Southern California homebuying 24% below average as prices near record high

Southern California homebuying in April ran far slower than the historical pace as near-record-high prices scared off house hunters.

Sales closed on 15,622 houses and condos – existing and newly built – in the six-county region in April, according to real estate tracker Attom. My trusty spreadsheet shows that while Southern California’s transaction tally is up 4% in a year, it’s the fourth-slowest selling April in data reaching back to 2005.

Plus, and most telling, sales are 25% below the 21-year sales average for April.