Thursday, October 30, 2014

September Las Vegas Region Home Sales Press Release

Las Vegas Region September Home Sales


Las Vegas-area homes sold at the slowest pace for a September in seven years as the share of homes purchased by investors and other absentee buyers fell to a 69-month low. The median price paid for a home edged up from August to a six-year high, CoreLogic DataQuick reported.

In September, 3,930 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County). That was down 1.9 percent from the month before and down 7.8 percent from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data. Last month's sales were the lowest for a September since 2007, when 3,054 homes sold.

Las Vegas region home sales typically dip between August and September. On average sales have fallen 5.4 percent between those two months since 1994, when Irvine-based CoreLogic DataQuick's complete Las Vegas-area statistics begin.

Last month's home sales were 15.8 percent below the average number sold during all months of September since 1994. However, resales of houses and condos combined were 5.3 percent above average for a September, while sales of newly built homes were nearly 58 percent below the September average. Condo resales were 19.2 percent higher than the September average, while resales of detached houses were 2.0 percent above average.

From January through September this year a total of 34,877 homes sold in the Las Vegas region, down 14.5 percent from the same nine-month period last year.

Las Vegas-area buyers paid a median $196,816 for all new and resale houses and condos purchased in September, up 0.9 percent from August and up 12.5 percent from $175,000 a year earlier. Last month’s median was the highest since it was $205,000 in September 2008. The median’s 12.5 percent year-over-year increase last month was up from a 9.9 percent annual gain in August but it was far below the September 2013 year-over-year increase of 27.7 percent.

The median has risen year-over-year for 30 straight months, with those gains ranging from 1.7 percent to 36.5 percent. In the second half of this year the median’s annual gains have ranged from 9.6 percent to last month's 12.5 percent.

The September median was 36.9 percent below the region’s peak $312,000 median in November 2006.

The run-up in home prices varies somewhat depending on price segment. In September, the lowest-cost third of the region’s housing stock saw a 13.5 percent year-over-year gain in the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses. The annual increase was 12.7 percent for the market’s middle third and 8.6 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

In September, the number of homes that sold for less than $100,000 dropped 22.7 percent compared with a year earlier. That’s the result of both home price appreciation (i.e. homes that would have sold for less than $100,000 a year ago would now sell for significantly more) as well as the thin supply of lower-cost homes for sale. Sub-$200,000 transactions fell 21.0 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, the number of homes that sold for $200,000 or more in September rose 7.4 percent year-over-year. Sales of homes priced from $200,000 to $500,000 – a range that would include many move-up purchases – rose 7.7 percent from a year earlier, while the number selling for $500,000 or more rose 4.5 percent.

Absentee buyers, which include investors and some vacation-home buyers, purchased 33.2 percent of the homes sold in September, down from 35.0 percent the month before and down from 42.8 percent a year earlier. Last month's absentee buyer share of total sales was the lowest since December 2008, when it was 31.3 percent. The monthly average for the absentee buyer share since January 2000 is 35.3 percent, while the peak was 51.2 percent in March 2012.

The drop in investment activity corresponds with a decline in all-cash purchases, mainly because many investors pay with cash. In September, cash was used to purchase 35.8 percent of all homes sold, up a tad from 34.7 percent the month before and down from 52.7 percent a year earlier. Last month’s cash share was the second-lowest, behind this August, for any month since December 2008, when 32.6 percent of homes were bought with cash. Since 1994 a monthly average of 23.9 percent of all homes have been bought with cash.


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

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157


Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Friday, October 17, 2014

3Q2014 California Home Foreclosure Press Release

Golden State Foreclosure Starts Continue to Decline


October 17, 2014

La Jolla, CA.--Lending institutions initiated formal foreclosure proceedings last quarter on the lowest number of California homes in more than eight years, the result of a recovering real estate market and the dwindling pool of toxic home loans made in 2006 and 2007, Irvine-based CoreLogic DataQuick reported.

A total of 16,833 Notices of Default (NoDs) were recorded at county recorders offices during the July-through-September period. That was down 3.9 percent from 17,524 for the prior quarter, and down 17.1 percent from 20,314 in third-quarter 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

Last quarter's NoD tally was the lowest since fourth-quarter 2005, when 15,337 NoDs were recorded. NoDs peaked in first-quarter 2009 at 135,431, while the low was 12,417 NoDs in third-quarter 2004. The NoD statistics go back to 1992.

A Notice of Default is recorded at a county recorder's office and marks the first step of the formal foreclosure process.

"This home repo pipeline isn't exactly drying up, but it sure is diminishing. Its negative effect on the overall market is only a fraction of what it was several years ago, and is really only still noticeable in some pockets of the hardest-hit markets of the Inland Empire and Central Valley," said John Karevoll, a CoreLogic DataQuick analyst.

To some extent the level of NoD filings in recent quarters probably reflects the rate at which servicers are able to process paperwork. The 20,314 NoDs filed in third-quarter 2013 were followed by 18,120 the following quarter and then 19,215 in 2014Q1; 17,524 in 2014Q2; and 16,833 last quarter.

Most of the loans going into default are still from the 2005-2007 period. Last quarter the median origination quarter for defaulted loans was 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 12.5 months behind on their payments when the lender filed the Notice of Default. Borrowers owed a median $28,684 on a median $316,651 mortgage.

On home equity loans and lines of credit in default, borrowers owed a median $6,706 on a median $67,500 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 (2,244), Bank of America (1,372) and Nationstar (1,346).

The trustees who pursued the highest number of defaults last quarter were Quality Loan Service Corp (mostly for Wells Fargo), Clear Recon Corp (mostly Bank of America), and NBS Default Services (mostly Wells Fargo and Nationstar).

Although 16,833 default notices were filed last quarter, they involved 16,432 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 Marin, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The probability was highest in Tulare, Madera and Fresno counties.

Lenders' shift toward short sales as a foreclosure alternative has helped lower foreclosure activity in recent years. 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 state's resale market last quarter. That was down from an estimated 6.1 percent the prior quarter and 11.3 percent a year earlier.

To view a county-by-county NOD chart, please visit DQNews.com.

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick; DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

September California Home Sales Press Release

California September Home Sales


October 14, 2014

An estimated 36,316 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide in September. That was down 2.4 percent from 37,228 in August, and up 0.8 percent from 36,027 sales in September 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

Last month’s slight year-over-year sales increase was the first in a year, and sales were the highest for the month of September in five years. September sales have varied from a low of 24,460 in 2007 to a high of 69,304 in 2003. Last month's sales were 15.5 percent below the average of 42,996 sales for all the months of September since 1988, when Irvine-based CoreLogic DataQuick's statistics begin. 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 $389,000, down 1.0 percent from $393,000 in August and up 9.6 percent from $355,000 in September 2013. Last month was the 31st 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, 5.3 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was down from a revised 5.4 percent in August and down from 7.1 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 5.9 percent of the homes that resold last month. That was the same as in August and down from 10.8 percent a year earlier.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that California buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,507, down from $1,523 the month before and up from $1,437 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month's payment was 36.0 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 48.1 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006. It was 60.5 percent above the January 2012 bottom of the current cycle.

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, CoreLogic DataQuick reported.

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright DataQuick. All rights reserved.

September Bay Area Home Sales Press Release

Strongest September for Bay Area Home Sales in Five Years; Prices Flat


October 14, 2014

Irvine, CA.----The number of homes sold in the Bay Area last month edged up to its highest level for a September since 2009, the result of some spillover summer activity and sustained demand in a strong regional economy. Prices appear to have flattened out at a level reached this spring, Irvine-based CoreLogic DataQuick reported.

A total of 7,443 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was down 1.8 percent from 7,578 in August and up 4.2 percent from 7,141 in September last year, according to CoreLogic DataQuick.

A decline in sales from August to September is normal for the season. Last month’s sales count was the highest for any September since 7,879 homes were sold in 2009. Sales for the month of September have varied from 5,014 in 2007 to 13,343 in 2003. The average since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick’s statistics begin, is 8,479.

The median price paid for a home in the nine-county Bay Area was $604,000 in September. That was down 0.5 percent from $607,000 in August, and up 14.0 percent from $530,000 in September last year. The median sale price lurched above $600,000 this April, when it was $610,000, and then reached a 2014 high of $618,000 in June. Since then the median has declined slightly on a month-to-month basis.

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.

“Some analysts are re-calculating what they consider to be normal sales levels, taking out the ‘loans-gone-wild’ years of over-available credit. And if you do that, current sales are right in the normal range. We still have issues today, though. The mortgage market is still dysfunctional. There are categories of buying and selling that are still inactive, and nobody really has any idea just how much pent-up demand there is out there,” said John Karevoll, CoreLogic DataQuick analyst.

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

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), an important indicator of mortgage availability, accounted for 24.4 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans in September, up from a revised 23.6 percent in August, and up from 20.3 percent in September last year. ARMs hit a low of 3.0 percent of loans in January 2009. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for 46.5 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 55.7 percent of last month’s purchase lending, down from a revised 56.1 percent in August, and up from 46.7 percent a year ago. Jumbo usage dropped to as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009.

Last month foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 2.8 percent of resales, unchanged from a revised 2.8 percent the month before, and down from 3.6 percent a year ago. Foreclosure resales in the Bay Area peaked at 52.0 percent in February 2009, while the monthly average over the past 17 years is 9.7 percent, CoreLogic DataQuick reported.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 3.6 percent of Bay Area resales last month. That was down from an estimated 3.8 percent in August and down from 7.5 percent a year earlier.

Last month absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 19.1 percent of all Bay Area homes. That was up from August’s revised 18.6 percent, and down from 20.9 percent in September 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 20.9 percent of sales in September, down from a revised 21.8 percent in August and down from 23.3 percent a year earlier.

Bay Area home buyers used $2.13 billion of their own money in the form of a down payment or as an outright cash purchase last month. They borrowed $2.8 billion in mortgage money from lenders last month.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $2,340. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 19.4 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 39.1 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007. It was 82.4 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, CoreLogic DataQuick reported. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

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

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick, www.DQNews.com

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

Monday, October 13, 2014

September Southland Home Sales Press Release

Southland Home Sales Edge Higher; Price Growth Slows


October 13, 2014

Irvine, CA---Southern California home sales hit a five-year high for a September, rising slightly above a year earlier for the first time in 12 months amid gains for mid- to high-end deals. The median sale price fell below an 80-month high reached in August and for the first time in more than two years none of the Southland counties posted a double-digit year-over-year price gain, CoreLogic DataQuick reported.

A total of 19,348 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 2.9 percent from 18,796 sales in August, and up 1.2 percent from 19,112 sales in September 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

On average, sales have fallen 9.4 percent between August and September since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick statistics begin. Last month marked the first time sales have risen on a year-over-year basis since September last year, when sales rose 7.0 percent from September 2012.

September home sales have ranged from a low of 12,455 in 2007 to a high of 37,771 in 2003. Last month’s sales were 18.3 percent below the September average of 23,695 sales.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region last month was $413,000, down 1.7 percent from $420,000 in August and up 8.1 percent from $382,000 in September 2013. The August 2014 median was the highest for any month since December 2007, when it was $425,000.

The median’s 8.1 percent year-over-year gain in September marked the fourth consecutive month with a single-digit annual increase following 22 straight months of double-digit gains of as much as 28.3 percent.

“Price appreciation has dipped into single-digit territory as more would-be buyers get priced out, investors back off and incomes rise modestly at best. Yet there are still upward forces on home prices: Jobs are being created and families started at a time when the supply of existing homes for sale, as well as the number of new homes being built, remains relatively low. The good news for those looking to buy a home now is that mortgage rates remain very low in an historical context, and we're past the peak home-buying season. Today's home shoppers are more likely to find a less-crowded market with fewer intense multiple-offer situations and more serious, realistic sellers,” said Andrew LePage, an analyst with Irvine-based CoreLogic DataQuick.

Last month was the first since June 2012 in which none of the six Southland counties posted a double-digit, year-over-year gain in its median sale price (all had single-digit increases). Orange County’s $585,000 September median was the closest – within 9.3 percent – to its all-time peak of $645,000 in June 2007.

For the Southland overall the September median stood 18.2 percent below the peak $505,000 median in spring/summer 2007.

Home prices have been rising at different rates depending on price segment. In September, the lowest-cost third of the region's housing stock saw a 10.9 percent year-over-year increase in the median price paid per square foot for resale houses. The annual gain was 6.6 percent for the middle third of the market and 4.5 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

The number of homes that sold for $500,000 or more last month rose 9.0 percent compared with a year earlier. But sales below $500,000 fell 6.7 percent year-over-year. Sales below $200,000 dropped 24.7 percent. Sales in the lower price ranges are hampered by, among other things, the drop in affordability over the last year, a fussy mortgage market and a relatively low inventory of homes for sale.

In September, 36.7 percent of all Southland home sales were for $500,000 or more, down from 38.5 percent in August – an 81-month high – and up from 33.2 percent in September 2013.

Distressed property sales continued to play a lesser role in the market.

Foreclosure resales – homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – represented 4.7 percent of the Southland resale market last month. That was down from a revised 5.0 percent the prior month and down from 6.4 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 6.0 percent of Southland resales last month. That was up insignificantly from 5.9 percent the prior month and down from 10.9 percent a year earlier.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 23.3 percent of the Southland homes sold last month. That was the lowest absentee share since October 2010, when 22.1 percent of homes sold to absentee buyers. Last month’s figure was down from 23.8 percent the prior month and down from 27.0 percent a year earlier. The peak was 32.4 percent in January 2013, while the monthly average since 2000, when the CoreLogic DataQuick absentee data begin, is about 19 percent.

Buyers paying cash accounted for 24.3 percent of September home sales, down from a revised 24.5 percent in August and down from 28.7 percent in September last year. Last month’s figure was the lowest since 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 16.7 percent.

In September, Southern California home buyers committed a total of $4.03 billion of their own money in the form of down payments or cash purchases. That was down from a revised $4.51 billion in August. The out-of-pocket total peaked in May 2013 at $5.41 billion.

Although credit conditions remain fairly tight, the use of larger “jumbo” home loans and adjustable-rate mortgages has generally trended higher this year compared with last, edging toward more normal levels.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 28.1 percent of last month’s Southland purchase lending, the same as the month before and up from 26.5 percent a year earlier. The July 2014 level of 32.3 percent was the highest since the credit crunch struck in August 2007. 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 September, 13.4 percent of Southland home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), the same as the August ARM rate and up from a year earlier, when 12.0 percent of purchase loans were ARMs. The ARM share dropped to as low as 1.9 percent of home purchase loans in May 2009. Since 2000, a monthly average of about 30.2 percent of Southland purchase loans have been ARMs.

All lenders combined provided a total of $5.85 billion in mortgage money to Southern California home buyers in September, down from a revised $6.2 billion in August and up from $5.43 billion in September last year.

The typical monthly mortgage payment Southland buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,608, down from $1,624 the month before and up from $1,547 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.

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

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

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

August Portland Region Home Sales Press Release

Portland Region August Home Sales


Portland-area home sales dipped month-to-month in August but rose slightly from a year earlier and reached a seven-year high thanks to a nine-year high in condo resales. The median price paid for all homes sold declined a bit from a nearly seven-year high in July, while the median's year-over-year increase was the smallest in almost two years, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 3,762 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow during August in the five-county Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton metro area. Sales fell 2.1 percent from the prior month and rose 0.1 percent from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

On average, sales between July and August have increased 3.2 percent since 1994, when CoreLogic DataQuick's complete Portland-area statistics begin.

The August 2014 sales tally was the highest for that month since 4,191 homes sold in August 2007, and it was 6.1 percent short of the average sales total for all months of August since 1994. Sales of existing (not new) single-family detached houses were 5.6 percent below the historical August average, while new-home sales were 35.7 percent below average. August condo resales, which rose 9.7 percent from a year earlier, were 76.3 percent above the August average. The 372 condo resales in August were the highest for that month since 405 condos resold in August 2005.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos that closed escrow in the Portland region in August was $279,900, down 1.3 percent from $283,500 in July and up 7.2 percent from $261,000 a year earlier. The July median was the highest for any month since the median was $289,000 in October 2007. The 7.2 percent year-over-year gain in the August median marked the lowest annual increase since the $230,000 November 2012 median rose 5.3 percent.

The median has risen on a year-over-year basis for 30 consecutive months, including a 12-month string of double-digit increases as high as 18.1 percent between December 2012 and November 2013. Over the past six months the median's year-over-year gains have been single-digit.

This August's median sale price was 3.1 percent below the peak $289,000 median in October 2007, and it was 43.5 percent higher than the post-peak trough of $195,000 in January 2012. During the most recent housing bust the Portland area's median fell 32.5 percent from peak to trough.

Sales of mid- to high-end homes continued to rise year-over-year in August, while lower-cost deals declined. August sales below $200,000 dropped 29.6 percent from a year earlier, while sales below $300,000 fell 8.3 percent. The number of August home sales above $300,000 rose 12.5 percent year-over-year, while sales over $500,000 rose 24.6 percent.

It appears investors were as active as they were a year ago. Absentee buyers - mostly investors and some second-home buyers - purchased 26.8 percent of all homes sold in August, up from 26.6 percent the prior month and up from 25.8 percent a year earlier. The absentee buyer rate peaked at 31.7 percent in April 2012, and the monthly average for absentee purchases since January 2000 is 20.0 percent.

The Portland metro area statistics in this report and in the tables below reflect sales in Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill counties in Oregon and Clark County in Washington.

To view additional Portland region August highlights, please visit DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

August Seattle Region Home Sales Press Release

Seattle Region August Home Sales


Seattle-area homes sold at a near-average pace in August but sales fell short of July and a year ago amid a four-year low in the share of homes bought by investors and other absentee buyers. The median sale price fell from a six-year high reached this June and July but rose 3 percent year-over-year - the smallest annual gain in more than two years, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 5,788 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow during August in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area encompassing King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Seattle-area sales fell 5.5 percent from the prior month and fell 3.8 percent from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

Seattle-area sales typically rise a bit between July and August, increasing an average of 2.4 percent between those two months since 1994, when CoreLogic DataQuick's complete Seattle-area statistics begin. August marked the second consecutive month and the fifth so far this year to log a year-over-year decline in total sales.

So far this year overall Seattle-area sales are running a bit lower than last year. A total of 39,709 home sold between January and August, down 1.3 percent from the same eight-month period in 2013.

Total August home sales were 0.1 percent below average for all months of August since 1994. Sales of existing (not new) resale condos were 37.7 percent above the August average, while resales of single-family detached houses were 1.3 percent above average and new-home sales were 34.9 percent below average.

Buyers paid a median $335,000 for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the three-county Seattle region in August. That was down 2.9 percent from July's $345,000 and up 3.1 percent from $325,000 in August 2013. The $345,000 median paid in both June and July this year marked the highest level for any month since the median was $345,200 in June 2008.

The August median's 3.1 percent year-over-year gain was the smallest for any month since April 2012, when the region's $274,659 median sale price rose 1.7 percent from April 2011.

August marked the 29th consecutive month in which the Seattle area's median sale price rose on a year-over-year basis. However, the August median was 8.3 percent lower than the region's peak $365,200 median in June 2007. The $345,000 median paid for resale single-family detached houses in August was 12.5 percent below the June 2007 peak of $394,500 for that home-type category. The $248,150 median paid for resale condos in August was 11.4 percent lower than that category's June 2008 peak of $280,000.

In an ongoing trend, the number of homes selling in the higher price ranges rose in August compared with a year earlier, while sales of lower-cost homes fell. The number of sales for less than $200,000 dropped 9.1 percent year-over-year, while August sales below $500,000 fell 5.5 percent. Sales above $500,000 rose 4.7 percent year-over-year, while home sales over $700,000 increased 15.4 percent.

In the Seattle region's multi-million-dollar luxury housing market, sales have trended higher this year. During the first eight months of this year a total of 255 homes sold for $2 million or more, up 48.3 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.

Meanwhile, the share of all homes sold to absentee buyers - the combination of investors and vacation-home buyers - fell in August to 14.6 percent, the lowest since absentee buyers accounted for 13.1 percent of all sales in June 2010.

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

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.