven by supply and demand. not a lot of speculation fueling the increase as may be the case in other areas.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[JPZenger]

2. Housing Market Bubble Must Deflate

There is no way these absurd increases in housing prices can continue. They are being driven by dangerous mortgage practices that are setting up homebuyers for a big fall.

I believe the Federal government should restrict some of the mortgages that are being offered - such as interest only mortgages or mortgages with huge balloon payments. Those mortgages only work if you assume that housing prices will keep going up at a high rate each year. If not, those people will owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth.