Wednesday, January 30, 2013

2012 California Million Dollar Home Sales Press Release

California 2012 Million-Dollar Home Sales Highest in Five Years

January 30, 2013

The number of Golden State homes sold for a million dollars or more rose to its highest level since 2007, fueled by a recovering economy, rising home prices and a record number of cash purchases. The number of homes sold for more than $5 million rose to an all-time high, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 26,993 homes sold for $1 million-plus last year, up 26.9 percent from 21,267 in 2011. It was the most sold since 42,502 homes crossed the million-dollar threshold in 2007, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

The all-time high was 2005, when 54,773 homes sold for a million dollars or more. Last year's 26.9 percent year-over-year sales gain outpaced the state's market as a whole: Overall sales totaled 447,573, up 8.2 percent from 413,479 in 2011.

"It should go without saying that buyers and sellers in the prestige market tend to respond to different motivations and incentives than the rest of the market. Job security, down payment sizes and mortgage interest rates don't play the same role. Returns on investments in a low interest-rate financial environment and safe-haven investing do play a role," said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

The sales distribution of luxury homes has shifted during the past two years, with record sales at the very high end. Statewide, 697 homes sold for more than $5 million last year, an all-time high and well above the previous high of 491 in 2011. In the $4-$5 million range a record 460 homes sold, well above 344 in 2011 (and 342 in 2005). In the $3-$4 million range, 1,104 homes sold, slightly ahead of 1,046 in 2005.

Sales totaled 3,266 in the $2-$3 million range, well behind 2005 when 4,070 sold (and behind 2006 and 2007 as well). In the $1-$2 million range, 17,762 sold last year, around half of the 34,145 sold in 2005.

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

The million-dollar transactions include home sales where it could be determined from public records that there was a buyer, a seller, that money changed hands, and that there was a legal transfer of property ownership. Not included were property swaps, sales of multiple lots, sales where no price or loan amount was available, teardowns, and large farm or ranch properties. Sales to companies and trusts were included.

Last year 7,791 of the million-dollar home buyers paid cash, a record number, up from 5,802 in 2011. Cash was used more frequently the higher up the price scale. Of those who did finance their purchase last year, the median down payment was 25.9 percent of the purchase price. The lending institutions most willing to provide mortgage financing for $1 million-plus homes were Wells Fargo, Union Bank and First Republic Bank.

The most expensive confirmed purchase last year was an 8,930-square-foot, 4-bedroom, 4 1/2-bathroom home in Woodside built in 2005 on just under nine acres which sold for $117,500,000 in November. The largest was a 20,248 sq.ft. 7-bedroom, 13-bathroom mansion in Bel Air.

Virtually all home sales in some communities were in the $1 million-plus category. Among them were the following: Ross in Marin County; San Marino and Santa Monica in Los Angeles County; Los Altos in Santa Clara County; Atherton and Hillsborough in San Mateo County; and Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County.

Newly-built homes accounted for 4.9 percent of last year's $1 million-plus sales, down from 5.9 percent in 2011. Condo sales made up 9.2 percent of the million-dollar category last year, down slightly from 8.0 percent the year before. Most $1 million-plus condos were sold in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego counties.

The median-sized home that sold for $1 million-plus was 2,641 sq.ft. with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The median price paid per square foot for all million-dollar homes in 2012 was $641, up 5.5 percent from $607 in 2011. For the overall California market, the square-foot median was $162 last year, up 12.5 percent from $144 in 2011, DataQuick reported.

There are 8.66 million houses and condos in California. Of those, 246,318, or 2.8 percent, are assessed for $1 million or more by county assessor offices, DataQuick reported.

To view a list of the top million dollar communities in California, visit DQNews.com.

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2013 DataQuick Information Systems. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

4Q12 California Foreclosures Press Release

California: Foreclosure Starts Lowest Since 2006


January 23, 2013

La Jolla, CA.--The number of California homeowners pushed into the foreclosure process fell last quarter to the lowest level in six years, the result of rising home values, an improving economy and a shift toward short sales, a real estate information service reported.

During fourth-quarter 2012 lenders recorded a total of 38,212 Notices of Default (NoDs) on California houses and condos. That was down 22.1 percent from 49,026 during the prior three months, and down 37.9 percent from 61,517 in fourth-quarter 2011, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Last quarter's number was the lowest since 37,994 NoDs were recorded in fourth-quarter 2006. New foreclosure filings (NoDs) peaked in first-quarter 2009 at 135,431. DataQuick's NoD statistics go back to 1992.

"Home values increased through most of 2012, and the rate of increase picked up toward the end of the year. That means fewer and fewer homeowners are underwater, where they owe more than their homes are worth. That in turn means they can sell and pay off the mortgage, or perhaps refinance at today's low interest rates. This trend alone suggests we'll see a continued decline in foreclosure rates this year. Another factor is the foreclosure-avoidance goals of various settlements between lenders and the government," said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a home last quarter was $300,000 in California, up 22.4 percent from a year ago and 32.2 percent off the median's $227,000 bottom in first-quarter 2009, DataQuick reported.

Foreclosure resales accounted for 16.6 percent of all California resale activity last quarter, down from 20.0 percent the prior quarter and 33.6 percent a year ago. It peaked at 57.8 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Foreclosure resales - properties foreclosed on in the prior 12 months - varied significantly by county last quarter, from 5.0 percent in San Francisco County to 31.4 percent in Sutter County.

Short sales - transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property - made up an estimated 26.0 percent of statewide resale activity last quarter. That was down from an estimated 26.4 percent the prior quarter and up from 25.7 percent of all resales a year earlier. The estimated number (rather than percentage) of short sales last quarter rose 4.2 percent from a year earlier.

NoD filings fell in all home price categories last quarter. But mortgage defaults remained far more concentrated in California's most affordable neighborhoods. Zip codes with fourth-quarter 2012 median sale prices below $200,000 collectively saw 5.5 NoDs filed for every 1,000 homes in those zip codes. The ratio was 3.5 NoDs filed per 1,000 homes for zip codes with $200,000 to $800,000 medians, while there were 1.3 NoDs filed per 1,000 homes for the group of zips with medians above $800,000.

Most of the loans going into default are still from the 2005-2007 period: The median origination quarter for defaulted loans is still third-quarter 2006. That has been the case for three years, indicating that weak underwriting standards peaked then.

The most active "beneficiaries" in the formal foreclosure process last quarter were Wells Fargo (6,611), JP Morgan Chase (4,275) and Bank of America (2,005).

The trustees who pursued the highest number of defaults last quarter were NDex West (mostly for Wells Fargo), Cal-Western Reconveyance (also Wells Fargo) and Quality Loan Service Corp (Bank of America).

On primary mortgages, California homeowners were a median eight months behind on their payments when the lender filed the Notice of Default. The borrowers owed a median $14,364 on a median $308,885 mortgage.

On home equity loans and lines of credit in default, borrowers owed a median $4,693 on a median $77,187 credit line. The amount of the credit line that was actually in use cannot be determined from public records.

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. Notices of Default are recorded at county recorders offices and mark the first step of the formal foreclosure process.

Although 38,212 default notices were filed last quarter, they involved 37,343 homes because some borrowers were in default on multiple loans (e.g. a primary mortgage and a line of credit).

Of the state's larger counties, mortgages were least likely to go into default in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Marin counties. The probability was highest in Yuba, Madera and Tulare counties.

Trustees Deeds recorded (TDs), or the finalized loss of a home to the formal foreclosure process, totaled 21,127 during the fourth quarter. That was down 7.9 percent from 22,949 foreclosures in the prior quarter, and down 32.4 percent from 31,260 in fourth-quarter 2011. Last quarter's foreclosure tally was the lowest for any quarter since second-quarter 2007, when 17,458 homes were foreclosed on. The all-time peak was 79,511 foreclosures in third-quarter 2008. The state's all-time low was 637 in second-quarter 2005, DataQuick reported.

Just as with mortgage default filings, foreclosures remained far more concentrated in the state's most affordable communities. Zip codes with fourth-quarter 2012 median sale prices below $200,000 collectively saw 4.3 homes foreclosed on for every 1,000 homes in existence. That compares with 2.0 foreclosures per 1,000 homes for zip codes with medians from $200,000 to $800,000, and 0.5 foreclosure per 1,000 homes in the group of zips with medians over $800,000.

On average, homes foreclosed on last quarter took 8.9 months to wind their way through the formal foreclosure process, beginning with an NoD. That's up from an average of 7.9 months the prior quarter and down from 9.7 months a year earlier.

While 1.1 million of California's 8.7 million houses and condos have been involved in a foreclosure proceeding the past five years, 780,000 - less than ten percent, were actually lost to foreclosure. The other 320,000 were either sold, or the payments brought current.

At formal foreclosure auctions held statewide last quarter, an estimated 42.0 percent of the foreclosed properties were bought by investors or others who don't appear to be lender or government entities. That was up from an estimated 39.2 percent the previous quarter and up from 31.2 percent a year earlier, DataQuick reported.

To view defaults and foreclosures by county, visit DQNews.com.

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2013 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

December California Home Sale Press Release

California December Home Sales


January 16, 2013

An estimated 39,760 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide last month, up 6.1 percent from 37,481 in November, and up 5.4 percent from 37,734 sales in December 2011, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

An increase in sales from November to December is normal for the season. December sales in California have varied from a low of 25,585 in 2007 to a high of 66,503 in 2003. Last month’s sales were 9.4 percent below the average of 43,891 sales for all months of December since 1988, when DataQuick's statistics begin.

The median price paid for a home in California last month was $299,000, the highest since it was $301,000 in August 2008. Last month's median was up 2.7 percent from $291,000 in November and up 21.5 percent from $246,000 in December 2011. December was the 10th consecutive month in which the state's median sale price rose year-over-year. In March/April/May 2007 the median peaked at $484,000, then it declined to a low of $221,000 in April 2009.

Of the existing homes sold in December, 15.5 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was down from a revised 16.9 percent in November and down from 33.9 percent a year earlier. Last month's figure was the lowest for any month since foreclosure resales accounted for 15.3 percent of the resale market in October 2007. Foreclosure resales peaked at 58.8 percent in February 2009.

Short sales - transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property - made up an estimated 25.3 percent of the homes that resold last month. That was down from an estimated 26.1 percent the month before and 25.5 percent a year earlier.

The typical mortgage payment that home buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,054. That was up from $1,026 in November and up from $935 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month's typical payment was 54.1 percent below the 1989 peak of the prior real estate cycle, and 62.8 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 have leveled off. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but has been trending downward and is 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.

December Bay Area Home Sale Press Release

Rate of Recovery for Bay Area Real Estate Speeds Up


January 16, 2013

La Jolla, CA.--The pace at which the Bay Area housing market is making up for lost ground quickened at the end of 2012 as sales increased year-over-year for the 18th month in a row and the median price rose at its fastest rate in more than 25 years. The market remained constrained by a tight supply of homes for sale and a fussy home loan environment, a real estate information service reported.

The median price paid for a home in the nine-county Bay Area was $442,750 in December. That was up 1.1 percent from $438,000 in November and up 32.0 percent from $335,500 in December a year ago. Last month’s median was the highest since August 2008 when it was $447,000, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

The 32.0 percent year-over-year increase in the median is the highest in DataQuick’s statistics, which go back to 1988. At least half that increase is due to a change in market mix, with sales shifting away from low-cost distress homes toward more mid-market and move-up homes.

The median reached a high of $665,000 in June/July 2007 and then fell to a low of $290,000 in March 2009. On a year-over-year basis it dropped more than 30 percent each month from August 2008 through May 2009. At the median's current rate of increase, sometime this spring it will have recovered about half of its loss since its summer 2007 peak.

“Prices are in the midst of bouncing off bottom right now, and nobody really knows what the trajectory of this bounce will be beyond this point. So far, supply has been a bottleneck, but as prices go up, more homes will be put up for sale,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

“Another bottleneck these days is that mortgage lenders are swamped. Not only by home buyers, but by homeowners who want to refinance. Rising home prices also mean higher appraisals, and tens of thousands of homeowners who couldn’t refinance half a year ago, now can,” Walsh said.

The number of new and resale houses and condos sold last month in the Bay Area was 7,832. That was up 7.3 percent from 7,296 in November, and up 4.5 percent from 7,494 for December 2011.

While last month’s sales count was the highest for any December since 8,372 were sold in 2006, it was still 9.0 percent below the 8,611 average for all Decembers since 1988. December sales have ranged from 5,065 in 2007 to 12,349 in 2003.

The number of homes sold for less than $500,000 decreased 12.6 percent year-over-year, while the number that sold for more than $500,000 shot up 61.2 percent, DataQuick reported.

Last month distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – made up 34.2 percent of the resale market. That was down from 35.5 percent in November and down from 52.4 percent a year ago.

Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 11.8 percent of resales in December, down from a revised 12.5 percent in November, and down from 27.8 percent a year ago. Last month was the lowest since 10.1 percent in November 2007. Foreclosure resales peaked at 52.0 percent in February 2009. The 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 22.4 percent of Bay Area resales last month. That was down from an estimated 23.0 percent in November and down from 24.6 percent a year earlier.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 40.2 percent of last month’s purchase lending, down from a revised 40.3 percent in November, and up from 26.5 percent a year ago. Jumbo usage dropped to 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, accounted for 11.1 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans. That was down from a revised 12.0 percent in November, and down from 11.6 percent in December last year. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for 48.7 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 18.9 percent of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages in December, up from 17.0 percent in November and down from 22.9 percent a year earlier. In recent months the FHA level has the been the lowest since summer 2008, reflecting both tougher qualifying standards and the difficulties first-time buyers have competing with investors and other cash buyers.

The most active lenders to Bay Area home buyers last month were Wells Fargo with 15.5 percent of the market, RPM Mortgage with 4.2 percent and Stearns Lending with 3.4 percent.

Last month absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 25.8 percent of all Bay Area homes, an all-time high (absentee statistics go back to January 1999). Last month's absentee level was up from 24.9 percent in November, and up from 23.8 percent a year ago. Absentee buyers paid a median $315,000 in December, up 34.0 percent from $235,000 a year earlier.

Buyers who appear to have paid all cash – meaning no corresponding purchase loan was found in the public record – accounted for 29.3 percent of sales in December. That was unchanged from November, and up from 27.3 percent a year ago. The monthly average going back to 1988 is 12.5 percent. Cash buyers paid a median $312,500 in December, up 36.2 percent from $229,500 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 Mateo and San Francisco counties.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,561. That was up from $1,544 in November, and up from $1,336 a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 44.9 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 59.3 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to decline. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but well below peak levels reached three years ago. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

To view the county-by-county home sale chart, visit DQNews.com.

Source: DataQuick, www.DQNews.com

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

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

December SoCal Home Sale Press Release

Southland Closes 2012 With Higher Sales and Prices


January 15, 2013

La Jolla, CA---Southern California's housing market ended 2012 with the highest December home sales in three years, the result of robust investment activity, a record level of cash buyers and more sales gains in move-up markets. The median sale price jumped nearly 20 percent from a year ago, pushed higher by greater demand and the market's shift away from foreclosure resales and toward more mid- to high-end deals, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 20,274 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 5.1 percent from 19,285 sales in November, and up 5.3 percent from 19,247 sales in December 2011, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

A rise in sales from November to December is normal for the season. Last month’s sales were the highest for the month of December since 22,328 homes sold in December 2009, though they were 17.2 percent below the December average of 24,488 sales since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. The low for December sales was 13,240 in 2007, while the high was 36,865 in 2003.

The median price paid for a home in the six-county Southland was $323,000 last month, up 0.6 percent from $321,000 in November and up 19.6 percent from $270,000 in December 2011. For the past four consecutive months the median has been the highest since it was $330,000 in August 2008. The Southland median has risen or held steady month-to-month for 11 consecutive months and has increased year-over-year for nine consecutive months.

“The housing market had more to offer in 2012 than many anticipated. A lot of markets not only found a price bottom as foreclosures waned but they started to see their first meaningful gains in nearly two years. Buyers on the fence were drawn back into the housing game by amazingly low mortgage rates, a brighter jobs outlook and, in some cases, a renewed sense of urgency,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

“Last year should also be remembered as the year the move-up market awoke. If these upward trends hold, which requires a sustained economic recovery, we should eventually see more inventory hit the market. More would-be sellers will be satisfied with what their homes can fetch, and fewer people will owe more than their homes are worth, freeing them up to move. The rise in inventory would at least tame price appreciation.”

Sales rose sharply again in many mid- to-higher-cost markets in December. Home sales between $300,000 and $800,000 – a range that would include many move-up buyers – increased 31.4 percent year-over-year. December sales over $500,000 shot up 40.0 percent year-over-year, while sales over $800,000 jumped 36.3 percent compared with December 2011.

Last month 24.7 percent of all Southland home sales were for $500,000 or more, which ties the November level for the highest for any month since July 2008, when 26.1 percent of sales were for $500,000-plus. In December 2011 18.4 percent of sales crossed the $500,000 threshold.

Lower-cost areas again posted the weakest sales compared with last year. The number of homes that sold below $200,000 fell 28.1 percent year-over-year, while sales below $300,000 dipped 18.2 percent. Sales in the more affordable markets have been hampered by the slowdown in foreclosure activity, which results in fewer foreclosed properties listed for sale. Also, lower-cost markets typically have a relatively high percentage of homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth, meaning they can’t afford to sell.

While inventory and sales have declined in many of these lower-cost areas, higher demand has pushed prices up. In December, the median price paid per square foot in the lowest-cost third of Southern California's housing stock rose 21.1 percent year-over-year, while that measure increased 11.4 percent in the middle and 13.0 percent in the top third of the market.

Last month foreclosure resales – properties foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 14.8 percent of the Southland resale market. That was down from 15.4 percent the month before and 32.4 percent a year earlier. Last month’s level was the lowest since foreclosure resales were 13.6 percent of the resale market in September 2007. In the current cycle, foreclosure resales 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 25.6 percent of Southland resales last month. That was down slightly from an estimated 26.5 percent the month before and 26.0 percent a year earlier. However, the number (rather than percentage) of short sales last month was up 7.4 percent from December 2011.

Last month investor and cash buying was at or near record levels.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 29.1 percent of the Southland homes sold in December. That was up from 28.6 percent the prior month and 26.8 percent a year earlier. Last month's figure was the highest since the absentee share of sales was a record 29.9 percent last February. The monthly average since 2000 is 17.7 percent. Last month’s absentee buyers paid a median $252,750, up 24.8 percent from a year earlier.

Buyers paying with cash accounted for a record 33.8 percent of last month's home sales, tying a revised 33.8 percent the month before and up from 29.8 percent a year earlier. The prior peak for cash purchases was 33.7 percent of all sales last February, and since 2000 the monthly average is 17.3 percent. Cash buyers paid a median $265,000 last month, up 26.2 percent from a year ago.

The number of Southland homes cash buyers bought for $500,000 or more has hovered near record levels in recent months, reflecting difficulties many face in qualifying for larger loans as well as some people's desire to park cash in real estate amid today's low-interest-rate savings environment.

In December, cash buyers bought 1,309 homes priced $500,000 or more, up 49.6 percent from a year earlier. Last month's $500,000-plus cash purchases represented more than one quarter of all homes sold at that price level. About 40 percent of the people who paid $500,000-plus in cash for a home were absentee buyers last month, which typically means they are investors or second-home buyers.

Meantime, credit conditions showed modest signs of improvement.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 22.3 percent of last month’s Southland purchase lending, up from 21.2 percent the prior month and up from 15.3 percent a year earlier. Last month's figure was the highest since September 2007, when jumbos made up 26.9 percent of the purchase loan market. In the months leading up to the credit crunch that struck in August 2007, jumbos made up close to 40 percent of the market.

With rates on fixed 30-year loans so low, and aversion to risk in the marketplace high, the use of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) remains very low in an historical context. Last month 5.9 percent of Southland home purchase loans were ARMs, compared with 5.6 percent in November and 6.4 percent a year earlier. Since 2000, a monthly average of about 33 percent of Southland purchase loans were ARMs.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 23.2 percent of all purchase mortgages last month. That was down from 24.6 percent in November and down from 30.5 percent a year earlier. In recent months the FHA share has been the lowest since summer 2008. The decline reflects tighter FHA qualifying standards implemented in recent years as well as the difficulties first-time buyers are having competing with investors in the housing market.

The most active lenders to Southland home buyers last month were Wells Fargo with 8.9 percent of the market, Prospect Mortgage with 2.6 percent and IMortgage.com with 2.4 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 $1,152, up from a revised $1,132 the month before and up from $1,026 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s typical payment was 51.2 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 60.0 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, continues to drop and is far below peak levels. Financing with multiple mortgages is very low, and down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

To view the county-by-county chart, visit DQNews.com.

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

Copyright 2013 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

November Phoenix Home Sales Press Release

Phoenix Area November Home Sales


Sales of existing houses and condos in the Phoenix area rose to the highest level for a November in seven years, while the median price paid for all homes sold in the region was the highest in more than four years, a real estate information service reported.

Buyers paid a median $167,500 for all new and resale houses and condos sold during November in the combined Maricopa-Pinal counties metro area – the highest level since the median was $175,000 in October 2008. The November median rose 4.7 percent from October and rose 31.9 percent from November 2011. It was the median's 12th consecutive month with a year-over-year gain, according to San Diego-based DataQuick, which tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

The November median was 39.4 percent below the Phoenix area's all-time peak of $264,100 in June 2006, but it was 41.5 percent higher than the median’s post-peak trough of $118,347 in August 2011.

The relatively large year-over-year gains in the region's median sale price since March – ranging from 13.8 percent to 32.2 percent – reflect several trends. Prices have risen as greater demand has met a relatively low supply of homes for sale. But the median has also been pushed higher by a big shift in the types of homes selling this year compared with last. More homes selling today are higher-cost move-up homes and fewer are lower-cost foreclosed properties.

If lenders eventually move more aggressively to clear backlogs of distressed properties, then the inventory of homes on the market would rise, putting downward pressure on home prices. Regardless, if demand remains high and prices continue to rise, the market will eventually respond with a larger supply of homes for sale, which would tame price appreciation. More would-be sellers who've 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 November rose 25.9 percent from a year earlier, to the highest level for a November since 2009.

The continuing decline in the number of lender-repossessed properties on the market this year helps explain the smaller inventory of homes for sale. Foreclosure resales, defined as homes that were foreclosed on in the prior 12 months, fell to 17.2 percent of all the homes that resold in November. That was the lowest level for any month since December 2007, when foreclosure resales were 15.3 percent of the resale market. November’s foreclosure resale level was down from 19.0 percent the month before and 43.0 percent a year earlier. At their peak in March 2009, foreclosure resales represented 66.2 percent of all the homes sold in the Phoenix area.

Last month a total of 8,525 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the two-county Phoenix region, down 3.8 percent from the month before and up 9.8 percent from a year earlier. The last time total sales for the month of November were higher was in 2009, when 8,544 new and resale houses and condos sold. However, the number of houses and condos that resold (excludes new homes) this November was the highest for any November since 2005.

On average, the number of homes sold in the month of November has been 7.0 percent lower than in the month of October since 1994, when DataQuick’s complete Phoenix region statistics begin.

Last month's total sales were 1.3 percent below average for the month of November since 1994. Resales of houses and condos combined were 15.2 percent above the historical average for November. Sales of newly built homes were 50.5 percent below average for a November.

Sales continued to fall off in the Phoenix-area’s lowest price ranges during November, while the middle and upper-price categories posted big gains again. The number of new and resale homes sold in November for less than $100,000 dropped 40.9 percent from a year earlier, while sub-$150,000 sales fell 20.1 percent. Deals between $200,000 and $400,000 rose 79.3 percent year-over-year, while $300,000-plus transactions shot up 78.5 percent year-over-year and sales above $500,000 rose 12.8 percent. The number of homes selling for $800,000 or more rose 35.3 percent from the same month last year.

Other Phoenix region November highlights:

•During the first 11 months of 2012 the Phoenix region was on pace to log the highest annual home sales in six years. Sales of all new and resale houses and condos totaled 97,816 in the January-through-November period, up 0.5 percent from the same period last year and the highest since 2006, when the January-through-November tally was 136,014. Resale activity in the 11-month period this year was down 2.5 percent from the same period in 2011, but new-home sales were up 37.0 percent, which tugged this year's overall sales total up slightly compared with 2011.

•A key price gauge analysts watch, the median price paid per square foot for existing single-family detached houses, rose to $93 in November, up from $90 in October and up 34.8 percent from a year earlier. The November figure was the highest since it was $99 in September 2008. The median paid per square foot has risen year-over-year for 12 consecutive months, but in November it remained 45.6 percent below the $171 peak in May and June of 2006.

•At the county level in November, the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses in Maricopa County was $96, up 33.3 percent from a year earlier. It was the 12th consecutive month with a year-over-year gain. The Pinal County median paid per square foot was $69 last month, up 38.0 percent from a year earlier, marking the 14th consecutive month with a year-over-year gain.

•Lenders foreclosed on 1,884 Phoenix-area houses and condo units last month, down 20.4 percent from the month before and down 43.1 percent from a year earlier. The number of homes lost to foreclosure between January and November this year totaled 26,362, down 52.8 percent from the same period last year.

•Absentee buyers, who are mainly investors and vacation-home buyers, bought 36.2 percent of all Phoenix-area homes sold last month, down from 37.1 percent the month before and down from 43.4 percent a year earlier. The peak was 47.1 percent in March 2011. November’s absentee buyers paid a median $130,500, up from $125,000 the month before and up 26.7 percent from $103,000 a year earlier.

•In November, 522 Phoenix-area buyers purchased two or more homes on the open market (excludes foreclosure auctions). That was up about 175 percent from the same month last year, based on an analysis of buyer names in the public record. (Note: In some cases individuals and partnerships buy under different names). This November these multi-home buyers purchased 1,415 homes, which amounts to nearly 17 percent of all homes sold and represents a 155 percent increase from the number of properties that multi-home buyers purchased in the same month last year. The largest buyer identified in November, appearing in public records as "THR Phoenix LP" and "THR Phoenix LLC," purchased 173 homes, or about one-third of all homes purchased by multi-home buyers in November. There were 73 buyers in November that each purchased three or more homes, but only six of them bought 10 or more. Combined, the buyers who purchased 10 or more in November acquired 250 homes, or about 48 percent of all homes bought by multi-home buyers.

•Buyers paying cash bought 42.5 percent of all Phoenix-area homes sold last month. That was up from 38.2 percent the prior month and up from 40.8 percent a year earlier. The record for cash buying was 48.0 percent in February 2011. November’s cash buyers paid a median $140,000, up from $128,500 the month before and up 45.8 percent from $96,000 a year earlier.

•Home flipping has trended higher this year, though it subsided a bit in November. Homes that had sold twice on the open market within a six-month period represented 6.4 percent of all sales in November. That was down from a flipping rate of 7.2 percent the month before and up from 6.0 percent a year earlier.

•The market share for government-insured FHA home loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, was 27.2 percent of all home purchase loans in November. That was down from an FHA share of 27.8 percent in October and down from 34.4 percent a year earlier. In the current housing cycle the FHA share peaked at 55.3 percent of the purchase loan market in September 2008.

To view the home sale chart, visit DQNews.com.

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

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