Monday, December 30, 2013

November Las Vegas Home Sales Press Release

Las Vegas Region November Home Sales


Las Vegas-area home sales fell last month to the lowest level for a November in five years, the result of a constrained supply of homes for sale, waning affordability and the ongoing decline in investor purchases. The median sale price dipped slightly month-to-month but was still 26 percent higher than a year earlier, marking the 20th consecutive month with a year-over-year gain, a real estate information service reported.

In November, 3,539 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County) . That was down 15.4 percent from the month before and down 14.6 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 between October and November have fallen 3.9 percent since 1994, when DataQuick's complete Las Vegas-area statistics begin.

Total November home sales were the lowest for that month since November 2008, when 3,325 sold, and were 18.9 percent below the average number sold during all months of November since 1994. However, resales of houses and condos combined were 5.1 percent above average for the month of November, while sales of newly built homes were 62.0 percent below the November average.

The 48,203 homes sold in the region between January and November this year is 1.8 percent lower than the sales tally during the same period last year. Home sales have been limited this year by the thin supply of homes on the market, especially in the lower price ranges. Many owners in affordable neighborhoods still can’t afford to sell their homes because they owe more than they are worth, and lenders aren’t foreclosing on as many properties, further limiting supply.

In November, sales of homes priced below $100,000 dropped 54.1 percent compared with a year earlier, while sub-$200,000 transactions fell 32.9 percent year-over-year. The number of homes that sold for $200,000 or more shot up 31.7 percent year-over-year. November sales of homes priced from $200,000 to $500,000 – a range that would include many move-up purchases – jumped 32.7 percent from a year earlier, while the number selling for $500,000 or more rose 20.8 percent ($500,000-plus sales represented only about 3.5 percent of November sales).

Las Vegas region buyers paid a median $179,000 for all new and resale houses and condos sold in November, down 0.6 percent from $180,000 in October and up 25.6 percent from $142,500 a year earlier. October’s $180,000 median is the highest so far this year and is the highest for any month since November 2008, when the median was $190,000.

The median sale price’s year-over-year gains over the past 20 consecutive months ranged from 1.7 percent to 35.3 percent. These annual gains have been double-digit for the last 17 months and above 20 percent for the last 13 months. However, November’s $179,000 median was still 42.6 percent below the region’s peak $312,000 median in November 2006.

The run-up in home prices over the last year varies depending on price segment. In November, the lowest-cost third of the region’s housing stock saw a 40.4 percent year-over-year gain in the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses. The annual increase was 28.5 percent for the middle third of the market and 23.1 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

The pressure that investors have been putting on the Las Vegas housing market continued to ease last month. Absentee buyers, which would include investors and some vacation-home buyers, purchased 42.4 percent of the homes sold in November. That was down from 43.1 percent the month before and 48.7 percent a year earlier. November's absentee share was the lowest since June 2010, when it was 37.5 percent. It was still above the monthly average of 35.4 percent since January 2000.

In November, 88 Las Vegas-area buyers purchased two or more homes on the open market (excludes foreclosure auctions). That was down about 26 percent from 119 multi-home buyers during November 2012, based on an analysis of buyer names in the public record. (Note: In some cases individuals and partnerships buy under different names). In November this year, multi-home buyers purchased 387 homes in the Las Vegas area, which amounts to about 11 percent of all homes sold and represents a 3.5 percent decline from the number of properties that multi-home buyers purchased in November 2012. There were 15 buyers in November 2013 that each purchased five or more homes, but only seven bought 10 or more. Combined, the seven buyers who purchased 10 or more homes in November 2013 acquired 159 properties, or about 41 percent of all homes bought by multi-home buyers.

For more Las Vegas November home stats, please visit DQNews.com.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

November California Home Sale Press Release

California November Home Sales


December 17, 2013

An estimated 33,429 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide last month. That was down 8.3 percent from 36,468 in October, and down 10.8 percent from 37,481 sales in November 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

November sales have varied from a low of 25,578 in 2007 to a high of 60,326 in 2004. Last month's sales were 15.1 percent below the average of 39,357 sales for all the months of November since 1988, when DataQuick's statistics begin. California sales haven’t been above average for any particular month in more than seven years.

The median price paid for a home in California last month was $360,000, up 0.8 percent from $357,000 in October and up 23.7 percent from $291,000 in November 2012. Last month was the 21st consecutive month in which the state's median sale price rose year-over-year, and the 12th straight month with a gain exceeding 20 percent.

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, 6.8 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was up from a revised 6.7 percent in October and down from 16.9 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 12.3 percent of the homes that resold last month. That was down from an estimated 12.4 percent the month before and 26.2 percent a year earlier.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that California buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,418, up from $1,395 the month before and up from $1,026 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month's payment was 38.4 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 50.1 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006. It was 54.5 percent above the February 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 in the last five years. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, while down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright DataQuick. All rights reserved.

November Bay Area Home Sale Press Release

Bay Area Home Sales Slow, Prices Continue to Rise


December 17, 2013

La Jolla, CA.--Bay Area home sales dipped again in November, constrained by supply and market uncertainty amid mixed economic news. Prices continued their year-and-a-half-long upward march. Purchase and mortgage patterns are moving slowly but steadily toward long-term norms, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 6,659 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area in November. That was down 12.3 percent from 7,595 in October and down 10.9 percent from 7,474 in November last year, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Last month’s sales tally was 15.1 percent below the November average of 7,840 since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. Bay Area sales haven’t been above average for any particular month in more than seven years. The most active November was in 2004 when 11,906 homes sold, while the least active was in 2007 with 5,127 sales.

The median price paid for a home in the Bay Area last month was $550,000. That was 1.9 percent higher than $539,750 in October, and 25.6 percent above $438,000 in November 2012.

The Bay Area median peaked at $665,000 in June and July 2007, then dropped to a low of $290,000 in March 2009. While much of the median's ups and downs can be attributed to shifts in the types of homes sold, it appears that most of the current year-over-year increase in the median reflects an actual rise in home values.

“Up until half a year ago, the greater Bay Area market was basically bouncing up off bottom. Beginning last summer, the market started incrementally rebalancing, trending toward normalcy, as it were. Not just sales and prices: There has been a serious drop in distress sales, cash sales, absentee buyer sales. Mortgage financing patterns are still far from normal, but are moving in the right direction,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

The number of Bay Area homes that sold for less than $500,000 last month dropped 32.5 percent year-over-year, while the number that sold for more increased 8.2 percent, DataQuick reported.

Last month distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – made up 12.8 percent of the resale market. That was down from 13.1 percent in October and down from 35.7 percent a year ago.

Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 3.7 percent of resales in November, the same as the month before, and down from 12.5 percent a year ago. Foreclosure resales peaked at 52.0 percent in February 2009. The monthly average for foreclosure resales over the past 17 years is 10 percent.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 9.1 percent of Bay Area resales last month - the lowest since it was 9.0 percent in August 2008. Last month's figure was down from an estimated 9.5 percent in October and down from 23.2 percent a year earlier.

Bay Area home buyers put $1.8 billion of their own money on the table last month in the form of a down payment or as an outright cash purchase. That number hit an all-time high of $2.6 billion in May this year. Home buyers borrowed $2.7 billion in mortgage money from lenders last month.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 50.1 percent of last month’s purchase lending, up from a revised 47.7 percent in October, and up from 40.3 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 20.1 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans in November. That was down from 20.5 percent in October, and up from 12.0 percent in November last year. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for 47.4 percent of all purchase loans. ARMs hit a low of 3.0 percent of purchase loans in January 2009.

Government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 10.2 percent of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages in November. That was down from 10.4 percent in October and down from 14.7 percent a year earlier.

Last month absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 19.8 percent of all Bay Area homes, marking the first time it was below 20 percent since November 2010, when it was 19.1 percent. November’s absentee level was down from a revised 20.2 percent in October, and down from 25.0 percent in November last year. Absentee buyers paid a median $437,000 last month, up 36.6 percent year-over-year.

Buyers who appear to have paid all cash – meaning no sign of a corresponding purchase loan was found in the public record – accounted for 22.0 percent of sales in November. That was down from a revised 23.9 percent in October and down from 28.6 percent a year earlier. The monthly average going back to 1988 is 13.3 percent. Cash buyers paid a median $450,000 in November, up 36.4 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 and San Mateo counties.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $2,167. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 24.1 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 43.9 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007. It was 71.8 percent above the February 2012 bottom of the current cycle.

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, please visit DQNews.com.


Source: DataQuick, www.DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157
Copyright 2013 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Monday, December 16, 2013

November SoCal Home Sale Press Release

Southland Home Sales Drop; Median Sale Price Edges Sideways - Again


December 16, 2013

Southern California’s housing market downshifted last month, with sales falling well below a year earlier as investor activity waned again and buyers continued to struggle with higher prices and a thin supply of homes for sale. The median sale price held nearly steady for the sixth consecutive month, though it was still almost 20 percent higher than a year ago, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 17,283 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 14.2 percent from 20,150 sales in October, and down 10.4 percent from 19,285 sales in November 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

On average, Southland sales have declined 7.6 percent between October and November since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin.

Last month’s sales were 19.8 percent below the average number of sales – 21,559 – in the month of November. Southland sales haven’t been above average for any particular month in more than seven years. November sales have ranged from a low of 13,173 in November 2007 to high of 31,987 in November 1988.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region last month was $385,000, up 0.3 percent from $383,750 in October and up 19.9 percent from $321,000 in November 2012. Last month’s $385,000 median price ties June, July and August as the highest for this year. The last time the median was higher than $385,000 was in February 2008, when it was $408,000 (the median was $385,000 in March and April of 2008).

The median sale price has risen on a year-over-year basis for 20 consecutive months. Those gains have been double-digit – between 10.8 percent and 28.3 percent – over the past 16 months. November’s 19.9 percent year-over-year gain is the lowest since the median rose 19.6 percent last December.

The November median was 23.8 percent below the peak $505,000 median in spring/summer 2007.

“November sales were pretty underwhelming. The exact cause is tough to pinpoint, but we see likely culprits: The inventory of homes for sale still falls short of demand. Also, any pullback in home buying during the early-October fiasco in Washington D.C. would have undermined November closings, and we know investor and cash buying continued to drop,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

“Meanwhile, home prices aren’t soaring anymore but they’re also proving to be sticky,” Walsh said. “The price jumps we saw earlier this year were driven in large part by the supply-demand mismatch. This spring could bring a substantial surge in inventory as more homeowners look to cash in on higher values. If that happens it’s going to make big price jumps less likely.”

It appears that almost all of last month’s 19.9 percent year-over-year increase in the Southland median sale price reflects rising home prices, while a very small portion reflects a change in market mix. (This mix change consists of a significant increase in mid- to high-end sales over the last year and a big decline in sales of lower-cost distressed properties.)

In November, the lowest-cost third of the region's housing stock saw a 20.4 percent year-over-year rise in the median price paid per square foot for resale houses. The annual gain was 21.5 percent for the middle third of the market and 16.9 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

Sales in the middle and upper price ranges continued to outpace activity in the more affordable markets.

Last month the number of homes sold from $300,000 through $799,999 – a range that includes many move-up buyers – rose 5.0 percent year-over-year. The number that sold for $500,000 or more increased 12.1 percent from one year earlier, while $800,000-plus sales rose 5.1 percent.

In November, 32.1 percent of all Southland home sales were for $500,000 or more, down from a revised 32.8 percent the month before and up from 24.7 percent a year earlier.

The number of Southland homes sold below $200,000 last month dropped 43.7 percent year-over-year, while sales below $300,000 fell 36.7 percent. Low-end deals have fallen largely because of an inadequate supply of homes for sale. Many owners still can’t afford to sell their homes because they owe more than they are worth, and lenders aren’t foreclosing on as many properties, further limiting supply.

Foreclosure resales – homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 6.3 percent of the Southland resale market in November. That was the same as in October and was down from 15.4 percent a year earlier. The October/November foreclosure resale rate was the lowest since it was 5.5 percent in May 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 12.7 percent of Southland resales last month. That was the lowest since October 2008, when it was also 12.7 percent. Last month’s short sale figure was down from an estimated 12.9 percent the month before and down from 26.6 percent a year earlier.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 26.1 percent of the Southland homes sold last month. That’s the lowest share for any month since it was 25.1 percent in November 2011. Last month’s absentee level was down from a revised 27.1 percent the month before and down from 28.7 percent a year earlier. The absentee share has trended lower almost every month this year since hitting a record 32.4 percent this January. The monthly average since 2000, when the absentee data begin, is 18.5 percent.

Last month’s absentee buyers paid a median $315,000, down 1.6 percent from the month before and up 23.5 percent year-over-year.

In November 5.8 percent of all Southland homes sold on the open market were flipped, meaning they had previously sold in the prior six months. That’s down from a flipping rate of 6.5 percent the month before and down from 6.1 percent a year earlier. Flipping peaked at 7.0 percent in February this year. (The figures exclude homes resold after being purchased at public foreclosure auction sales on the courthouse steps).

Buyers paying cash in November accounted for 27.2 percent of home sales, down from 28.7 percent the month before and down from 34.0 percent a year earlier. The cash share of purchases has trended sideways or lower each month since hitting an all-time peak of 36.9 percent this February. In November the cash share was at its lowest level since it was 26.2 percent in September 2010. Since 1988 the monthly average for cash buyers is 16.3 percent of all sales. Cash buyers paid a median $342,750 last month, up 0.8 percent month-to-month and up 29.3 percent from a year earlier.

Last month Southern California home buyers put $3.5 billion of their own money on the table in the form of a down payment or as an outright cash purchase. They borrowed $4.9 billion in mortgage money from lenders.

Credit conditions don’t seem to have changed much in November but the difference from a year ago is significant.

In November 11.2 percent of Southland home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) – double the rate of a year earlier. Last month’s figure was down from 12.0 percent the month before and up from 5.6 percent a year ago. Since 2000, a monthly average of about 31 percent of Southland purchase loans have been ARMs.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 27.8 percent of last month’s Southland purchase lending. That was up from 26.3 percent the prior month and up from 21.2 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.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 20.3 percent of all purchase mortgages last month. That was up from 19.5 percent the month before and down from 25.4 percent a year earlier. In recent months the FHA share has been the lowest since early 2008, mainly because of tighter FHA qualifying standards and the difficulties first-time buyers have 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 $1,517, up from $1,499 the month before and up from $1,132 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s typical payment was 36.6 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 48.1 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.


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

Copyright 2013 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

October Phoenix Region Home Sale Press Release

Phoenix Region October Home Sales


The Phoenix area’s median sale price rose in October to its highest level in more than five years, pushed up by robust demand meeting a tight inventory, more mid- to high-end deals and a sharp drop in distressed sales. The number of homes sold fell to a three-year low for the month of October amid sharp year-over-year declines for sub-$200,000 sales and a significant dip in cash and investor buying, a real estate information service reported.

Buyers paid a median $195,000 for all new and resale houses and condos sold during October in the combined Maricopa-Pinal counties metro area. That was the region’s highest median sale price since the median was also $195,000 in July 2008. October’s median rose 1.6 percent from September and rose 21.9 percent from October 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 24 consecutive months and those gains have been double-digit for the last 20 months. But the October median was still 26.2 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 over the past two years 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. 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: Compared with a year ago, more homes selling today are mid- to high-priced and far fewer are lower-cost distressed properties.

In October, a total of 7,751 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the two-county Phoenix region, down 1.6 percent from the month before and down 12.9 percent from a year earlier.

On average since 1994, when DataQuick’s complete Phoenix region statistics begin, the number of homes sold in October has been 1.3 percent higher than in September.

This October’s sales were 15.9 percent below average for the month of October. Resales of houses and condos combined this October were 4.7 percent below the historical average for that month, while new-home sales were 52 percent below the October average.

During the first ten months of this year (January through October), a total of 89,200 homes sold in the Phoenix region, down 0.2 percent from the same period in 2012. Condo resales during that 10-month stretch rose 4.5 percent year-over-year, while single-family house resales fell 1.8 percent and sales of all newly built homes rose 6.1 percent.

In October, home sales continued to fall sharply in the Phoenix-area’s lowest price ranges, while the middle and upper-price categories posted significant gains. The number of new and resale homes bought in October for less than $100,000 dropped 48.6 percent from a year earlier, while sub-$200,000 sales fell 29.0 percent. Deals between $200,000 and $600,000 – a typical move-up range – increased 18.1 percent year-over-year, while the number of homes selling for $800,000 or more jumped 36.5 percent from the same month last year.

In the Phoenix region’s multi-million-dollar luxury home market, 192 homes sold for $2 million or more during the first 10 months of this year, up 25.5 percent from the same period last year. This year’s tally is the highest for the January-through-October period since 308 homes sold for $2 million-plus in the first 10 months of 2008. The figures are based on public property records, where either a price or loan amount was available. October saw 22 Phoenix-area homes sell for $2 million or more, up slightly from 21 a year earlier.

Other Phoenix area October highlights are available at DQNews.com.

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

Copyright 2013 DataQuick. All rights reserved.