California Sales Slide Again, Shutdown Gets Partial Blame

The government shutdown and the typicalrnend of summer doldrums dragged California home sales down in October, the thirdrnstraight month of falling sales.  The CaliforniarnAssociation of Realtors® (C.A.R.) reports that sales of existing, single-familyrndetached homes in the state fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate ofrn401,170 units, down 2.7 percent from a revised 412,260 units in September andrn11.1 percent below the rate of 451,090 in October 2012.</p

C.A.R. President Kevin Brown said, “Asrnanticipated, the housing market was disrupted by the closure of the federalrngovernment in October, which prolonged the loan approval process and led to therndelay of many home closings, especially on FHA transactions.  That said, we are returning to a marketrnthat’s more balanced than we’ve seen in recent years, with home price gainsrnthat are more sustainable and a sales pace that’s characteristic of a normalrnenvironment.”</p

The median home price in October alsornedged down, declining 0.3 percent from September.  The statewide median price of an existing,rnsingle-family detached home was $427,290 in October compared to September’srnmedian price of $428,740 to $427,290. rnThe October number was still 25.3 percent above the median a yearrnearlier making October the 16^th straight month that the median pricernjumped year-over-year by double digits.</p

</p

“The recent jump in interest rates,rncoupled with the run-up in home prices since the beginning of this year,<blowered housing affordability.  As such,rnmany buyers are considering more affordable options such as condos andrntownhomes, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where there is a greaterrnabundance of these property types,” said C.A.R. Vice President and ChiefrnEconomist Leslie Appleton-Young.  “Asrnhousing demand has cooled off in recent months, however, the statewide medianrnprice is finally showing some signs of stability.  As we enter the slower home buying season, wernexpect home prices to be capped by seasonal factors and annual price gains torncontinue to taper off in the coming months.”</p

Inventories dipped from 3.6 months inrnSeptember to a 3.4 month supply of available existing single family detachedrnhomes.  In October 2012 the inventory wasrn3.1 month.  C.A.R. said a normal marketrntypically has a six to seven month supply.</p

The median number of days it took tornsell a single-family home increased to 33.1 days in October from 29.6 days inrnSeptember, but was down from 38 days in October 2012.

All Content Copyright © 2003 – 2009 Brown House Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.nReproduction in any form without permission of MortgageNewsDaily.com is prohibited.