Thursday, July 31, 2014

2Q2014 California Million Dollar Home Sales Press Release

Million-Dollar Home Sales Up Again in the Golden State


July 31, 2014

La Jolla, CA.----The number of California homes that sold for a million dollars or more rose to its highest level in seven years last quarter, the result of rising home prices and an improving economy. The luxury market's high end continues to do best, with record sales above the $2 million mark, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 12,826 homes sold for a million dollars or more during the April-through-June period. That was up 60.4 percent from 7,994 during this year's first quarter, and up 9.1 percent from 11,758 in second-quarter 2013. Last quarter's $1 million-plus sales were the highest for any quarter since 13,681 homes sold for $1 million or more in second-quarter 2007, according to CoreLogic DataQuick.

The all-time high was third-quarter 2005, when 15,898 Golden State homes sold for a million dollars or more.

The nine-county San Francisco Bay Area stood out last quarter: The 5,734 sales there of $1 million or more represented an all-time high. The previous peak was 5,699 in second-quarter 2005.

While statewide $1 million-plus home sales rose 9.1 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, total sales across all price categories fell 7.4 percent.

Two of the main reasons for the increase in $1 million-plus sales are increased demand, and robust price appreciation that over the past year has pushed more homes up over the million-dollar threshold.

"It's always fascinating to watch this part of the real estate market. It behaves differently, responds to its own set of criteria. These buyers, especially those in the multi-million-dollar market, are less likely to agonize over credit scores, income and job security, down payments and mortgage interest rates," said Andrew LePage, CoreLogic DataQuick analyst.

"While we can only speculate, it seems self-evident that luxury home buyers have substantial assets, and they're constantly evaluating where to park those assets. Right now it's interesting that there appears to be enough inventory to meet the demand for luxury homes. That's not always the case in many mid-priced and lower-cost housing markets, where demand continues to outweigh supply," LePage said.

A total of 265 homes sold for more than $5 million last quarter, an all-time high. In the $4-$5 million range, a record 213 homes sold. In the $3-$4 million range, 469 homes sold, also a record. In the $2-$3 million range, 1,595 homes sold, another high.

In the $1-$2 million range, 8,381 sold last quarter, still behind the record 9,885 sold in second-quarter 2005.

There were 1,923 sales where the price was unavailable, but where it could be determined that the price exceeded $1 million because of the size of the mortgage.

San Diego-based DataQuick was acquired in March by Irvine-based CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider. CoreLogic 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 quarter 3,882 of the homes that sold for $1 million or more were purchased with cash. In the luxury market, the higher the price, the more frequently cash was used. Of those who did finance their purchase last quarter, the median down payment was 30.0 percent of the purchase price.

The lending institutions most willing to provide mortgage financing for homes that sold for $1 million-plus were Wells Fargo, Union Bank and Bank of America.

The most expensive confirmed purchase last quarter was a 11,637-square-foot, 4-bedroom, 6-bathroom Westwood mansion built in 1931 which sold for $45,000,000 in May. The largest was a 16,840 sq.ft. 6-bedroom, 13-bathroom mansion in Indian Wells that sold for $4.5 million.

In some communities virtually all home sales were in the million-dollar category. Among them: Hillsborough, Rancho Santa Fe, Atherton and Los Altos.

Newly-built homes accounted for 8.8 percent of last quarterĂ¢€™s $1 million-plus sales. Condo sales made up 10.1 percent. Most $1 million-plus condos were sold in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego counties.

The median-sized $1 million-plus home was 2,400 sq.ft. with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The median price paid per square foot for all million-dollar homes last quarter was $729, up 7.6 percent from $678 in second-quarter 2013. For the overall California market, the square-foot median was $226 last quarter, up 13.0 percent from $200 in second-quarter 2013, CoreLogic DataQuick reported.

There are 8.85 million houses and condos in California. Of those, 277,666 are assessed for more than a million dollars by county assessor offices, CoreLogic DataQuick reported.

To view the ranking of cities by the number of million dollar home sales, please visit DQNews.com.

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2014 DataQuick Information Systems. All rights reserved.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

2Q14 California Foreclosure Activity Press Release

California Foreclosure Starts Lowest Since 2005


July 17, 2014

La Jolla, CA.--The number of California homes entering the formal foreclosure process last quarter dropped to the lowest level since late 2005, the result of a stronger economy and higher home values, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 17,524 Notices of Default (NoDs) were recorded at county recorders offices during the April-through-June period. That was down 8.8 percent from 19,215 in the prior quarter, and down 31.9 percent from 25,747 in second-quarter 2013, according to DataQuick, which is owned by Irvine-based CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider.

Last quarter's NoD tally was the lowest since fourth-quarter 2005, when 15,337 NoDs were recorded. NoD filings peaked in first-quarter 2009 at 135,431. DataQuick's NoD statistics go back to 1992.

"It looks like the mortgage servicers doing the foreclosure paperwork are systematically working through a backlog. While their pile is getting smaller, they're working at a steady pace. With one exception, the number of NoDs we've seen filed each quarter over the last year-and-a-half hasn't changed much, and probably just reflects staffing and workload logistics," said John Karevoll, DataQuick analyst.

In first quarter 2013 California saw 18,568 NoDs filed. In last year's second quarter the number was 25,747. In third quarter 2013 it was 20,314. Fourth quarter was 18,120. In first quarter 2014 the tally was 19,215, and last quarter it was 17,524.

"The relatively high NoD tally in second quarter last year reflected a one-time bump because of deferred activity and policy change. Otherwise the quarterly flow of NoDs since early last year has been remarkably flat, and probably doesn't reflect any meaningful changes in trends. The overall trend is that homeowner distress continues to decline because of a stronger economy and rising home prices," Karevoll said.

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 more than five years, indicating that weak underwriting standards peaked then.

On primary mortgages, California homeowners were a median 12.0 months behind on their payments when the lender filed the Notice of Default. The borrowers owed a median $27,601 on a median $309,083 mortgage.

On home equity loans and lines of credit in default, borrowers owed a median $6,992 on a median $66,150 credit line. The amount of the credit line that was actually in use cannot be determined from public records.

The most active "beneficiaries" in the formal foreclosure process last quarter were Wells Fargo (2,195), Bank of America (1,763) and Nationstar (1,047).

The trustees who pursued the highest number of defaults last quarter were Quality Loan Service Corp (for Wells Fargo and others), MTC Financial (Bank of America, Greentree, JP Morgan Chase) and Sage Point Lender Services (Nationstar, Bank of New York, US Bank and OneWest Bank).

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. CoreLogic acquired DataQuick in March. Notices of Default are recorded at county recorders offices and mark the first step of the formal foreclosure process.

Although 17,524 default notices were filed last quarter, they involved 17,105 homes because some borrowers were in default on multiple loans (e.g. a primary mortgage and a line of credit).

Among the state's larger counties, loans were least likely to go into default last quarter in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties. The probability was highest in Madera, Tulare and Fresno counties.

Trustees Deeds recorded (TDs), or the final loss of a home to the foreclosure process, totaled 7,392 last quarter - the lowest level for any quarter since 6,078 TDs were filed in fourth-quarter 2006. 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.

On average, homes foreclosed on last quarter took 8.7 months to wind their way through the formal foreclosure process, beginning with an NoD. That's up from an average of 9.5 months the prior quarter and up from 9.1 months a year earlier.

At formal foreclosure auctions held statewide last quarter, an estimated 41.0 percent of the foreclosed properties were bought by investors or others that don't appear to be lender or government entities. That was up from an estimated 39.4 percent the previous quarter and down from 54.1 percent a year earlier, DataQuick reported.

Foreclosure resales - properties foreclosed on in the prior 12 months - accounted for 6.1 percent of all California resale activity last quarter. That was down from a revised 7.6 percent the prior quarter and down from 11.5 percent a year ago. Foreclosure resales peaked at 57.8 percent in first-quarter 2009. Among the state's larger counties last quarter, foreclosure resales varied from 0.9 percent in San Francisco County to 16.3 percent in Madera County.

Short sales - transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property - made up an estimated 5.8 percent of the state's resale market last quarter. That was down from an estimated 7.5 percent the prior quarter and 13.7 percent a year earlier.

To view the county-by-county Defaults and Foreclosures charts, please visit DQNews.com.

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

June California Home Sale Press Release

California June Home Sales


July 16, 2014

An estimated 39,254 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide in June. That was up 4.0 percent from 37,734 in May, and down 4.3 percent from 41,027 sales in June 2013, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

June sales have varied from a low of 35,202 in 2008 to a high of 76,669 in 2004. Last month's sales were 19.8 percent below the average of 48,929 sales for all the months of June since 1988, when DataQuick's statistics begin. California sales have not been above average for any particular month in more than eight years.

The median price paid for a home in California last month was $393,000, up 1.8 percent from $386,000 in May and up 11.6 percent from $352,000 in June 2013. Last month’s median was the highest for any month since December 2007, when it was $402,000. Last month was the 28th 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, 5.8 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was down from a revised 5.9 percent in May and down from 9.8 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 5.2 percent of the homes that resold last month. That was down from an estimated 6.3 percent the month before and 13.9 percent a year earlier.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that California buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,530, up from $1,508 the month before and up from $1,356 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month's payment was 35.1 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 47.4 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006. It was 62.9 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 CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider.

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.

June Bay Area Home Sale Press Release

Bay Area Home Sales Up Slightly; Price Increases Slow


July 16, 2014

La Jolla, CA.----Bay Area home sales rose slightly last month but remained well below long-term norms, while prices continued to increase but at one-third of the year-ago pace. Potential buyers are still struggling with a limited supply of homes for sale, prices near or at new peaks, and a still-constricted mortgage environment, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 7,915 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 0.2 percent from 7,898 in May and up 0.2 percent from 7,897 in June last year, according to DataQuick, which is owned by Irvine-based CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider.

June’s year-over-year increase in sales was the Bay Area’s first since last September, when sales rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier. Since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin, June sales have ranged from a low of 7,118 in 1993 to a high of 15,735 in 2004. Last month’s sales were 20.2 percent below the June average of 9,916 sales since 1988. Bay Area sales haven’t been above average for any particular month in more than eight years.

“Trends in the Bay Area lead the rest of the state by at least half a year. The reason is straight out of Econ 101: Jobs. As far as underlying indicators go, we’re watching prices, especially from category to category. And we’re still watching how the mortgage market is behaving, and misbehaving. There’s a lot of opportunity out there for lending institutions that could expand their product lines. In today’s Bay Area real estate market, for example, adjustable-rate mortgages should be much more widespread,” said John Karevoll, DataQuick analyst.

The median price paid for a home in the nine-county Bay Area rose last month to $618,000, the highest since it was $629,000 in November 2007. Last month’s median increased 0.2 percent from $617,000 in May, and rose 11.4 percent from $555,000 in June last year. On a year-over-year basis, the median has increased the last 27 months, though last month’s 11.4 percent gain was the lowest in 22 months. In June last year the median rose 33.1 percent from a year earlier.

The Bay Area’s median sale price peaked at $665,000 in June and July 2007, then dropped to a low of $290,000 in March 2009. Almost all of last month’s year-over-year rise in the median can be attributed to rising home values.

The number of homes that sold last month for less than $500,000 dropped 16.8 percent year-over-year, while the number that sold for more rose 4.6 percent.

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

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), an important indicator of mortgage availability, are slowly regaining their foothold in the market. ARMs accounted for 26.6 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans in June, down from a revised 27.2 percent in May, and up from 16.9 percent in June last year. ARMs hit a low of 3.0 percent of loans in January 2009. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for 46.8 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 57.1 percent of last month’s purchase lending – the highest level since the credit crunch struck in August 2007. Last month’s jumbo level was up from a revised 56.3 percent in May, and up from 51.1 percent a year ago. Jumbo usage dropped to as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009.

Government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 10.2 percent of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages in June, up from 9.9 percent in May and down from 10.3 percent a year earlier.

San Diego-based DataQuick, which CoreLogic acquired in March, provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

Last month foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 3.1 percent of all resales. That was unchanged from the month before, and down from 5.7 percent a year earlier. Foreclosure resales in the Bay Area peaked at 52.0 percent in February 2009, while the monthly average over the past 17 years is 9.8 percent.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 4.4 percent of Bay Area resales last month. That was down from an estimated 4.6 percent in May and down from 9.5 percent a year earlier.

Last month absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 20.8 percent of all Bay Area homes. That was up slightly from May’s revised 19.3 percent and down from 21.8 percent in June last 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 20.8 percent of sales in June. That was down from a revised 22.9 percent in May and down from 25.4 percent a year earlier. Last month’s cash level was the lowest since cash buyers purchased 20.2 percent of all homes in November 2008.

Bay Area home buyers put $2.70 billion of their own money on the table in the form of a down payment or as an outright cash purchase last month, an all-time peak. They borrowed $3.62 billion in mortgage money from lenders last month, the most since $3.82 billion in August 2007.

The most active lenders to Bay Area home buyers in June were Wells Fargo with 14.1 percent of the purchase loan market, Bank of America with 4.2 percent and RPM Mortgage with 3.3 percent, DataQuick reported.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $2,406. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 17.2 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 38.8 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007. It was 87.5 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 home sale data, please visit DQNews.com.

Source: DataQuick, www.DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157
Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

June Southland Home Sale Press Release

Southland Home Sales Down from Last Year Again; Price Gains Throttle Back


July 15, 2014

La Jolla, CA---Southern California homes sold at the slowest pace for a June in three years as investor purchases fell again and other would-be buyers continued to struggle with inventory and affordability constraints. The median price paid for a home rose to its highest level in 77 months but the single-digit gain from a year earlier was the smallest in two years, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 20,654 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 5.6 percent from 19,556 sales in May, and down 4.4 percent from 21,608 sales in June last year, according to DataQuick, which is owned by Irvine-based CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider.

On average, sales have increased 6.4 percent between May and June since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. Sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis for nine consecutive months. Sales during the month of June have ranged from a low of 18,032 in June 2008 to a high of 40,156 in June 2005. Last month was 23.7 percent below the June average of 27,069 sales. Sales haven’t been above the long-term average for more than eight years.

“Pent-up demand, job growth and still-low mortgage rates continue to put pressure on home prices. But they’re climbing at a much slower pace than a year ago. In many markets price appreciation has slipped into the more sustainable single-digit range, compared with gains exceeding 20 percent this time last year. Why the drop-off? The supply of homes for sale, while still low in an historical context, is higher this year, and the decline in affordability serves as gravity for home prices. People can’t stretch with exotic and risky loans the way they could during the last housing boom,” said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst.

“Many of the market indicators we track continue to ease toward normalcy,” he added. “For example, the use of larger, so-called jumbo loans is up significantly this year, as is the use of adjustable-rate mortgages. Distressed property sales are way down and, related to that, investor and cash purchases are trending lower, toward more normal levels.”

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region last month was $415,000, up 1.2 percent from $410,000 in May and up 7.8 percent from $385,000 in June 2013. While last month’s median was the highest since it was also $415,000 in January 2008, the 7.8 percent year-over-year gain was the lowest since June 2012, when the $300,000 median rose 5.3 percent.

The Southland median has risen on a year-over-year basis for 27 straight months. But June marked the end of the median’s 22-month streak of double-digit year-over-year gains, which peaked at 28.3 percent in June last year.

Last month three counties – San Diego, Los Angeles and Ventura – logged single-digit, year-over-year gains in their median sale prices.

The Southland’s June median stood 17.8 percent below the peak $505,000 median in spring/summer 2007.

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. CoreLogic acquired DataQuick in March.

Last month home prices continued to rise at different rates depending on price segment. In June, the lowest-cost third of the region's housing stock saw a 17.1 percent year-over-year increase in the median price paid per square foot for resale houses. The annual gain was 10.8 percent for the middle third of the market and 5.2 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

The number of homes that sold for $500,000 or more last month rose 1.9 percent from one year earlier, while sales below $500,000 fell 12.8 percent year-over-year. Sales below $200,000 tumbled 36.0 percent.

In June, 37.3 percent of all Southland home sales were for $500,000 or more, down a tad from a revised 37.9 percent in May, which was the highest level since $500,000-plus deals made up 38.3 percent of sales in December 2007. In June last year 33.7 percent of sales crossed the $500,000 threshold.

The market impact of distressed properties continued to fade in June.

Foreclosure resales – homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 5.3 percent of the Southland resale market last month. That was up slightly from a revised 5.0 percent the prior month and down from 9.0 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 6.0 percent of Southland resales last month. That was down from a revised 6.4 percent the prior month and down from 14.5 percent a year earlier.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 23.6 percent of the Southland homes sold last month. That was the lowest share since December 2010, when 23.4 percent of homes sold to absentee buyers. Last month’s 23.6 percent absentee share was down from 24.9 percent in May and down from 29.0 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 about 19 percent.

Cash purchases dropped to the lowest level in four years last month. Buyers paying cash accounted for 25.1 percent of June home sales, down from 26.4 percent the month before and down from 31.2 percent in June last year. The last time cash purchases were lower than last month was in June 2010, when 24.2 percent of Southland homes were bought with cash. The peak was 36.9 percent in February 2013, and since 1988 the monthly average is 16.6 percent.

In June, Southern California home buyers forked over a total of $4.58 billion of their own money in the form of down payments or cash purchases. That was down from a revised $4.82 billion in May. The out-of-pocket total peaked in May 2013 at $5.41 billion.

Credit conditions have generally improved this year, with significant changes compared with this time last year.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 32.2 percent of last month’s Southland purchase lending – the highest jumbo level for any month since the credit crunch struck in August 2007. Last month's figure was up from 32.0 percent in May and up from 28.6 percent a year earlier. Prior to August 2007 jumbos accounted for around 40 percent of the home loan market. The jumbo level dropped to as low as 9.3 percent in January 2009.

In June, 13.9 percent of Southland home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), down from 14.9 percent in May and up from 9.3 percent a year ago. ARM use dropped to as low as 1.9 percent of all purchase loans in May 2009. Since 2000, a monthly average of about 31 percent of Southland purchase loans have been ARMs.

All lenders combined provided a total of $6.6 billion in mortgage money to Southern California home buyers in June, up from a revised $6.26 billion in May and up from $6.08 billion in June last year. Last month's figure was the highest since August 2007, when it was $7.92 billion.

The most active lenders to Southern California home buyers last month were Wells Fargo with 7.0 percent of the total home purchase loan market, Bank of America with 3.1 percent and New American Funding Lending with 2.3 percent.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 18.9 percent of all purchase mortgages last month. That was down from 19.0 percent the month before and down from 19.4 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.

The typical monthly mortgage payment Southland buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,616, up from $1,602 the month before and up from $1,483 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 home sale chart, visit DQNews.com.

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

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

May Seattle Region Home Sale Press Release

Seattle Region May Home Sales


The number of homes sold in the Seattle area in May dropped below the year-ago level and fell short of the historical average as activity declined below $500,000 and the share of homes sold to cash and absentee buyers waned. The median price paid for a home rose to the highest level since late summer 2008 but price appreciation continued to throttle back, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 5,347 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow during May in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area encompassing King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Seattle-area sales rose 3.3 percent from the prior month and fell 9.0 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.

Seattle-area sales typically rise between April and May, increasing an average of 7.2 percent between those two months since 1994, when DataQuick's complete Seattle-area statistics begin.

May was the third month this year to log a year-over-year decline in total sales. February and April saw modest annual sales gains. Of all the home-type categories, condo sales held up the best: May sales of existing (not new) condos dipped just 0.5 percent from a year earlier, and they were 33.1 percent higher than the historical May average for condo resales.

So far this year overall Seattle-area sales are running a bit lower than last year. A total of 21,512 home sold between January and May, down 2.8 percent from the same five-month period in 2013.

Total home sales in May were 5.5 percent below the average number of homes sold during all months of May since 1994. Sales of existing (not new) single-family detached houses were 5.8 percent below the historical May average, while sales of newly built homes were 34.4 percent below the May average.

Buyers paid a median $330,000 for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the three-county Seattle region in May. That's the highest since the median was $338,085 in August 2008. Last month's median rose 2.5 percent from the prior month and increased 4.1 percent from a year earlier. However, the May median's year-over-year gain was the smallest for any month since April 2012, when the region's $274,659 median rose 1.7 percent from April 2011.

May marked the 26th consecutive month in which the Seattle area's median sale price rose on a year-over-year basis. However, the May median was 9.6 percent lower than the region's peak $365,200 median in June 2007. The $339,950 median paid for resale single-family detached houses in May was 13.8 percent below that home-type category's June 2007 peak of $394,500. The $251,000 median paid for resale condos in May was 10.4 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.

The number of homes selling in the higher price ranges rose in May compared with a year earlier, while sales of lower-cost homes fell. The number of sales for less than $200,000 dropped 19.8 percent year-over-year, while May sales below $500,000 fell 12.3 percent. Sales above $500,000 rose 3.5 percent year-over-year, while home sales over $700,000 increased 8.6 percent.

In the Seattle region's multi-million-dollar luxury housing market, sales have trended higher this year. During the first five months of this year a total of 98 homes sold for $2 million or more, up 35.7 percent from the same 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 19 percent of the Seattle area's resale market in May, down from about 20 percent the prior month and down from around 28 percent a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the share of all homes sold to absentee buyers - the combination of investors and vacation-home buyers - fell in May to 16.4 percent, which matches this March's level as the lowest since absentee buyers accounted for 15.8 percent of all sales in September 2012. Similarly, the share of homes purchased by cash buyers in May (21.3 percent) dropped to the lowest level since May 2012, when cash buyers purchased 19.5 percent of all homes sold.

To view additional Seattle area May highlights, please visit DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.