Amalia Otet 
The Los Angeles residential real estate market boasted strong sales volumes and rising sale prices in 2014, mainly fueled by increased demand, low inventory levels, and consistent job growth. Median home prices have gone up 11% over the past year, making 2014 the third consecutive year of growth for the local real estate market.
Median price of L.A. homes rises, number of homes sold falls
According to PropertyShark’s Los Angeles Home Sales Market Report, the median price reached $442,000 in 2014, up 11% from $400,000 in 2013, and up 34% from $330,500 in 2010. The median price per square foot mirrored the same growth rate and stands at a five-year high. It hit $317 in 2014, up 12% from the previous year and up 33% from 2010.
The total number of transactions dropped 13% year-over-year, but due to the surge in median sale prices, the sales volume was slightly up by 1% year-over-year, exceeding $50 billion for the second year in a row.
In 2014, most homes sold for prices between $200k and $600k. Luxury home transactions – defined as homes that sold for $1M or more – made up some 13% of the county’s residential sales; 8% of sales had prices lower than $200,000.
Luxury Home Sales Market Picks Up Steam
Luxury sales, namely homes that sold for $1M or more, have withstood a market-wide two-year decrease in transactions and closed the year beyond the 10,000 closed sales milestone. Five years ago, this segment accounted for only 5,211 transactions or 6% of all closed sales in the county.
The priciest zip code in Los Angeles County was 90402 in North of Montana (an upscale area in Santa Monica), which tied for first place with 90210 in Beverly Hills. The median price in both zip codes was $3.1 million in 2014.
Surprisingly, Los Angeles’ most expensive homes of 2014 weren’t clustered in either Beverly Hills or Santa Monica. The beautiful Holmby Hills in western Los Angeles was home to most of the priciest sales of 2014, the top one closing at $88.3M.
Looking to get more insight on the L.A. housing market? Check out our detailed 2014 Los Angeles Home Sales Market Report.
