Southern California Housing Market Continues to Slide

The declining housing and home loan markets continued in Inland Southern California in May, particularly in Riverside County, the Press-Enterprise reports.

In the enormous county, east of Los Angeles, California mortgage demand continues to peter out, leaving the median price of a home down by more than 3 percent.

Overall, home sales of new and existing properties have slowed by almost half in each of the two Inland counties, according to a report released today by DataQuick.

There were slightly more than 5,500 residential real estate properties changing hands in the area - which boasts a high immigrant population - in May, compared to more than 10,200 in May 2006.

The median price of a home in Riverside County declined to $406,000 in May from the same month in 2006, a 3.3 percent drop. San Bernardino County homes saw a miniscule appreciation, from $360,000 to $361,750.

As the 20-month Southern California housing market slump continued, there was a 34.4 percent decline in sales across the region.

The slowdown is far more pronounced in the comparatively affordable Inland region, because the pace of sales had skyrocketed during the boom years of 2004 and 2005.

Since then, however, California mortgage loan activity has lessened as lenders have tightened their credit standards and many buyers have been priced out by skyrocketing housing costs.

Overall, Southern California home prices are still up almost 5 percent in the region as a whole, where the median home price in May was a gigantic $505,000.

SOURCE: The Press-Enterprise