Low interest rates, falling prices and promises of government relief were not enough to slow the pace of Southern California's housing downturn, which hit a new bottom last month.
Fewer than 10,000 homes were sold in the six-county region, DataQuick Information Systems said Wednesday. That's the first time that has happened since DataQuick began keeping records in 1988.
What's more, nearly 1 out of 4 homes sold -- 23% -- had been foreclosed, which is putting downward pressure on home values.
The median home price in January was $415,000, 18% below last year's peak and the lowest since January 2005. The median is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.
January is typically one of the slowest months for home sales, and real estate agents are hopeful that the perception of bargain prices will help lure buyers into the market as spring approaches.
Pamela Taylor, a 23-year-old accountant who lives with her parents, is just the kind of buyer whom home sellers are looking to attract. She has good credit and savings, and she thinks it's a good time to buy.
Taylor said she made offers on three houses in West Hills in January and was outbid on two of them.
Her offer of $485,000 for a house listed at $515,000 was accepted, but she backed out of the deal when an inspection found a damaged foundation. Still, she plans to keep looking.
"The market's going down, and as long as you can afford a down payment, you can get a monthly payment very similar to what you might pay in rent," she said.
The scant sales activity that did occur in January tended to be at the low end of the market, the DataQuick report showed.
Of the 9,983 houses and condominiums sold in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties last month, the share bought with jumbo mortgages -- loans above $417,000 -- was 19%, half what it was a year earlier, DataQuick said.
That sales total was less than a quarter of the peak total of 40,156 in June 2005.
Sales of more-expensive homes could be aided by the economic stimulus package signed into law Wednesday by President Bush. That will temporarily enable mortgages of up to $729,750 to be offered as conforming loans, without the higher rates and standards of jumbo mortgages.
The Bush administration and an alliance of banks also announced this week an initiative to help delinquent borrowers keep their homes.
