LA Home Sales down 44.6 percent '05 to '06

The California Building Industry Association, in a press release titled "CBIA/HWMI Survey Finds 2006 New Home Sales Down by 29% from 2005," reported this month that single-family home sales in the L.A./Long Beach/Glendale region dropped nearly 45 percent from 2005, to 2006.

Nonethteless, prices continued to climb despite the slowdown, and market trends continue to support the widespread belief that home prices have risen far beyond the reach of working families, who are opting for smaller, non-tranditional homes because it's all they can afford.

From the release:

He [ Patrick Duffy, Managing Director of Consulting for Hanley Wood Market Intelligence] said the data also showed a clear move towards higher-density housing throughout California, with the market share of attached housing such as condominiums and town homes rising to 31 percent versus 24 percent a year earlier.

“For many homebuyers it’s just not practical or affordable to buy a traditional single-family home,” Duffy noted, “so we’re seeing a lot more detached condos on very small lots in the suburbs, high-rise condos in various downtown areas and low-rise condos in mostly built-out communities throughout Southern California and the Bay Area.”

— TJ Sullivan in LA