by Calculated Risk on 2/14/2007 02:45:00 PM

DataQuick reports: Southland home sales: Slowest January since 1998, stable prices

Southern California home buyers and sellers continued to eye each other without doing much last month, resulting in the slowest January in nine years, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 18,128 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 25.1 percent from a revised 24,209 for December, and down 17.2 percent from a revised 21,895 for January last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

A sales decline from December to January is normal for the season. The year-over-year decline was the most moderate since sales fell 14.8 percent last May. Last month's sales count was the lowest for any January since 1998 when 17,692 homes sold. Since 1988 the average January has had 18,610 sales.
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The median price paid for a Southern California home was $485,000 last month, down 1.0 percent from a revised $490,000 for December, and up 5.0 percent from a revised $462,000 for January last year. The overall median always declines from December to January because of changes in market mix. December's median matched the peak reached last June.