October home sales slump

Single-family home sales in Southern California were less than stellar last month.

A total of 19,271 homes were sold in the six-county region last month, the lowest number for October in three years, according to CoreLogic DataQuick.

That represented a drop of 0.4 percent compared with September – a typical decline between those two months – but a 4.4 percent drop compared with October,2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick, which released its monthly report on the region’s housing market Wednesday.

“It was another sub-par month for Southern California home sales,” said Andrew LePage, data analyst for CoreLogic DataQuick, in a statement. “We have yet to see traditional buyers fill the void by the drop in investor and cash buyers, which began the spring of last year.”

LePage listed several other reasons for the decline in sales, including affordability, not enough inventory and buyers who are uneasy about their long-term job status.

Meanwhile, prices continued to rise: the median price of a single-family home in Southern California last month was $410,000, down 0.7 percent from September but 6.8 percent year-over-year.

The region’s median home price has now gone up for five consecutive months, CoreLogic DataQuick stated.

The Inland market mirrored the Southern California market.

Year-over-year sales dropped 4.9 percent in Riverside County and 6.8 percent in San Bernardino County, while prices rose dramatically. Riverside County’s median price of $294,750 was a 9.2 percent increase compared with October 2013, while San Bernardino County’s median price of $245,000 represented a 6.7 percent jump during that time, according to CoreLogic DataQuick.