LA condo sales plummet to 20-year low in latest grim sign for housing market

The condo market in Los Angeles has gone ice cold as rising costs stall demand — fueling concerns that it could spell doom for the rest of the city’s housing market.

Sales of LA condo units during the first two months of the year have fallen to a 20-year low, even as prices dropped nearly 5% in February, according to a report from ATTOM. With decreasing demand, condo prices have also hit a 12-year low.

“When the housing market softens, and it has, condos usually go softer faster than single-family homes,” Richard Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at USC, told the Los Angeles Times. “People prefer single-family houses to condos.”

Unlike hotter housing markets in California like San Francisco and Sacramento, LA lost about 54,000 residents between 2024 and 2025.

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Fewer buyers could have contributed to the city’s ongoing housing lull, as well as its status as the least accessible housing market due to median incomes in the city lagging well behind the typical home value.

The report says it would “take households more than 37 years to save for a down payment” on a home in LA at a personal savings rate of 4.6%. 

In one bright sign for LA renters, median rents recently fell to a four-year low. Condos in particular skyrocketed in price during the pandemic but have stalled recently.

“The market is experiencing more of a pricing plateau than a major correction,” Rob Barber, chief executive of Attom, told the LA Times.

Lackluster apartment construction numbers in LA are also likely responsible for the waning condo market.

New apartment construction numbers plummeted 33% in the final quarter of 2025 compared to three years ago, while cities like San Diego jumped 10% in the same period.

The expenses of owning a condo are also a roadblock. Rising HOA fees haven’t helped.

“In California, it’s becoming clearer that they are more expensive to own than people think,” Green said. “We haven’t built much lately. The condominium market is generally older, 40- to 50-year-old places, and they need a lot of work. A lot of capital improvements are coming home to roost.”

But Barber remains optimistic that the condo market isn’t set to fall off completely, which would cause significant trouble for the housing market.

“Condo buyers tend to be more rate sensitive and are also dealing with rising HOA fees, insurance costs and stricter financing conditions,” Barber said. “At the same time, condo prices have remained relatively resilient, suggesting demand has cooled but not disappeared altogether.”

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