LOS ANGELES — Home sales in Southern California plummeted 21.4 percent last month from July 2009, the largest year-over-year drop in more than two years, as federal tax credits expired, a tracking firm reported Tuesday.
San Diego-based MDA DataQuick said the six-county region saw 18,946 sales last month, compared to 24,104 in July 2009. Last month was the slowest July since 2007, when 17,867 homes were sold.
Last month's sales were also down 20.6 percent from 23,871 in June, the firm said.
"It appears some of the sales that normally would have occurred in July were instead tugged into June or even May as buyers tried to take advantage of the expiring tax credits," DataQuick president John Walsh said.
The median home price in Southern California declined 1.7 percent to $295,000 last month from $300,000 in June.
However, the median price last month was up 10.1 percent from $268,000 in July 2009.