Pop! August sales down 55% from ’03 peak

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Note: This is an edited and corrected post. See explanation at the end of the post.
Southern California home sales fell sharply in August, down 55% from the peak levels of 2003, and reaching the lowest level of sales in 15 years, DataQuick Information Systems reported this morning.
DataQuick reported only 17,755 homes were sold in the six-county Southern California region, a 36.3% drop from year-ago levels and a drop of 55% from the bubble peak of 39,562 in August 2003.
‘Things are slow, but the big question is, ‘Is this a normal post-cycle lull or is the sky falling?’ I don’t think we know yet,’ John Karevoll, DataQuick’s chief analyst, told the L.A. Times.
More: ‘Despite the sales slump, the Southland’s median home price rose 2.7% to $500,000 from a year ago, DataQuick found. August’s number was slightly off the local record of $505,000 set in March.’
Analysts have said for months the relative strength of the median sales price is a misleading indicator, explained in part by a lack of sales in the lower price ranges caused by the disappearance of sub-prime and zero-down financing.

Blogger’s Note: The original version of this post reported sales were down 48% from the August 2005 sales peak; however, further review of DataQuick statistics indicates the peak of August sales was reached in 2003, and the decline was recalculated from that level, at 55%.

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