Home sales jump in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Home sales jumped 28.6 percent in the Los Angeles area in August, compared with the same period a year ago, while the median home price fell 35 percent to 394,870 dollars, according to figures released on Thursday.

Across California, home sales increased 56.7 percent in August compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 40.5 percent to 350,140 dollars, according to the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors (CAR).

"Sales are now 85 percent above the monthly trough for this cycle, which occurred in October 2007, and for the first time this year are ahead of 2007 in year-to-date terms," said CAR President William E. Brown.

"While this is encouraging news, we don't expect to see a housing market recovery until prices stabilize and the number of distressed properties on the market declines. Sales gains continue to be driven by the large shares of deeply discounted distressed sales in many parts of the state."