Median home prices dropped 26.7 percent in May across Southern California’s six most populous counties compared with last year, a real estate research firm said Monday.
DataQuick Information Systems said it marked the steepest annual drop since the firm began keeping records in 1988.
The drop was driven by fewer sales of high-end homes, steeper discounting by home sellers and by lenders trying to unload foreclosed properties, DataQuick said.
Median home prices fell to $370,000 in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties last month. It was the lowest median price reported since March 2004.
Sales volumes for the region climbed about 8 percent from April but were down nearly 15 percent from May 2007.
In all, 16,917 new and preowned homes were sold in May, down from 19,874 in the same month last year, the firm said.
Nearly 38 percent of all the homes sold in the region last month were in foreclosure at some point over the past 12 months.