New data shows the hot Southern California housing market may be cooling off

The hot housing market in Los Angeles might be coming to a halt, according to the latest research into real estate trends. 

It's been a seller's market for years, but new data from Core Logic Wednesday suggests the super-heated market may finally be cooling off: total sales for May 2022 were down 16% from May 2021. That makes it the worst May sales in 34 years.

"What they're saying is the actual number of sales are down year over year and part of that is that there was a lot of pent-up demand over the last few years and low-interest rates really drove that," said Jesse Weinberg, who has been in the real estate sphere for close to 20 years. 

Median prices held flat in April and did not increase, breaking a long streak. 

"There's an affordability piece that we're seeing," said Weinberg. "The increase in rates over the last few months has affected what people can afford"

Core Logic is also reporting the median monthly payment on homes purchased in 2022 is 40% higher than homes purchased in 2021. Experts blame high prices and mortgage rates that have almost doubled since January 1. 

"People are worried about how rising rates will affect prices," added Weinberg. "Typically if you increase the cost of the money, to borrow it, that will affect prices and prices will typically come down."

Weinberg said one of the biggest challenges is finding properties to buy. The buyers, however, are there and when they find something they like it tends to sell quickly.