January Market Report From C.A.R

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.

Click here to check out this market report video from C.A.R.

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.

Technorati Tags: Market report,California real estate,sales,real estate,Los Angeles real estate

Cheaper to buy than to rent in 72% of largest U.S. cities

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:

Are prices down in LA?.. No they are not!

Median Sales Prices For Single Family Homes in 25 selected areas

The news here is good. In only seven out of these 25 areas do we see reductions in the median sales price, and out of those 7 only 3 areas (Brentwood, West Hollywood and Malibu) show reductions in the the double digits. That leaves eighteen of the most popular areas of LA showing positive growth in this challenging economy. This data while representing only a portion of the LA metro area supports what I previously reported in this blog (via the Washington post) that prices are rose slightly last year in the LA, SF, SD and the Washington DC areas, while prices nationally continue to drop or are flat.

2010 Compared with 2009 and percent change

Area	2010	2009	% +/-
Beverly Hills	$3,200,000	$2,900,000	+10.3%
Beverly Hills P.O.	$1,850,000	$1,699,999	+8.8%
Sunset Strip – Hwood Hills	$1,200,000	$1,200,000	+0.0%
Bel Air/Holmby	$1,590,000	$1,550,000	+2.5%
Westwood - Century City	$1,300,000	$1,300,000	+0.0%
Brentwood	$1,723,885	$2,057,500	-19.3%
West L.A.	$697,500	$665,000	+4.8%
Cheviot Hills/ Rancho Park	$1,200,000	$1,249,500	-4.1%
Beverlywood Vicinity	$800,000	$778,000	+2.8%
West Hollywood	$760,000	$850,000	-11.8%
Venice	$975,000	$980,000	-0.05%
Marina Del Rey	$1,550,000	$1,225,000	+18.3%
Palms - Mar Vista	$740,000	$700,000	+5.7%
Santa Monica	$1,634,000	$1,579,000	+3.4%
Pacific Palisades	$1,815,000	$1,930,000	+5.9%
Hancock Park	$982,500	$905,000	+8.0%
Beverly Center-Miracle M	$905,000	$880,000	+2.8%
Hollywood	$453,500	$413,000	+9.6%
Silver Lake/Echo Park	$600,000	$600,000	+0.0%
Los Feliz	$931,250	$920,000	+1.2%
Westchester	$670,000	$679,000	-1.3%
Hollywood Hills East	$922,500	$950,000	-2.9%
Playa Del Rey	$1,000,000	$940,500	+6.3%
Malibu Beach	$4,100,000	$6,150,000	-50.0%
Malibu	$1,725,000	$1,717,845	+0.04%

Los Angeles, San Fran, San Diego and Washington D.C. region post gains as home prices still falling in most U.S. cities

While this article paints a dismal picture of the national real estate market, there is some good news for our region…See below and click the link to the article.

Of the 20 major metropolitan areas tracked by the Case-Shiller index, only three regions aside from Washington posted year-over-year gains: Los Angeles, San Diego and San Franciso.

Washington region posts gains as home prices still falling in most U.S. cities

        

www.anthonydp.com has launched!

Introducing the all new anthonydp.com! Your one-stop spot for Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Westside real estate. Easy navigation, elegant, simple design, integrated MLS search tool. Click the link above and check it out.

DataQuick Releases December Sales Figures - Market Has Improved Since December 2008

MDA Dataquick has just put out the December 2009 sales figures. Sales in the Southland rose 12.1% when compared with sales in December 2008. Their findings also indicate that the medain sales price has risen in each of the last eight months.

Trending upwards? Perhaps. Read the article HERE.

Has The Market Stabilized? Examining L.A. County Sales

The following three images are graphic depictions of market trends since December 1st 2008. They are based on data taken from the Greater Los Angeles and Westside MLS:

NOTE: Please click on the images for better reading/viewing. The dark bars represent the median sales price and the lighter bars represent the median list price.


This first graph examines houses sold with a price between $200,000 and $700,000.The median sale price has basically remained steady. The median sales price for December 2008 was $350,000. Twelve months later the Median sales price was $355,000. A slight rise in price which may have more to do with first-time home buyers angling to close before the previous tax credit deadline than an upward trend.



This graph displays homes sold with a purchase price between $701,000 and $2 Million. In this price category we see a drop of $85,000 between December 08' and November 09'. It's interesting to note that last December these home were closing at 97% of their list price. A year later we see a 85% difference in median sold to median list price.



In this last graph we take a look at condo sales between $200-700,000. Here, much like the single family homes in this price category, we see a slight rise of $5,000 over the twelve monthe from December of last year through November of this year. Interesting to note that sellers of these homes seem to be asking for more and getting less than they were 12 months ago.