The Southern California housing market is downshifting.
The average home price in the six-county region fell 0.3% from October to $869,288 in November, according to Zillow, marking the fourth consecutive month of declines.
“There is really no urgency from buyers,” said Mark Schlosser, a Compass agent in the Los Angeles area. “They are waiting.”
Prices are now 1.3% off their all-time high in July, but some economists say prospective home buyers and sellers shouldn’t expect home values to plunge — one reason behind the shift is the market typically slows in the fall and prices are still above where they were a year ago.
Still, more homes are hitting the market and mortgage interest rates remain high, creating a situation of slightly more supply and slightly less demand.
As a result, annual price growth has slowed. Last month, Southern California home prices were 4.3% higher than a year earlier, compared to a recent peak of 9.5% in April.
Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist with Zillow, said he expects annual price growth in Southern California to slow further next year, but not turn negative.