April Las Vegas Region Home Sales Press Release

Las Vegas Region April Home Sales

The median price paid for a Las Vegas-area home dipped month-to-month in April for the first time since January, while the median’s year-over-year gain was the lowest in 21 months. Home sales were the lowest for an April in six years, the result of buyers’ struggles with inventory, affordability and credit challenges, as well as a nearly four-year low in the share of homes bought by investors, a real estate information service reported.

In April, 4,075 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County). That was up 4.5 percent from the month before and down 17.2 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm, which is now owned by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic, tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

On average, sales between March and April have declined 1.1 percent since 1994, when DataQuick's complete Las Vegas-area statistics begin. Sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis for seven consecutive months.

April home sales were the lowest for that month since April 2008, when 3,266 homes sold, and they were 12.2 percent below the average number sold during all months of April since 1994. However, resales of houses and condos combined were 9.9 percent above average for the month of April, while sales of newly built homes were 62.6 percent below the April average. April condo resales were 19.5 percent higher than the April average, while resales of detached houses were 7.6 percent above average.

In recent months home sales have been constrained by higher prices and mortgage rates compared with this time last year, as well as credit challenges and a tight supply of homes for sale, especially in the lower price ranges. Some owners still can’t afford to sell their homes because they owe more than the homes are worth. Also, foreclosures are way down, further limiting the supply of homes for sale.

Las Vegas region buyers paid a median $181,500 for all new and resale houses and condos purchased in April, down 1.9 percent from $185,000 in March and up 13.4 percent from $160,000 a year earlier. March’s median was the highest since November 2008, when it was $190,000. The last time the median dropped month-to-month was in January this year, when the $177,300 median fell 1.6 percent from December’s $180,150.

The median sale price’s year-over-year gains over the past 25 consecutive months have ranged from 1.7 percent to 35.3 percent. Last month’s 13.4 percent year-over-year increase was the lowest since the median increased 12.1 percent year-over-year in July 2012. The median’s annual increases have been double-digit for the past 22 months.

April’s median was 41.8 percent below the region’s peak $312,000 median in November 2006.

The run-up in home prices over the last year varies somewhat depending on price segment. In April, the lowest-cost third of the region’s housing stock saw a 24.0 percent year-over-year gain in the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses. The annual increase was 16.9 percent for the market’s middle third and 16.0 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

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

In April, sales of homes priced below $100,000 dropped 41.4 percent compared with a year earlier, the result of both higher prices this year as well as the tight supply of lower-cost homes on the market. Sub-$200,000 transactions fell 27.0 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, the number of homes that sold for $200,000 or more rose 2.6 percent year-over-year. April sales of homes priced from $200,000 to $500,000 – a range that would include many move-up purchases – increased 5.0 percent from a year earlier, while the number selling for $500,000 or more fell 16.1 percent.

Investors' influence on the Las Vegas housing market continued to decline last month. Absentee buyers, which include investors and some vacation-home buyers, purchased 39.9 percent of the homes sold in April, down from 40.1 percent the month before and down from 48.2 percent a year earlier. Last month the absentee buyer share of total sales was the lowest since it was 37.5 percent in June 2010. The monthly average for the absentee buyer share since January 2000 is 35.4 percent, while the peak was 51.2 percent in March 2012.

Buyers based outside of Nevada purchased 22.4 percent of all homes sold in the Las Vegas region in April, compared with 31.8 percent a year earlier. California-based buyers accounted for 10.6 percent of April sales, while Arizona-based buyers bought 2.5 percent and buyers from 43 other states collectively purchased 7.8 percent. Buyers with a foreign mailing address accounted for about 1.5 percent of all April sales. (Note: Some foreign buyers use a U.S. mailing address in public records, hence not all sales to foreign buyers can be tracked this way.)

In April, 100 Las Vegas-area buyers purchased at least two homes on the open market (excludes public foreclosure auctions on the courthouse steps). That was down from 183 multi-home buyers during April 2013, based on an analysis of buyer names in the public record. (Note: In some cases individuals and partnerships buy under different names). In April this year, buyers of two or more homes purchased a total of 400 homes in the Las Vegas area, which amounts to nearly 10 percent of all homes sold last month and represents a roughly 52 percent decline from the number of properties that multi-home buyers purchased in April last year. There were 15 buyers in April 2014 that each purchased five or more homes, but only six bought 10 or more. Combined, the six buyers who purchased 10 or more homes in April 2014 acquired 154 properties, or nearly 39 percent of all homes bought by multi-home buyers.

To view additional Las Vegas region April highlights, visit DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157


Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

April California Home Sales Press Release

California April Home Sales

May 14, 2014

An estimated 37,988 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide in April. That was up 15.4 percent from 32,923 in March, and down 2.7 percent from 39,051 sales in April 2013, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

The month-to-month sales gain was higher than usual. On average, sales have increased 2.9 percent between March and April since 1988, when DataQuick's statistics begin. Sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis for seven consecutive months, but last month’s 2.7 percent dip from a year earlier was the smallest decline in that series.

April sales have varied from a low of 27,625 in 1995 to a high of 71,638 in 2004. Last month's sales were 13.1 percent below the average of 43,700 sales for all the months of April since 1988. California sales haven’t been above average for any particular month in more than eight years.

The median price paid for a home in California last month was $383,000, up 1.9 percent from $376,000 in March and up 18.2 percent from $324,000 in April 2013. It was the highest since January 2008, when the median was also $383,000. Last month was the 26th consecutive month in which the state's median sale price rose year-over-year. It was the first time in nearly a year-and-a-half that the median’s year-over-year gain was below 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, 6.7 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was down from a revised 7.2 percent in March and down from 13.5 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 5.5 percent of the homes that resold last month. That was down from an estimated 7.0 percent the month before and down from 16.1 percent a year earlier.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that California buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,523, up from $1,496 the month before and up from $1,157 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month's payment was 34.8 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 47.1 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006. It was 63.6 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. DataQuick was acquired in March by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic.

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.

April Southland Home Sale Press Release

Bay Area Home Prices Continue to Rise; Sales Up from March, Flat Yr/Yr

May 14, 2014

La Jolla, CA.----The median price paid for a home in the Bay Area rose to a new post-recession high in April as potential buyers continued to scramble in a seller’s market of limited supply. The number of homes sold was virtually flat compared with a year ago, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 7,555 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 19.8 percent from 6,308 in March and down 0.9 percent from 7,621 in April a year ago, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Bay Area sales generally increase from March to April, but the 19.8 percent increase this year was high. The average increase is 4.8 percent. Since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin, April sales have ranged from the low of 5,636 in 1995 to a high of 14,430 in 2004. Last month’s sales were 15.9 percent below the average 8,978 for April since 1988. Bay Area sales haven’t been above average for any particular month in more than eight years.

“While there are some interesting sub-surface trends, isn’t what we’re looking at fairly straightforward? The Bay Area economy is relatively strong, a lot of people have well-paying jobs or have saved money, or both. So we have X number of dollars chasing Y number of available homes. In this scenario, what we should see soon is more homes being put up for sale,” said John Karevoll, DataQuick analyst.

The median price paid for a home in the nine-county Bay Area rose last month to $610,000, the highest since it was $629,500 in November 2007. Last month’s median increased 5.4 percent from $579,000 in March, and rose 19.6 percent from $510,000 in April last year. On a year-over-year basis, the median has increased the last 25 months, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

The median peaked at $665,000 in June and July 2007, then dropped to a low of $290,000 in March 2009. That means that by last month, 85.3 percent of the post-financial-crisis decline had been regained.

While some of last month’s year-over-year jump in the median can be attributed to a shift toward more mid- to high-end sales, probably close to three-fourths of the median's increase can be attributed to rising home values.

Last month the number of homes sold for less than $500,000 dropped 24.3 percent year-over-year, while the number that sold for more increased 9.5 percent.

A variety of market indicators are trending incrementally towards long-term norms.

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), an important indicator of mortgage availability, are slowly regaining their foothold in the market. ARMs accounted for 27.7 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans in April, up from a revised 26.7 percent in March, and well up from the 14.9 percent for April last year. It was the highest since 30.9 percent in April 2008. ARMs hit a low of 3.0 percent of loans in January 2009. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for 47.0 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 55.9 percent of last month’s purchase lending, the highest since it was 58.6 percent in August 2007, when the credit crunch struck. Last month’s 55.9 percent was up from a revised 53.2 percent in March, and up from 47.5 percent a year ago. Jumbo usage dropped to as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009.

The most active lenders to Bay Area home buyers last month were Wells Fargo with 14.5 percent of the purchase loan market, Bank of America with 4.7 percent and RPM Mortgage with 3.2 percent, DataQuick reported.

Government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 10.0 percent of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages in April. That was up from 9.5 percent in March and down from 11.2 percent 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. DataQuick was acquired in March by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo and Solano counties.

Last month distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – made up about 7.4 percent of the resale market. That was down from about 8.9 percent in March and down from about 20.1 percent a year ago.

Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 3.6 percent of resales in April, down from a revised 4.3 percent the month before, and down from 8.4 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 9.9 percent.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 3.8 percent of Bay Area resales last month. That was down from an estimated 4.6 percent in March and down from 11.8 percent a year earlier.

Last month absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 20.2 percent of all Bay Area homes. That was down from March’s 20.7 percent and down from 24.2 percent for April a year ago. Absentee buyers paid a median $481,250 last month, up 28.8 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 22.9 percent of sales in April, down from 25.1 percent in March and down from 28.3 percent a year earlier. The monthly average going back to 1988 is 13.1 percent. Cash buyers paid a median $521,250 in April, up 33.3 percent from a year earlier.

Bay Area home buyers put $2.26 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 $2.64 billion last May. They borrowed $2.83 billion in mortgage money from lenders last month.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $2,426. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 15.8 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 37.7 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007. It was 90.7 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 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

April Southland Home Sale Press Release

Faster Pace for Southland Home Sales; Median Sale Price Edges Higher

May 13, 2014

La Jolla, CA---Southern California’s housing market perked up a bit in April, with sales rising more than usual from March and dipping below a year earlier by the smallest degree in six months. Home prices edged higher again but at a slower pace, the result of more inventory, affordability constraints and less pressure from investors, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 20,008 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 13.4 percent from 17,638 sales in March, and down 6.6 percent from 21,415 sales in April last year, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

On average, sales have increased 1.4 percent between March and April since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. Southland sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis for seven consecutive months, but last month’s decline was the smallest since sales fell 4.4 percent last October.

This April’s sales were higher than in April 2012 and 2011. That’s a significant change from February and March this year, which had the lowest home sales for those particular months in six years. Sales during the month of April have ranged from a low of 15,303 in 1995 to a high of 37,905 in 2004. Last month’s sales were 17.1 percent below the average – 24,133 – for all Aprils since 1988. March sales were 27 percent below average.

“The housing market’s pulse quickened a bit in April. If the inventory grows more, which we consider likely, it’s going to make it a lot easier for sales to reach at least an average level, which we haven’t seen in more than seven years. There are certainly factors undermining housing demand, including affordability constraints, credit challenges and less investment activity. But there are considerable forces fueling demand, too: Employment is rising, families are growing, and more people can qualify to buy again after losing a home to foreclosure or a short sale over the past eight years,” said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst.

“There’s still pressure on home prices but it has moderated,” he said. “In April we logged the Southland’s lowest year-over-year gain in the median sale price – around 13 percent – since September 2012. In April last year the median rose 23 percent year-over-year. It’s tough to sustain that sort of price growth amid rising inventory, fewer investors, less-than-stellar income growth, higher mortgage rates and very limited availability of riskier ‘stretch’ financing.”

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region last month was $404,000, up 1.0 percent from $400,000 in March and up 13.2 percent from $357,000 in April 2013. Last month’s median was the highest since it was $408,000 in February 2008.

The median has risen on a year-over-year basis for 25 consecutive months. Those gains have been double-digit – between 10.8 percent and 28.3 percent – over the past 21 months. The 13.2 percent year-over-year gain in the median last month marked the lowest increase for any month since September 2012, when the $315,000 median rose 12.5 percent from a year earlier. Last month two counties – Orange and San Diego – saw single-digit, year-over-year gains in their medians.

April’s Southland median sale price stood 20.0 percent below the peak $505,000 median in spring/summer 2007.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. DataQuick was acquired in March by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic.

Home prices continue to rise at different rates depending on price segment. In April, the lowest-cost third of the region's housing stock saw a 20.6 percent year-over-year increase in the median price paid per square foot for resale houses. The annual gain was 17.1 percent for the middle third of the market and 9.6 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

Last month the number of homes that sold for $500,000 or more increased 9.3 percent from one year earlier, while $800,000-plus sales rose 5.8 percent. Sales below $500,000 fell 11.4 percent year-over year, while sales below $200,000 plunged 35.1 percent.

In April, 35.1 percent of all Southland home sales were for $500,000 or more, down from a revised 35.6 percent the month before and up from 30.5 percent a year earlier.

The market impact of distressed properties continued to wane.

Foreclosure resales – homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 5.9 percent of the Southland resale market in April. That was down from a revised 6.3 percent the prior month and down from 12.4 percent a year earlier. In recent months the foreclosure resale rate has been the lowest since early 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 5.4 percent of Southland resales last month. That was down from a revised 7.3 percent the prior month and down from 16.6 percent a year earlier.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 26.1 percent of the homes sold last month, which is the lowest share since November 2011, when 25.1 percent of homes sold to absentee buyers. Last month’s figure was down from 27.7 percent in March and down from 30.6 percent a year earlier. The peak was 32.4 percent in January 2013, while the monthly average since 2000, when the absentee data begin, is 18.7 percent. Last month’s absentee buyers paid a median $350,000, up 22.8 percent year-over-year.

In April 4.8 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 5.3 percent the prior month and it’s down from 6.0 percent a year earlier. The peak was 7.0 percent in February 2013. (The figures exclude homes resold after being purchased at public foreclosure auctions on the courthouse steps).

Buyers paying cash last month accounted for 26.7 percent of Southland home sales, down from 29.8 percent the month before and down from 34.4 percent in April last year. The peak was 36.9 percent in February 2013. Since 1988 the monthly average for cash buyers is 16.5 percent of all sales. Cash buyers paid a median $380,000 last month, up 26.7 percent from a year earlier.

In April, Southern California home buyers forked over a total of $4.48 billion of their own money in the form of down payments or cash purchases. That was up from a revised $4.35 billion in March and down from $4.91 billion a year earlier. The out-of-pocket total peaked last May at $5.41 billion.

Credit conditions appear to have eased in recent months.

In April 14.1 percent of Southland home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) – the highest share in six years and nearly double the ARM level of a year earlier. Last month's figure was up from 13.2 percent in March and up from 7.9 percent in April 2013. The ARM rate dropped to as low as 1.9 percent in May 2009. 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 29.3 percent of last month’s Southland purchase lending. That was down a hair from 29.7 percent in March, which had the highest jumbo level for any month since the credit crunch struck in August 2007. Last month’s figure was up from 26.1 percent a year earlier. Prior to August 2007 jumbos accounted for around 40 percent of the home loan market. The Southland jumbo level dropped to as low as 9.3 percent in January 2009.

All lenders combined provided a total of $6.15 billion in mortgage money to Southern California home buyers in April, up from a revised $5.08 billion in March and up from $5.56 billion in April last year.

The most active lenders to Southern California home buyers last month were Wells Fargo with 7.3 percent of the total home purchase loan market, JP Morgan Chase with 3.9 percent and Bank of America with 2.8 percent.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 18.8 percent of all purchase mortgages last month. That was up from 18.4 percent the month before and down from 21.7 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.

The typical monthly mortgage payment Southland buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,607, up from $1,591 the month before and up from $1,275 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s typical payment was 34.1 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 46.0 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 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

March Seattle Region Home Sale Press Release

Seattle Region March Home Sales

Seattle-area March home sales fell short of a year earlier as an increase in both high-end activity and condo resales failed to offset an overall decline in sub-$500,000 transactions. Price appreciation showed signs of throttling back, with the median sale price rising year-over-year at the slowest pace in 22 months, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 4,367 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow during March in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area encompassing King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Seattle-area sales rose 26.1 percent from the prior month and fell 4.3 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

An increase in sales between February and March is normal for the season. On average, sales between those two months have risen 37.0 percent since 1994, when DataQuick's complete Seattle-area statistics begin.

March was the second month this year to log a year-over-year decline in total sales. In January sales fell 1.3 percent year-over-year. February sales rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier. However, condo resales have increased year-over-year for the past two months, rising 22.1 percent in February and 2.8 percent this March, when 869 condos resold - the highest for a March since 969 condos resold in March 2007.

Total March home sales were 14.0 percent below the average number of homes sold in all months of March since 1994. Sales of existing (not new) single-family detached houses were 16.5 percent below the historical March average, while condo resales were 31.2 percent above average and sales of newly built homes were 36.4 percent below the March average.

Buyers paid a median $315,000 for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the three-county Seattle area in March, up 0.3 percent from the prior month and up 6.8 percent from a year earlier. It was the lowest year-over-year gain since the median rose 6.5 percent in May 2012. Over the past year the highest monthly median was $329,000 in July 2013.

March marked the 24th consecutive month in which the Seattle region's median sale price rose on a year-over-year basis.

The $315,000 median price paid for all homes in March was 13.7 percent lower than the Seattle area's peak $365,200 median in June 2007. The $320,000 median paid for resale single-family detached houses in March was 18.9 percent below that home-type category's June 2007 peak of $394,500. The $245,265 median paid for resale condos in March was 12.4 percent lower than that category's June 2008 peak of $280,000.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. DataQuick was acquired this March by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic.

The number of homes selling in middle and up-market price categories tended to rise or flatten in March compared with a year earlier, while sales of lower-cost homes fell. The number of sales in March below $200,000 dropped 23.1 percent year-over-year, while sales below $500,000 fell 6.9 percent. Sales above $500,000 rose 3.8 percent year-over-year, while home sales over $700,000 increased 15.5 percent.

In the Seattle region's multi-million-dollar luxury housing market, sales have generally trended higher this year, although March's 19 sales of $2 million or more matched the March 2013 tally. During the first three months of this year, however, a total of 54 homes sold for $2 million or more, up 20 percent from the same three-month period in 2013. Multi-million-dollar sales are identified based on a price or loan amount found in the public record.

Sales of distressed properties - the combination of foreclosure resales and short sales - accounted for roughly 24 percent of the Seattle area's resale market in March, down from about 28 percent the prior month and down from around 34 percent a year earlier.

Investors continue to target many of the region's distressed properties. However, the share of all homes sold to absentee buyers - the combination of investors and vacation-home buyers - has fallen on a month-to-month basis for the past two months. In March absentee buyers purchased 16.5 percent of all homes sold, down from 19.0 percent in February and down from 22.1 percent a year earlier. March's 16.5 percent was the lowest for any month since the absentee buyer share was 15.8 percent in September 2012.

To view other Seattle area March highlights, visit DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

March Miami Area Home Sale Press Release

Miami Region March Home Sales

May 7, 2014

Miami-area home sales fell slightly below a year earlier in March as buyers faced higher prices, condo resales continued to ease off record levels and a lower share of homes sold to cash and investor buyers. The median sale price rose to the highest level in more than five years, a real estate information service reported.

In March, 10,144 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the metro area encompassing Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties. March sales increased 26.3 percent from the prior month and fell 0.7 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

A surge in sales between February and March is normal for the season. On average, Miami sales have increased 29.7 percent between those two months since 1997, when DataQuick's complete Miami-area statistics begin.

This March's sales were 10.1 percent below the average number of sales for the month of March since 1997. March's condo resales were 21.1 percent above average for the month, while single-family detached house resales were 11.1 below the long-term average and new-home sales were 73.8 percent below average.

Condo resales fell 4.1 percent in March compared with a year earlier but continued to account for an above-average share of all activity. In March, condo resales represented 49.1 percent of total sales, compared with an historical monthly average of about 36 percent.

In March, the median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold was $185,000, up 7.6 percent from the month before and up 19.4 percent from a year earlier. The March median was the highest since the median was $200,000 in December 2008. The Miami region's median has risen year-over-year for 27 consecutive months, and those gains have been double-digit for the past 20 consecutive months.

This March's median stood 36.2 percent below the Miami area's peak $290,000 median in June 2007.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. DataQuick was acquired this March by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic.

March sales activity varied a lot by price segment: The number of homes that sold below $100,000 dropped 28.3 percent year-over-year, while sales below $200,000 fell 13.0 percent. But the number of homes sold in the typical move-up range between $200,000 and $600,000 increased 17.6 percent year-over-year in March, while the number of homes that sold above $800,000 rose 15.8 percent from March 2013.

In the Miami region's multi-million-dollar luxury home market, 125 homes sold for $2 million or more during March, up from 114 in February and down from 133 in March last year. During the first three months of this year, 360 homes sold for at least $2 million, up 20.0 percent from the same period in 2013. The figures are based on public property records, where either a price or loan amount was available.

To view additional Miami region March highlights, visit DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.