July California Home Sale Press Release

California July Home Sales

August 15, 2013

An estimated 48,118 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide last month. That was up 17.3 percent from 41,027 in June, and up 21.8 percent from 39,507 sales in July 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Last month's sales count was the highest for any month since 51,054 homes sold in August 2006. It was the highest for any July since 66,929 homes sold in July 2005. July sales have varied from a low of 30,596 in 1995 to a high of 71,886 in 2004. Last month's sales were 3.8 percent above the average of 46,364 sales for all the months of July since 1988, when DataQuick's statistics begin. Last month was the first time California sales have been above average for any month since September 2006.

The median price paid for a home in California last month was $363,000, up 3.1 percent from $352,000 in June and up 29.2 percent from $281,000 in July 2012. July was the 17th 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. The post-peak trough was $221,000 in April 2009.

Of the existing homes sold last month, 8.4 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year – the lowest level since foreclosure resales were 7.6 percent of the resale market in July 2007. Last month’s figure was down from a revised 9.8 percent in June and 21.7 percent a year earlier. 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 14.6 percent of the homes that resold last month. That was down from an estimated 15.7 percent the month before and 26.0 percent a year earlier.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that California buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,457. Adjusted for inflation, last month's payment was 36.9 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 48.9 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006. It was 58.3 percent above the January 2012 bottom 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 decline. Foreclosure activity remains well below year-ago and peak levels reached several years ago. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, while down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

July Bay Area Home Sale Press Release

Bay Area Posts Highest July Home Sales in Eight Years

August 15, 2013

La Jolla, CA.--The number of homes sold in the Bay Area jumped last month to the highest level for a July since 2005 and the highest level for any month in almost seven years. Amid favorable market conditions, the burst of activity reflects pent-up demand meeting an increasing supply of homes for sale, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 9,339 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area in July. That was up 18.3 percent from 7,897 the month before, and up 13.3 percent from 8,241 in July 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. It was the highest July sales since 12,538 homes sold in July 2005, and the highest for any month since August 2006, when 9,713 homes sold.

Last month’s 9,339 sales almost reached the average of 9,366 sales for all months of July since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. July sales have ranged from 6,666 in 1995 to 14,258 in 2004.

“There’s all this talk of a frenzy, but the fact is that we’re still looking at a Bay Area housing market that is in the process of re-balancing itself, regaining lost ground. As prices continue to rise, more homes will be put up for sale, easing the upward price pressure,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a home in the Bay Area last month was $562,000, the highest since it was $587,500 in December 2007. Last month’s median was up 1.3 percent from $555,000 in June, and up 33.5 percent from $421,000 in July 2012.

The Bay Area median peaked at $665,000 in June and July 2007, then dropped as low as $290,000 in March 2009. Much of the median's ups and downs can be attributed to shifts in the types of homes sold. When adjusting for these shifts, it appears that about three fourths of July’s 33.5 percent year-over-year rise in the median was an actual increase in home values, while the rest was market mix.

In a sign of market confidence, Bay Area home buyers continued to put near-record amounts of their own money into residential real estate. In July they paid a total of $2.3 billion out of their own pockets in the form of down payments or cash purchases. That was about the same as the month before and was up from $1.9 billion a year ago. It was down from this May's all-time high of $2.6 billion.

Sales continued to rise sharply from a year earlier in mid- to high-priced areas, while they tended to fall in the most affordable markets. The number of homes sold in July for less than $500,000 dropped 14.6 percent year-over-year, while the number sold for more increased 55.9 percent, DataQuick reported.

Last month distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – made up about 14.8 percent of the resale market. That was down from about 17.0 percent in June and down from about 38.9 percent a year ago.

Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 4.8 percent of resales in July, down from a revised 6.0 percent in June, and down from 15.1 percent a year ago. Last month was the lowest since 4.4 percent in August 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 10.0 percent of Bay Area resales last month. That was down from an estimated 11.3 percent in June and down from 23.7 percent a year earlier.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 51.0 percent of last month’s purchase lending, roughly even with a revised 50.9 percent in June, and up from 38.6 percent a year ago. Jumbo usage dropped to as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009.

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), an important indicator of mortgage availability, accounted for 19.2 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans in July. That was the highest since 20.8 percent in August 2008. It was up from a revised 16.9 percent in June, and up from 13.5 percent in July last year. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for 47.7 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 10.6 percent of all Bay Area purchase mortgages in July, about even with a revised 10.4 percent in June and down from 16.0 percent a year earlier. In recent months the FHA level has been the lowest since spring 2008, reflecting both tougher qualifying standards and the difficulties first-time buyers have competing with investors and other cash buyers.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 20.9 percent of all Bay Area homes that sold last month. That was down from a revised 21.6 percent in June, and down from 22.6 percent a year ago. The absentee share has trended downward since hitting an all-time peak of 28.7 percent in February this year. The monthly average since 2000, when the absentee series begins, is 15.2 percent. Absentee buyers paid a median $412,000 in July, up 55.5 percent from a year earlier.

Buyers who appear to have paid all cash – meaning no sign of a corresponding purchase loan was found in the public record – accounted for 24.0 percent of sales in July. That was down from a revised 25.0 percent the month before and down from 27.6 percent a year earlier. The cash buyer share of sales has declined each month this year since hitting its peak of 32.3 percent in February. The monthly average going back to 1988 is 13.2 percent. Cash buyers paid a median $441,500 in July, up 54.4 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 $2,243. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 21.2 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 44.5 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007. It was 78.4 percent above the February 2012 bottom of the current cycle.

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.

View the county-by-county chart at DQNews.com.

July Southland Home Sale Press Release

Southland Home Sales Jump in July

August 14, 2013

Southern California home sales surged in July, rising to an eight-year high for that month as buyers found more homes for sale. The median sale price held steady with the prior month but rose nearly 26 percent from a year earlier, marking the seventh consecutive month with a year-over-year gain exceeding 20 percent, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 25,419 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 17.6 percent from 21,608 sales in June, and up 23.5 percent from 20,588 sales in July 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Last month’s sales approached a historically normal level. They were 0.5 percent below the average number of sales – 25,541 – in the month of July since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. Southland sales haven’t been above average for any particular month in more than seven years.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region last month was $385,000, the same as in June and up 25.8 percent from $306,000 in July 2012. The June and July medians are the highest for any month since April 2008, when the median was also $385,000.

The median price has risen on a year-over-year basis for 16 consecutive months, with those annual gains ranging between 10.8 percent and 28.3 percent over the past 12 months. July’s median remained 23.8 percent below the peak $505,000 median in spring/summer 2007. The median fell by $256,000 from that peak to its $249,000 trough in April 2009, and it has now regained just over half – 51.8 percent – of that peak-to-trough loss.

In a sign of continued market confidence, Southern California home buyers continue to put near-record amounts of their own money into residential real estate. In July they paid a total of $5.39 billion out of their own pockets in the form of down payments or cash purchases. That was up from $5.25 billion in June and up from $3.61 billion a year ago.

“July home sales came in very strong, and we think a lot of the increase in activity can be chalked up to a rising inventory of homes for sale. The jump in mortgage rates a couple of months back might have spurred more buying, too. The market continues its rebalancing act, with more and more people who’ve been ‘underwater’ now able to sell their homes at a profit, or at least break even. As the mismatch between supply and demand eases, it will be more difficult for home prices to rise as steeply as we’ve seen over the past year,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

It appears that the bulk of July’s 25.8 percent year-over-year gain in the Southland median sale price reflects rising home prices, while a small portion – perhaps one-fifth – reflects a change in market mix. (This change consists of a big increase in mid- to high-end sales and a big decline in sales of lower-cost distressed properties.)

In June, the lowest-cost third of the region's housing stock saw a 26.5 percent year-over-year rise in the median price paid per square foot for resale houses. The annual gain was 23.4 percent for the middle third of the market and 18.4 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

Activity in the middle and upper price ranges continued to far outpace sales in the more affordable markets.

Last month the number of homes that sold from $300,000 through $800,000 – a range that would include many move-up buyers – rose 51.7 percent year-over-year. The number that sold for $500,000 or more jumped 73.5 percent from one year earlier, while $800,000-plus sales rose 77.5 percent.

In July, 33.1 percent of all Southland home sales were for $500,000 or more, down a bit from a revised 34.0 percent of sales in June and up from 23.0 percent a year earlier. Last month’s share of over-$500,000 sales was the second-highest – behind June – since February 2008, when 34.2 percent of all sales crossed that price threshold.

The number of Southland homes sold below $200,000 last month dropped 26.4 percent year-over-year, while sales below $300,000 fell 17.6 percent. Low-end sales have been relatively weak largely because of a fussy mortgage market and an inadequate supply of homes for sale. Many owners can’t afford to sell their homes because they still owe more than they are worth, and lenders aren’t foreclosing on as many properties, further limiting supply.

In July foreclosure resales – homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 7.8 percent of the Southland resale market. That was down from a revised 9.0 percent the month before and down from 20.7 percent a year earlier. Last month’s foreclosure resale rate was the lowest since it was 7.3 percent in June 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 14.5 percent of Southland resales last month. That was the lowest level since it was 14.1 percent in May 2009. Last month’s short sale figure was down from an estimated 16.1 percent the month before and down from 26.2 percent a year earlier.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 27.4 percent of the Southland homes sold last month, which is the lowest share for any month this year. Last month’s level was down from 28.6 percent in June and down slightly from 27.5 percent a year earlier. The absentee share has ratcheted down gradually each month this year since hitting a record 32.4 percent in January. The monthly average since 2000, when the absentee data begin, is 18.3 percent. Last month’s absentee buyers paid a median $312,000, up 34.5 percent from a year earlier.

After hitting a peak earlier this year, the share of homes flipped has generally trended a bit lower, but rose modestly in July. Last month 6.0 percent of all Southland homes sold on the open market had previously sold in the prior six months. That’s up from a flipping rate of 5.6 percent in June and up from 4.5 percent a year ago. (The figures exclude homes resold after being purchased at public foreclosure auction sales on the courthouse steps).

Buyers paying with cash accounted for 29.4 percent of last month's home sales, down from 30.5 percent the month before and down from 31.8 percent a year earlier. The cash share of purchases has declined each month since hitting an all-time peak of 36.9 percent this February. Since 1988 the monthly average for cash buyers is 16.2 percent of all sales. Cash buyers paid a median $328,000 last month, up 39.6 percent from a year ago.

Credit conditions again showed signs of easing a bit.

Last month 10.9 percent of Southland home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) – the highest for any month since ARMs were 12.6 percent of the market in July 2008. Last month’s ARM level was up from 9.6 percent the prior month and 6.2 percent a year earlier. Since 2000, a monthly average of about 32 percent of Southland purchase loans have been ARMs.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 28.3 percent of last month’s Southland purchase lending – the second-highest, behind June, since August 2007, when jumbos were 36.7 percent of the market. Last month’s figure was down insignificantly from 28.6 percent the prior month and up from 20.2 percent a year earlier. In the months leading up to the credit crunch that struck in August 2007, jumbos accounted for around 40 percent of the home loan market

All lenders combined provided $7.11 billion in mortgage money to Southern California home buyers in July, the highest amount since $7.95 billion in August 2007.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 18.5 percent of all purchase mortgages last month. That was down from 19.5 percent the month before and 27.9 percent a year earlier. In recent months the FHA share has been the lowest since spring 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 and cash buyers.

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 $1,537, up from $1,483 the month before and up from $1,106 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s typical payment was 35.9 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 47.5 percent below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to decline. Foreclosure activity remains well below year-ago and 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.

June Phoenix Region Home Sale Press Release

Phoenix Region June Home Sales

The median price paid for a Phoenix-area home approached a five-year high in June as foreclosure resales continued to fade and move-up activity remained relatively strong. Total home sales dropped month-to-month and year-over-year, however, as investor purchases fell and buyers in more affordable areas continued to struggle with low inventory, a real estate information service reported.

Buyers paid a median $188,000 for all new and resale houses and condos sold during June in the combined Maricopa-Pinal counties metro area. That was the region’s highest median sale price since the median was $190,000 in August 2008. June’s median was up 1.7 percent from May and up 23.7 percent from June 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick, which tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

The Phoenix-area median has risen year-over-year for 20 consecutive months and those gains have been double-digit for the last 16 months. The June median was still 28.8 percent below the region’s all-time peak of $264,100 in June 2006.

The year-over-year gains in the Phoenix-area’s median sale price have ranged from 7.5 percent to 32.2 percent, and reflect several trends. Prices have risen as greater demand has met a relatively low supply of homes for sale. But the median, the point where half of the homes sold for more and half for less, has also risen because of a large shift in the types of homes selling: More selling today are mid- to high-priced homes, and far fewer are lower-cost foreclosed properties.

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 held out for higher prices will put their homes on the market. Fewer people will owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, enabling them to sell. Sales of new homes will likely rise.

In June, a total of 9,466 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the two-county Phoenix region, down 12.2 percent from the month before and down 1.8 percent from a year earlier.

In the Phoenix area sales usually rise between May and June. On average since 1994, when DataQuick’s complete Phoenix region statistics begin, the number of homes sold in June has been 11.0 percent higher than in May.

This June’s sales were 12.6 percent below average for the month of June, but that reflects historically weak new-home sales, which were about 51 percent below average. Resales of houses and condos combined this June were about 31 percent above the historical average for the month of June.

Home sales continued to fall sharply in the Phoenix-area’s lowest price ranges, while the middle and upper-price categories posted significant gains. There are two reasons for this: Move-up buying has increased this year, and steep price appreciation means, for example, that many homes that would have sold for less than $100,000 a year ago would now sell for more than that.

The number of new and resale homes that sold in June for less than $100,000 dropped 50.5 percent from a year earlier, while sub-$150,000 sales fell 34.2 percent and sub-$200,000 sales fell 19.3 percent. Deals between $200,000 and $600,000 jumped 33.1 percent year-over-year, while the number of homes selling for $800,000 or more rose 33.8 percent from the same month last year.


To view additional Phoenix June stats, visit DQNews.com.

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

Copyright 2013 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

June Seattle Area Home Sale Press Release

Seattle Region June Home Sales

The number of homes sold in the Seattle area held at a six-year high in June amid especially strong condo sales and much higher activity in the middle and upper price ranges. The median sale price climbed to its highest level since fall 2008, erasing more than half of what it lost during the housing downturn, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 5,773 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow during June in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area encompassing King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. June sales fell 1.8 percent from the month before and rose 16.6 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

The number of homes sold this June was the highest for that month since June 2007, when 7,255 homes sold. This June's total sales were 6.6 percent lower than the average number of homes sold during all months of June since 1994, when DataQuick's complete Seattle-area statistics begin. Resale single-family house sales were only 0.2 percent below the historical average for June, while condo resales were 28.8 percent above average and sales of newly built homes were 37.3 percent below the June average.

The region's mid- to high-priced neighborhoods continued to post large sales increases, while sales of more affordable homes fell. The number of sales below $200,000 declined 3.1 percent year-over-year, while the number of sub-$150,000 transactions fell 7.4 percent compared with a year earlier. June sales of homes priced above $200,000 rose 28.8 percent year-over-year, while $300,000-plus sales rose 34.2 percent. The number of homes that sold in June between $200,000 and $600,000, a typical move-up range, rose 25.7 percent from a year earlier. Sales over $700,000 rose 48.9 percent year-over-year, though transactions in that price category represented a relatively small portion (9.9 percent) of total sales.

Buyers paid a median $319,000 for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the three-county Seattle area in June - the highest median for any month since October 2008, when the median was $324,000. This June's median rose 0.6 percent from the prior month and increased 10.0 percent from a year earlier. The median has risen on a year-over-year basis for 15 consecutive months, and these annual increases have been double-digit for the past 10 months.

June's median was 12.7 percent lower than the Seattle area's peak $365,200 median in June 2007, and it was 32.9 percent higher than the post-peak trough of $240,000 in January 2012. During the housing downturn the median fell 34.3 percent between the peak and the trough, a decline of $125,200. In June the median was $79,000 above the trough, meaning it has made up well over half of its peak-to-trough decline.

Other Seattle area June highlights (see two charts below)

To view the charts, visit DQNews.com.

June Miami Area Home Sale Press Release

Miami Region June Home Sales

August 7, 2013

Miami-area homes sold at the fastest pace for a June in seven years amid sizeable gains in mid- to high-end activity and a near-record level of sales to investors and vacation-home buyers. The median price paid for a home hit a 4.5-year high and rose above a year earlier for the 18th consecutive month, a real estate information service reported.

In June, 11,522 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the metro area encompassing Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties. June sales increased 2.1 percent from the prior month and rose 12.9 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

This June's 11,522 sales were the highest for the month of June since 14,801 homes sold in June 2006. Still, this June's sales tally fell 6.3 percent short of the average number of sales in June since 1997, when DataQuick's complete Miami-area statistics begin.

While resale houses and newly built homes (houses and condos combined) fell short of the average June sales level by 8.7 percent and 73.3 percent, respectively, condo resales were 28.9 percent above average for a June. Condo resales in June were the highest for that month since 2005 and represented 47.0 percent of all homes sold, whereas historically condo sales have represented a monthly average of about 35 percent of total Miami-area sales.

During the first six months of this year (January through June), a total of 62,789 homes sold in the Miami region, up 13.5 percent from the same period in 2012. Condo resales during that six-month period rose 9.2 percent year-over-year, while single-family house resales increased 18.1 percent and sales of all newly built homes rose 14.8 percent.

When viewed by price segment, Miami-area June sales dropped 12.6 percent year-over-year for homes priced below $100,000, and dipped 0.6 percent for homes below $200,000. But the number of homes sold in the typical move-up range between $200,000 and $600,000 jumped 34.7 percent year-over-year in June, while the number of homes that sold above $800,000 rose 39.0 percent from June 2012.

In the Miami region's multi-million-dollar luxury home market, 728 homes sold for $2 million or more during the first six months of this year, up 43.3 percent from the same period last year. The figures are based on public property records, where either a price or loan amount was available.

In the overall Miami market, the median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in June was $179,900 - the highest for any month since the median was $200,000 in December 2008. June's median was up 2.8 percent from the month before and up 19.9 percent from a year earlier. The median has risen year-over-year for 18 consecutive months, and those gains have been double-digit for the past 11 months.

This June's median was still 38.0 percent lower than the Miami area's peak $290,000 median in June 2007.

Other Miami region June highlights (see two charts below)


Two view the two charts, visit DQNews.com.