Home sales in Ventura County and throughout Southern California fell sharply from June to July, according to a report released Tuesday by CoreLogic, an Irvine-based firm that tracks the housing industry.
Only 887 homes were sold in Ventura County in July, a 24.1 percent decrease from June's 1,169 homes sold. Although Ventura County saw the sharpest month-to-month sales drops, each of the counties cited in the report saw a decrease of at least 13 percent. A total of 21,065 homes were sold in Southern California in July, 17.6 percent fewer than the 25,554 homes sold throughout the region in June.
Southern California's July sales of newly built homes — detached houses and condos combined — were 52.3 percent below the long-term July average, although the resale market was closer to historic norms, coming in 10.9 percent below the month's historical average. While July 2017's sales were the lowest for that month since 2014, when 20,734 homes were sold in Southern California, the report added that since 1988, the average change in sales between June and July is a decline of 6.6 percent.
Regardless, the lowered month-to-month sales numbers aren't extraordinary or cause for concern, according to Andrew LePage, a CoreLogic research analyst. He noted that June's historic sales highs, which were the highest for that month in 11 years, meant the region's ongoing housing availability issues would limit the following month's sales.
"Given the ongoing mismatch between housing supply and demand, it's no surprise that home sales tapered off last month on the heels of a relatively strong June when sales were the highest for that month in 11 years," LePage said in a statement. "The drop-off in activity suggests that late-spring home buyers burned through a sizeable chunk of an already tight inventory of homes for sale, which then constrained July sales."
While home sales dipped from June to July, their median prices also slightly fell in select counties. Ventura County's July median home price was $554,500, 1.7 percent lower than June's $564,000 median price. Of the six counties cited in the report, only Los Angeles County and Riverside County saw median home sale price increases, of 1.1 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. Despite most of the cited counties enjoying slight price drops, the July median home sale price for Southern California of $501,000 still rose 0.2 percent from June's $500,000. Median sale prices are approaching a 10-year high, and last month's median sale price was 7.7 percent higher than July 2016's $465,000, according to the report.
Despite the unusual month-to-month percentage changes for both home sales and prices, the ranking of Southern California counties by affordability has not changed from June. Orange County remained Southern California's most expensive region in July, with median home prices of $690,000, followed by Los Angeles County, $575,000, Ventura County, $554,500; San Diego County, $537,750; Riverside County, $365,000; and San Bernardino County, $305,000.
