Many people are waiting for a recovery in the real estate industry, but California statistics are making some people worry. Los Angeles County has seen a 12.2 percent increase in median home prices. This makes it difficult for home buyers to afford moves. As sales slow, concerns spread. But is the concern warranted?

CoreLogic DataQuick announced the median price of a home in Los Angeles County was $460,000 last month. This was a $50,000 increase from one year ago. The effect, the study suggests, was a decrease in sales. The numbers show 4,913 homes were sold in January of 2014 versus 4,735 homes in January 2015.

Orange County is experiencing similar trends. Last month, the median price of a home was $562,000. This was an increase of 2.3 percent from January 2014. Some say the result was a sales drop of approximately 10 percent.

Together, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Ventura, and San Bernadino counties sold just 13,500 properties. This plummeted 29.4 percent from 19,205 in December. However, it was only a 6.3 percent drop from last year at the same time. The median price for a house in this area approached $409,000, which is down from $415,000 in December but up from $380,000 back in January of 2014.

Although these statistics seem disturbing to some, most seasoned real estate agents realize the numbers at the beginning of the year are often not a good indication of future trends. This is due to the fact that most buyers and sellers traditionally drop out of the market during winter months and holidays. As spring approaches, most experts seem optimistic that a better market will arrive. Here in the South Bay, many homes continue to sell like hot cakes.