"Affordable luxury" buyers have dominated the Los Angeles housing market in the year up to November 2016, with average sale prices of $1-million-to-$3-million single-family homes increasing by $10,500, the largest gain in all price ranges, according to a report released by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Overall, the average sales price in Los Angeles dipped slightly year-over-year, but uptick in the number of sales helped the total volume increase 7% to $19.8 billion, according to the MLS 2016 market report released last week.
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For homes sold in the price range between $3 million and $5 million, the average price remained almost unchanged. But on the higher-end of the market, with prices over $5 million, the average priced dropped almost 2% to $8.96 million, according to the MLS.
That said, Los Angeles’ super luxury segment did see record sales in 2016, with two transactions surpassing the $100 million mark. One involved Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s mansion, selling for $100 million to his neighbor, billionaire investor Daren Metropoulos in August. Also, a Holmby Hills mega-mansion sold for $100 million to Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores in October.
Another prominent market report, Los Angeles’s year-end overview by brokerage firm Douglas Elliman and real estate appraisal and consultant firm Miller Samuel, has yet to be released. According to its third quarter report, the average sales price of single-family homes in Greater Los Angeles reached $2.04 million.
Write to Fang Block at fang.block@dowjones.com