Rising mortgage rates and economic uncertainty contributed to an already slowing housing market in December, causing Southern California home sales to tumble 20.3 percent from a year ago, new data show.
That’s the biggest year-over-year sales drop in eight years, real estate data firm CoreLogic reported Wednesday, Jan. 30.
With one-fifth fewer homes changing hands, December home prices barely budged, increasing by the smallest margin since the housing recovery began in 2012.
“It’s too soon to tell, but December was a bit of a yellow flag that maybe housing is slowing down,” said Ralph McLaughlin, CoreLogic’s deputy chief economist.
Area agents and home sellers say they noted a shift in market psychology as early as last summer, following 3 ½ years of a red-hot seller’s market. …
