Southern California’s housing market maintained its brisk pace in September with both sales and prices rising from levels a year ago, a market tracker said Monday.
Last month, sales of new and previously owned houses and condominiums rose 13 percent from a year ago to 21,350 properties, according to CoreLogic. That is the most sales for the month of September in six years, the company said.
Sales have now risen on a year-over-year basis for eight consecutive months. It’s is the longest stretch of year-over-year gains since late 2012 through early 2013, CoreLogic said.
The median price in the six-county region increased 6 percent to $435,000 over the previous year, the company said.
In San Bernardino County, sales rose 7 percent to 2,540 and the median price increased 13 percent to $268,000. That was the biggest percentage gain in the region.
In Los Angeles County, the region’s biggest market, sales increased 16 percent to 7,448, and the median price gained 5 percent to $490,000, CoreLogic said.
San Bernardino is the most affordable market in the region.
On a month-to-month basis, sales and prices were either flat or down slightly.
Between August and September, sales in the region slipped 0.4 percent and the median price fell 1 percent.
In Los Angeles County, sales rose 2 percent, and the median price fell 2 percent between August and September. In San Bernardino County, sales fell 2 percent and the median price dipped 1 percent.
“On the home price front, the more affordable markets scoured by many first-time buyers have posted some of the highest year-over-year price gains in recent months, despite an easing of competition from investors,” CoreLogic analyst Andrew LePage said.
Here are some other key figures:
• Sales of homes costing $500,000 or more accounted for 39 percent of all sales last month, down from 40.5 percent in August and up from 37 percent in September 2014, CoreLogic said.
• Sales of homes priced below $500,000 rose 8 percent year-over-year while sales above that price point increased 20 percent.
• Sales of homes costing $1 million or more rose 19.5 percent from a year earlier.
• Sales of distressed properties continue to play a diminished role in the market.
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• Last month’s sales of foreclosed properties accounted for a 4 percent market share, unchanged from August and September 2014.
• Short sales, transactions where the purchase price was less than the balance of the prior loan, accounted for a 3 percent market share last month, unchanged from August and down from 4 percent in September 2014.
• Cash buyers accounted for 21 percent of sales last month, the lowest percentage for any month since November 2008 when it was 20 percent.
The biggest challenge for the market remains scant inventory and it now appears that is what drove a 13 percent drop in sales across the region between July and August, LePage said.
“I don’t see evidence of a huge increase in inventory. And that’s evidence that the rather pronounced sales decrease between July and August is probably an inventory response,” he said. “If it were a trend (of a sales decline) September would have come in weaker.”
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