Lancaster Home Sales Volume Up 97 Percent
Prices may have hit bottom
Updated 2:15 PM PST, Sun, Jun 28, 2009
Home sales levels and prices in the Antelope Valley may have hit bottom, as value seekers move into Los Angeles County's most-affordable suburbs, it was reported Sunday.
The Antelope Valley Press newspaper says sales volume in May 2009 are up 97 percent over May 2008.
The increased sales activity reflects prices that have plummeted 52 percent in one year in Lancaster and 44 percent in Palmdale, according to data from the California Association of Realtors compiled by the Press.
The average sales price for a Lancaster house last month was an even $100,000, and while recent homebuyers may have taken a severe haircut, that median price is still 33 percent more valuable than the average of $75,000 at the bottom of the last recession, in 1999, the newspaper reported.
Realtors in the Antelope Valley said they are seeing multiple offers on homes for sale, and indication that the bottom has been hit. Realtor Will Guerrero said "we're seeing a lot of first-time buyers" as well.
The Antelope Valley is the last section of Los Angeles Coutny will significant developable vacant land, and as such has a history of rising a boom and bust cycle that magnifies contractions or expansions in housing values closer to Los Angeles, experts have said.
The median price of a house in California in may was $267,570, the statewide real estate group said.
Copyright City News Service
First Published: Jun 28, 2009 2:01 PM PST
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