Los Angeles Home Prices Are On The Rise!

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The total assessed value of properties in Los Angeles County is now just over $1 trillion, almost $25 billion more than last year.  This shows signs of an upturn in the market not seen in over 5 years. Property taxes in Los Angeles County have also increased by more than two percent, according to the assessor’s office.

The real estate market has shifted considerably over the last 12 – 18 months. Inventory reductions have begun to turn Los Angeles more towards a sellers’ market, where properties sell quickly and often for the full asking price. The number of homes for sale in the L.A. metro area has declined sharply over the last year or so. According to Realtor.com, the total number of listings dropped by 29% from July 2011 to July of this year. This allows homeowners to set, and justify, higher asking prices when listing their homes.

House & condo prices have been going up monthly.  The latest release of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index was published at the end of August.  The report included data through the end of June 2012. According to the report, L.A. real estate prices are improving at the monthly level. Prices rose by 2.2% from April to May, and 1.7% from May to June of this year.

Although the annual numbers are still negative, they also seem to show signs of improvement. This time last year, the year-over-year price change was -3.4%. In May of this year, the annual return was slightly better at -2.0%. In June, the annual return improved again to -0.6%.

The Case-Shiller report is limited by a two-month lag. More recent data shows positive price trends, even when measured annually. Trulia’s website, for example, shows a year-over-year improvement in the median sale price for this metro area. Additionally, a recent report by real-estate data provider DataQuick shows a 3.1% increase in the median price, from July 2011 to July 2012.

Values in Beverly Hills increased by 6.5 percent, making it the highest jump within the county last year.

The next Case-Shiller report will be released on September 25 and will contain data through July of this year. Based on recent trends within the Los Angeles real estate market, we will likely see a positive annual return in L.A. home prices, for the first time in months.

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