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LOS ANGELES (Feb. 15) – California home sales rose in January, marking three consecutive monthly increases and posting their highest level since May 2010, while the statewide median price declined to its lowest level since June 2009, according to data from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).
“With lower home prices and rates edging up from their historic lows of late last year, prospective home buyers should consider the opportunities in today’s market,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce.
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 546,420 in January, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide, representing 90 percent of the market. January’s sales were up 5.1 percent from December’s revised pace of 520,080 and up 2.5 percent from the 532,870 sales pace recorded in January 2010. It was the first year-over-year sales increase since May 2010. The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2011 if sales maintained the January pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home sold in California was $278,900, down 8.6 percent from a revised $305,020 in December and was down 2.0 percent from the $284,600 median price recorded for January 2010. The January 2011 median price was the lowest since June 2009, when it was $274,640.
“Although prices typically fall seasonally in January and February of each year, the decline in the median price can primarily be attributed to the aftereffects of last fall’s foreclosure moratoria,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “More distressed properties are coming on to the market, which led to an uptick in sales of distressed properties during January. We expect this trend to continue as lenders expedite the disposition of these properties,” she said.
Here are other highlights of C.A.R.’s resale housing report for January 2011:
- The Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes was 6.7 months in January, up from 5.0 months in December 2010. The index was 5.7 months in January 2010. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.
- Thirty-year fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 4.76 percent during January 2011, compared with 5.03 percent in January 2010, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates averaged 3.25 percent in January 2011, compared with 4.33 percent in January 2010.
- The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 61.8 days in January 2011, compared with 32.9 days for the same period a year ago.
- View Unsold Inventory by price point.
It’s funny how the brain collects its data by way of the nose. It was fourteen years ago almost to the day that I drove the long and sometimes treacherous 1,800 miles from my former Chicago home to Los Angeles. I escaped the Midwest during a snowstorm and then nearly drove off a mountain road in an Arizona blizzard. But I made it.
Over the years, February and the emergence of the flowering pink Jasmine and aromatic Victorian box trees would bring back the memories of my arrival in LA. Back then, I mistakenly attributed the gorgeous perfume in the air to the ubiquitous bougainvillea plants. It would be some time before I knew from where it came. My impressions of this city in my first months here were a world away from the smoggy LA that I had expected to find.
After last year, the aromas of February will forever be attached to a far greater arrival than my own. My daughter’s birth February 12th coincides with the sweetness that welcomed me to this beautiful part of the country. And her sweetness has reassigned those smells in my brain’s hard drive. She will grow up a “California girl” and will probably take for granted what makes Southern California such a special place to live.
Now I hate to sound like the chamber of commerce, but why would you want to live anywhere else? While nearly half the country braces for another arctic blast after the latest pile up of snow, our preparations for bad weather consist mainly of remembering where that damn umbrella went, and will it still work after 10 months of hibernation; or is this a “sweater day?”
Yesterday as I went out for my run I was brought to a screeching halt by the breathtaking views of snowcapped San Gabriel Mountains. I paused, and after saying a few private words of gratitude, thought: “Where else in America can you see this and still be just a twenty minute drive to the ocean?”
I don’t know, but I’m glad that our home here in LA is one of those places.
Oh yeah and there’s this good news:
Luxury home sales jump 21% in California
Homefront Los Angeles Blog: Feb 10th
Homefront Los Angeles Blog: Jan. 19th
Trulia: Former homeowners flooding rental market
By Inman News, Monday, January 24, 2011.
Via Inman News™
Despite the rising number of renters across the country, it is cheaper to buy a home rather than rent one in 72 percent of the 50 largest cities in the U.S., according to an index released by real estate search and marketing site Trulia.
"Since the start of the 'Great Recession,' many former homeowners have flooded the rental market. Following the principles of supply and demand, renting has become relatively more expensive than buying in most markets," said Pete Flint, CEO and co-founder of Trulia, in a statement.
"Though necessary for achieving true economic recovery, stricter bank lending practices have also further aggravated the struggling housing market in the short term. Even highly qualified homebuyers face intense scrutiny on their income, savings, existing debt and credit history before they can get a mortgage loan."
Trulia's rent vs. buy index compares the median list price with the median rent on two-bedroom apartments, condominiums and townhomes listed on Trulia.com as of Jan. 10, 2011.
A price-to-rent ratio of 1 to 15 means that it's much cheaper to buy than to rent in a particular city. A ratio between 16 and 20 means that it's more expensive to rent than to buy, but, depending on the family's situation, buying could "make financial sense," the site said. Any ratio above 20 indicates that owning is much more costly than renting in a city.
In 36 out of 50 of the country's most populous cities, buying a two-bedroom home is less expensive than renting one. These cities include many areas that have been hit hard by foreclosures, such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Fresno, Calif.
Read the full article Here:
