Wednesday, September 26, 2012

August Phoenix Home Sale Press Release

Phoenix Area August Home Sales


The number of homes sold in the Phoenix region in August rose slightly from July but fell short of the year-ago level as a burst of activity in the middle price ranges failed to compensate for another sharp drop in sub-$200,000 transactions. The median sale price edged higher again amid the ongoing shift toward more move-up buying and fewer foreclosure resales, which accounted for less than one in five deals for the second consecutive month, a real estate information service reported.

In August, buyers paid a median $154,119 for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the combined Maricopa-Pinal counties metro area. That was up 2.7 percent from July and up 30.2 percent from August 2011, marking the ninth consecutive month with a year-over-year gain, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The company tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

The 30.2 percent year-over-year increase in the August median sale price followed annual gains of between 7.5 percent and 25.0 percent since last December.

The August median was 41.6 percent below the Phoenix area's all-time peak of $264,100 in June 2006, but it was 30.2 percent higher than the median’s post-peak trough of $118,347 in August 2011. Last month's median was the highest for any month since the median was $162,984 in November 2008.

The large year-over-year gains in the median sale price in recent months reflect several trends. Prices have risen as affordability-driven demand has met a relatively low supply of homes for sale. But there's also been a sizeable shift in the types of homes selling this year compared with last. More are higher-cost move-up homes and fewer are lower-cost foreclosed properties.

If lenders eventually move more aggressively to clear their backlogs of distressed properties, then the inventory of homes on the market would rise, creating downward pressure on home prices. Regardless, if demand remains high and prices continue to edge higher, the market will eventually respond with a greater supply of homes for sale, which would tame price appreciation. More would-be sellers who've so far been reluctant to put their homes on the market will try to sell. Fewer people will owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, enabling them to sell. There will be more sales of newly built homes, which in August rose 43.3 percent from a year earlier, to the highest level for an August since 2008.

A big drop in lender-owned properties on the market this year helps explain the lower inventory of homes for sale. Foreclosure resales, defined as homes that were foreclosed on in the prior 12 months, dipped to 19.3 percent of all homes that resold last month – the lowest for any month since January 2008, when it was 18.6 percent. August’s foreclosure resale level fell from 19.5 percent the month before and 47.6 percent a year earlier. At their peak in March 2009, foreclosure resales represented 66.2 percent of the Phoenix area's resale market.

Last month a total of 9,179 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the two-county Phoenix region, up 2.2 percent from the month before and down 4.3 percent from a year earlier. The small movement in sales between July and August is typical for the season. On average, August home sales have changed 0.0 percent from July since 1994, when DataQuick’s complete Phoenix region statistics begin.

Last month's total sales were 8.4 percent below average for the month of August. Resales of houses and condos combined were 5.2 percent higher than the historical average for August. Sales of newly built homes were 53.1 percent below average for an August.

Among the region's larger communities, total home sales rose on a year-over-year basis in Buckeye (+1.7%), Gilbert (+26.7%), Glendale (+1.5%), Goodyear (+6.4%), and Tempe (+7.1%). Sales fell year-over-year in Maricopa (-0.4%), Mesa (-13.1%), Peoria (-4.7%), Phoenix (-1.3%), San Tan Valley (-13.2%), Scottsdale (-4.0%) and Surprise (-8.3%).

Across the Phoenix region, sales continued to fall hard in the lowest price ranges. The number of new and resale homes that sold in August for less than $100,000 dropped 44.5 percent from a year earlier, while sub-$150,000 sales fell 27.6 percent. Deals between $200,000 and $400,000 rose 47.0 percent year-over-year, while sales above $500,000 rose 6.9 percent. Sales over $800,000 rose 11.7 percent from a year earlier.

Other Phoenix region August highlights:
•A key price gauge analysts watch, the median price paid per square foot for existing single-family detached houses, was $85 in August, up from $83 in July and up 32.8 percent from a year earlier. The August figure was the highest since it was $92 in October 2008. The median paid per square foot has risen year-over-year for nine consecutive months. The August median paid per square foot stood 50.3 percent below the $171 peak in May and June of 2006.
•At the county level in August, the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses in Maricopa County was $88, up 2.3 percent from the prior month and up 29.8 percent from a year earlier. It was the ninth consecutive month with a year-over-year gain. The Pinal County median paid per square foot was $63 last month, up 2.9 percent from the prior month and up 37.7 percent from a year earlier, marking the 11th consecutive month with a year-over-year gain.
•Buyers with a foreign mailing address in the public record represented 3.1 percent of total Phoenix-area home sales in August, and 11.5 percent of condo resales. (Note: Not all foreign buyers use a foreign mailing address).
•Last month 14.8 percent of all homes sold in the Phoenix area were purchased by buyers based outside of the region. Of these out-of-region buyers, 26.0 percent were from California, while 8.6 percent were from Washington, 7.2 percent were from Arizona (outside of the Phoenix area), 6.4 percent were from Colorado and 4.5 percent were from Illinois. California buyers accounted for 3.8 percent of total Phoenix-area home sales in August.
•Lenders foreclosed on 3,060 Phoenix-area houses and condo units last month, up 30.2 percent from the month before and down 25.0 percent from a year earlier. The number of homes lost to foreclosure between January and August this year totaled 19,998, down 49.5 percent from the same period last year.
•Absentee buyers, who are mainly investors and vacation-home buyers, bought 39.7 percent of all Phoenix-area homes sold last month, down from 41.7 percent the month before and down from 44.0 percent a year earlier. The peak was 47.1 percent in March 2011. Last month, absentee buyers paid a median $119,000, up from $118,500 the month before and up 22.7 percent from $97,000 a year earlier.
•Buyers paying cash bought 40.2 percent of all homes sold last month. That was down from 42.6 percent the prior month and down from 42.2 percent a year earlier. The record for cash buying was 48.0 percent in February 2011. Last month’s cash buyers paid a median $119,000, up from $117,000 the month before and up 40.0 percent from $85,000 a year earlier.
•The market share for government-insured FHA home loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, rose slightly in August to 27.0 percent of all home purchase loans. That was up from an FHA share of 26.1 percent the month before but down from 33.5 percent a year earlier.

To see the full Phoenix home sale chart, go to DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916)456-7157 or alepage@dqnews.com

Copyright 2012 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Friday, September 14, 2012

August California Home Sale Press Release

California August Home Sales


September 14, 2012

An estimated 41,280 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide last month, making it the strongest August since 2006. Last month's sales total was up 4.5 percent from 39,507 in July, and up 9.4 percent from 37,734 sales in August 2011, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

A sales increase between July and August is normal for the summer season. August sales in California have varied from a low of 29,764 in 1992 to a high of 73,285 in 2005. While sales have increased on a year-over-year basis every month since July last year, last month they were still 14.1 percent below the average of 48,061 sales for all months of August since 1988, when DataQuick's statistics begin.

The median price paid for a home in California last month was $281,000, the same as the month before and up 12.9 percent from $249,000 in August 2011. The July and August median was the highest since September 2008, when it was $283,000. August marked the sixth consecutive month in which the state's median sale price rose year-over-year. For the current cycle, the median hit bottom at $221,000 in April 2009, while it peaked at $484,000 in early 2007.

Distressed property sales - the combination of foreclosure resales and "short sales" - made up 38.2 percent of the state's resale market last month. That was the lowest since it was 37.3 percent in January 2008.

Of the existing homes sold in August, 20.0 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was down from a revised 21.7 percent in July and down from 34.3 percent a year earlier. Last month's figure was the lowest for any month since foreclosure resales made up 18.3 percent of the resale market in November 2007. Foreclosure resales peaked at 58.5 percent in February 2009.

Short sales - transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property - made up an estimated 18.2 percent of the homes that resold last month. That was down from an estimated 18.8 percent the month before and up from 17.5 percent a year earlier.

The typical mortgage payment that home buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,022. That was up from $1,016 in July. Adjusted for inflation, last month's typical payment was 55.1 percent below the 1989 peak of the prior real estate cycle, and 63.6 percent below the 2006 peak of the current cycle.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but well below peak levels. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, and cash and non-owner-occupied buying remains at a high, DataQuick reported.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916)456-7157 or alepage@dqnews.com

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright DataQuick. All rights reserved.

August Bay Area Home Sale Press Release

Bay Area August Home Sales Highest Since 2006


September 14, 2012

La Jolla, CA.--The Bay Area posted its strongest home sales for the month of August in six years, the result of low mortgage interest rates, an improving economy and increasing demand in mid- to move-up market segments. The median price paid for a home eased back a notch from June and July, but was well ahead of last year for the fifth consecutive month, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 8,579 new and resale homes were sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 1.4 percent from 8,461 in July, and up 14.2 percent from 7,513 for August 2011.

A July-to-August sales increase is normal for the Bay Area summer season. August sales have varied from 6,688 in 1992 to 13,940 in 2004, while the average for all months of August since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics start, is 9,638.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Bay Area last month was $410,000. That was down 2.6 percent from $421,000 in July, and up 10.8 percent from $370,000 in August 2011.

The Bay Area median almost always drops from July to August. Roughly half the year-over-year increase in the median can be attributed to a shift in market mix.

The median’s low point of the current real estate cycle was $290,000 in March 2009. The peak was $665,000 in June/July 2007. Around half of the median’s peak-to-trough drop was the result of a decline in home values, while the other half was the result of a shift in the sales mix.

“Most economists agree that the housing market is off bottom. But there’s a big gap between the market being ‘off bottom’ and being normal, which it’s not. The single biggest bottleneck is still the dysfunctional mortgage lending market. It’ll be interesting to see how yesterday’s announcement that the Fed is going to buy mortgage-backed securities plays out,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 38.7 percent of last month’s purchase lending, up from a revised 38.6 percent in July, and up from 32.9 percent a year ago. Last month was the highest since 43.4 percent in November 2007. In the current cycle, jumbo usage dropped to as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009. Before the credit crunch struck in August 2007, jumbos accounted for nearly 60 percent of the Bay Area purchase loan market.

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), an important indicator of mortgage availability, declined again last month, accounting for 12.8 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans. That was down from a revised 13.5 percent in July, and down from 16.0 percent in August last year. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for 49.4 percent of all purchase loans. ARMs hit a low of 3.0 percent of loans in January 2009.

Government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 16.1 percent of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages last month. That was the same as in July and down from 21.1 percent a year earlier.

The most active lenders to Bay Area home buyers last month were Wells Fargo with 17.0 percent of the market, RPM Mortgage with 4.6 percent and Bank of America with 3.3 percent. A year ago, Bank of America’s market share was 8.2 percent.

Last month 40.2 percent of Bay Area sales were for $500,000 or more, down from a revised 42.0 percent in July, and up from 35.9 percent in August 2011. The low for the current cycle was January 2009, when just 22.7 percent of sales crossed the $500,000 threshold. Over the past 10 years, a monthly average of 48.0 percent of homes sold for $500,000-plus.

Last month distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – made up about 33.8 percent of the Bay Area’s resale market. That was down from 34.0 percent in July and down from 43.8 percent a year ago.

Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 14.9 percent of resales in August, down from a revised 15.1 percent in July, and down from 25.7 percent a year ago. Last month was the lowest since 14.0 percent in December 2007. Foreclosure resales peaked at 52.0 percent in February 2009. The Bay Area’s monthly average for foreclosure resales over the past 17 years is about 10 percent.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 18.9 percent of Bay Area resales last month. That was the same as in July and up from 18.1 percent a year earlier.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 23.0 percent of all Bay Area homes sold last month, up from a revised 22.6 percent in July, and up from 21.2 percent a year ago. Absentee buyers paid a median $264,500 in August, up 5.8 percent from a year ago.

Buyers who appear to have paid all cash – meaning there was no evidence of a corresponding purchase loan in the public record – accounted for 28.0 percent of August sales. That was up from a revised 27.6 percent in July, and up from 27.5 percent a year ago. The monthly average going back to 1988 is 12.6 percent. Cash buyers paid a median $273,250 in August, up 9.3 percent from a year earlier.

San Diego-based DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,491, down from $1,522 in July, and up from $1,460 a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 46.6 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 60.6 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but below peak levels reached over the last three years. Financing with multiple mortgages is low and down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

To view the county level chart, visit DQNews.com.

Source: DataQuick, www.DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157
Copyright 2012 DataQuick. All rights reserved

Thursday, September 13, 2012

August SoCal Home Sale Press Release

Southland Home Sales Hit 6-Yr High; Median Edges Higher

September 13, 2012
La Jolla, CA---Southern California home sales rose to the highest level for the month of August in six years, fueled by low mortgage rates, a healthier move-up market and near-record levels of investor and cash buying. The median price paid for a home rose to a four-year high, lifted partly by the ongoing shift toward fewer foreclosure resales and more mid- to high-end deals, a real estate information service reported.

The median price paid for a home in the six-county Southland rose to $309,000 last month, up 1.0 percent from $306,000 in July and up 10.8 percent from $279,000 in August 2011, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Last month’s median price was the highest since the median was $330,000 in August 2008. The median has risen month-to-month for seven consecutive months and has increased year-over-year for the past five months.

Home prices have edged higher this year as greater demand, triggered by super-low mortgage rates and a mild economic recovery, has been met by a shrinking supply of homes for sale. But recent gains in the median sale price also reflect two other trends: a sharp drop in foreclosure resales, which often sell at a steep discount and are concentrated in lower-cost areas, as well as a substantial increase in mid- to high-end transactions.

It appears that close to half of the nearly 11 percent year-over-year gain in the Southland’s median sale price last month can be attributed to this shift in the types of homes selling. In August, price levels for the lowest-cost third of Southern California's housing stock rose 13.1 percent year-over-year, while they rose 6.1 percent in the middle and 2.6 percent in the top third.

In August, a total of 22,438 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties. That was up 9.0 percent from 20,588 sales in July, and up 14.2 percent from 19,654 sales in August 2011.

Last month’s sales were 15.6 percent lower than the average sales tally of 26,588 for all the months of August since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. The low for August sales was 16,379 in 1992, while the high was 39,562 in 2003.

“August was the strongest month for home sales so far this year, and the strongest for an August in six years. That’s really saying something given the drop in low-end sales, especially foreclosure resales. Much of the pickup in activity reflects a continuation of trends we’ve seen for months, like the unleashing of pent-up demand in move-up markets and high levels of cash and investor buying. It will be interesting to see at what point cash purchases, which still account for close to a third of all sales, start to fade. In the meantime, strong seasonal forces should be kicking in now. Absent an unusual surge in demand this fall, sales will taper off over the next few months,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

The number of Southern California homes that sold in August for less than $200,000 fell 11.1 percent from a year earlier, while the number that sold for $200,000 to $400,000 rose 11.2 percent. Sales between $300,000 and $800,000 – a range that would include many move-up buyers – increased 23.4 percent year-over-year. Sales over $800,000 rose 19.3 percent from August 2011.

Last month 22.8 percent of all Southland sales were for $500,000 or more, down from 23.1 percent the month before and up from 20.1 percent a year earlier.

Distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and short sales – made up 36.8 percent of last month’s resale market. That was the lowest level since the figure was 36.0 percent in January 2008.

Foreclosure resales – properties foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 19.2 percent of the Southland resale market last month, down from a revised 20.7 percent the month before and 32.4 percent a year earlier. Last month’s figure was the lowest since foreclosure resales were 18.8 percent of the resale market in November 2007. In the current cycle, the figure hit a high of 56.7 percent in February 2009.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 17.6 percent of Southland resales last month. That was down from an estimated 18.7 percent the month before and it was the same as a year earlier.

Once again there were no signs of a major easing of credit conditions, though the share of purchase loans in the “jumbo” category remained higher in August than a year earlier.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 20.4 percent of last month’s purchase lending, up a hair from 20.2 percent the prior month and up from 17.2 percent a year ago. In recent months the jumbo share has been the highest since December 2007, when jumbos made up 21.7 percent of the purchase loan market. In the months leading up to the credit crisis that hit in August 2007, jumbos made up close to 40 percent of the market.

The use of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) dipped slightly last month. ARMs made up 5.8 percent of home purchase loans in August, compared with 6.2 percent the month before and 8.5 percent a year earlier. Since 2000, a monthly average of about 34 percent of Southland purchase loans were ARMs.

The most active lenders to Southland home buyers last month were Wells Fargo with 9.2 percent of the market, Prospect Mortgage with 2.6 percent and IMortgage.com with 2.5 percent. Bank of America, which had 7.6 percent of the market a year ago, was fourth with 2.4 percent of the purchase loan market.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 27.0 percent of the Southland homes sold last month. That was down from 27.5 percent the prior month and up from 24.8 percent a year earlier. The record was 29.9 percent in February this year, while the monthly average since 2000 is 17.4 percent. Last month’s absentee buyers paid a median $235,000, up 17.5 percent from a year earlier.

Buyers paying with cash accounted for 31.6 percent of August home sales, down from 31.8 percent the month before and up from 28.5 percent a year earlier. Cash purchases peaked at 33.7 percent of all sales this February, and since 2000 the monthly average is 15.0 percent. Cash buyers paid a median $242,000 last month, up 14.3 percent from a year ago.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 26.9 percent of all purchase mortgages last month. August’s FHA level was down from 27.2 percent the month before and 31.8 percent a year earlier. The August FHA share was the lowest since August 2008, when it was 26.8 percent.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

The typical monthly mortgage payment Southland buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,124, compared with $1,106 the month before and $1,101 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s typical payment was 52.1 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 60.8 percent below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity, while above long-term averages, has been trending downward this year and is far below peak levels. Financing with multiple mortgages is very low, and down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

The county-level chart is available at DQNews.com .

Source: DQNews.com Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2012 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Friday, September 7, 2012

July Las Vegas Home Sale Press Release

Las Vegas Region July Home Sales


  The number of homes sold in the Las Vegas-area fell year-over-year for the second consecutive month in July as low-end sales continued to drop and foreclosure resales dipped to the lowest level since November 2007. The share of homes sold to in- and out-of-state absentee buyers hovered near a record high, while the combination of more mid-to high-end transactions and fewer foreclosure resales helped the median sale price rise year-over-year for the fourth consecutive month, a real estate information service reported.  

In July, 4,280 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County). That was down 4.7 percent from the month before and down 5.6 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.  

On average, sales have declined 8.2 percent between June and July since 1994, when DataQuick’s complete Las Vegas region statistics begin. This July’s sales were 11.6 percent below the average number of homes sold during all months of July since 1994, and were the lowest for that month since July 2008, when 4,134 homes sold.  

July’s sales tally was below average because new-home sales remained extraordinarily weak – about 63 percent below average for the month of July. Resale activity was 12.4 percent above average for a July. However, the number of houses and condos that resold in July fell 6.3 percent from the prior month and declined 8.7 percent from a year earlier. Though low in an historical context, sales of newly built homes in July rose nearly 21 percent on a year-over-year basis.

In the overall market in July, the higher price categories continued to post the largest year-over-year sales gains, while activity declined sharply in the lowest price segments. The total number of homes that sold for less than $100,000 fell 23.8 percent in July compared with a year earlier. The number of homes that sold for less than $200,000 declined 11.3 percent from a year earlier, while the number that sold above $300,000 rose 24.6 percent. The number of sales above $500,000 rose 34.8 percent compared with a year earlier. (The over-$500,000 market only accounts for about 2 percent of total sales).

Increased affordability thanks to super-low mortgage rates and years of price declines has spurred more demand in the mid- to higher-end markets this year. In the lower price ranges, demand among first-time buyers, investors and vacation-home buyers has been robust, reducing the supply of homes on the market to the point where it has hampered sales (i.e. if there were more homes listed then the sales volume would be higher). Why isn’t inventory rising to meet the demand? Many who would like to sell can’t because they owe more than their homes are worth. Other potential sellers are holding off on a move-up purchase because of uncertainty over the economy, or because they’re waiting for higher prices.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Las Vegas metro area in July was $128,800 – the highest since the median was $130,000 in September 2010. July’s median rose 3.1 percent from the prior month and rose 12.1 percent from a year earlier.

July was the sixth consecutive month to post a month-to-month gain in the median, and it was the fourth in a row with a year-over-year increase. Prior to this April, the median hadn’t risen year-over-year since June 2010. July’s 12.1 percent annual rise in the median was at least in part a reflection of the substantial drop in the share of all resales that were foreclosed properties, which tend to carry significant discounts and be concentrated in lower-cost areas. The pickup in mid-to high-end deals also helps push the median higher.

The July median sale price remained 58.7 percent below the November 2006 peak of $312,000. In recent months the median has been rising off a cyclical low point of $110,000 this January – the lowest level since the median was also $110,000 in April 1994.

An alternative home-price gauge – the median paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses – rose again to $71 in July. That was up 2.9 percent from the month before and up 6.0 percent from a year earlier, marking the second consecutive month with a year-over-year gain. (This January’s $64 median per square foot was the lowest since at least 1994.) The July figure was 62.7 percent lower than the peak $190 paid per square foot in May and June 2006.

Distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – continued to trend downward in July, representing 43.5 percent of the resale market. That’s down from 48.6 percent the month before and 70.6 percent a year earlier.

Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 25.8 percent of Las Vegas resale activity in July – the lowest level since November 2007, when it was 24.8 percent. July’s figure was down from 32.6 percent the month before and 59.5 percent a year earlier. Foreclosure resales peaked at 73.7 percent of the resale market in April 2009.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 17.7 percent of the resale market in July. That compares with an estimated 16.0 percent the prior month and 11.1 percent a year ago.

Absentee buyers – mainly investors and vacation-home buyers – purchased a near-record 51.0 percent of all Las Vegas-area homes sold in July. That was the same as the month before and up from 46.5 percent a year earlier. The peak was 51.2 percent this March. Absentee buyers paid a median $108,000 in July, up from $104,000 the prior month and up 16.1 percent from $93,050 a year earlier. Absentee buyers are those who indicated at the time of sale that the property tax bill will go to a different address.

In July, 46.5 percent of all absentee buyers in the Las Vegas region were from Nevada, while 53.5 percent had mailing addresses outside of Nevada, according to public records. Topping the list of states where these out-of-state investors and second-home buyers came from were California (29.4 percent of all absentee buyers), Arizona (2.4 percent), Colorado (1.9 percent), and Utah (1.7 percent). All out-of-state buyers combined purchased 26.5 percent of all homes sold in the Las Vegas area in July. Absentee buyers from California accounted for nearly 15 percent of the region’s total home sales in July.

Cash buyers purchased 53.5 percent of the Las Vegas-area homes that sold in July. That was up from a cash-buyer share of 51.4 percent of total sales the month before and up from 53.0 percent a year earlier. The peak was 56.7 percent in February 2011. Cash purchases are where there is no sign of a corresponding purchase mortgage in the public record. July’s cash buyers paid a median $104,500, up from $99,000 the prior month and up 22.6 percent from $85,243 a year earlier.

Meanwhile, foreclosure activity remains far below last year’s level.

In the wake of a 2011 Nevada law that creates additional requirements for lenders trying to foreclose on properties, the number of notices of default (“NODs”) filed in Clark County has plummeted. In July, lenders filed 1,618 NODs, up 3.1 percent from the prior month and down 52.4 percent from 3,402 a year earlier. The notice of default is the first step in the formal foreclosure process.

Lenders foreclosed on 864 homes in the Las Vegas region in July, down 21.7 percent from the month before and down 72.7 percent from a year earlier. Between January and July this year, lenders foreclosed on 9,228 single-family house and condo units, down 59.2 percent from the same period last year.

A form of low-down-payment financing that’s popular with first-time home buyers – government-insured FHA loans – accounted for 35.7 percent of all home purchase loans in July. That was up from 34.9 percent the prior month and down from 42.1 percent a year earlier. This June’s FHA level was the lowest since April 2008, when it was 31.9 percent. The current cycle’s peak for FHA use was 55.1 percent of all purchase loans in September 2008.

The July Las Vegas chart is posted here.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2012 DataQuick. All rights reserved.