Southern California home sales fell to their lowest level for an August on record as stubbornly elevated prices and mortgage rates – plus economic uncertainty – scared off house hunters.
The six-county region had 14,476 sales in the month, according to Attom’s tracking of closed transactions involving houses and condos, both existing and newly constructed. These statistics, which date to 2005, show local sales were down 5% in a year and 33% below the average August.
The ugly sales slump has persisted for more than three years, beginning with the Federal Reserve ending its cheap money policies in early 2022 . And there are a few signs that homebuying is reviving.
Take a slightly longer-term view: In the past 12 months, 183,555 Southern California residences were sold. That’s 27% below