California Million Dollar Home Sale Press Release

California Million-Dollar Home Sales Highest Since 2007

 

August 9, 2012

The number of Golden State homes sold for a million dollars or more rose last quarter to its highest level in almost five years, the result of an improving economy, some price increases and improved mortgage availability. The year-over-year gain for $1 million-plus sales was nearly double the increase for the overall housing market, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 7,763 homes sold for $1 million plus during the April-to-June period. That was up 79.5 percent from 4,325 during the first quarter, and up 18.5 percent from 6,553 in 2011's second quarter, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

The jump in million-dollar sales last quarter outpaced overall home sales. Total California home sales - including all price levels - increased 10.3 percent year-over-year last quarter, from 109,713 in second-quarter 2011 to 121,058 last quarter.

Last quarter's $1 million-plus sales were the highest since third-quarter 2007, when 10,946 changed hands. The highest quarter in DataQuick's records, which go back to 1988, was third-quarter 2005, when 15,898 homes sold for $1 million or more.

"This market always responds to its own set of incentives. Most homebuyers agonize about income, down payments and mortgage interest rates. And while there may be some of that in the prestige market, buyers there also watch what kind of returns their assets are bringing from investments and savings. If your money is parked in a savings account or something else that is low-risk, you're not making much and real property might look good," said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

"Part of the sales increase is because prices are going up, pushing some near-million-dollar homes up over the million-dollar threshold. Those price increases don't appear to be dramatic, but they may also be pushing fence-sitters into the market," he said.

Statewide, 188 homes sold for $5 million or more last quarter, while 122 were in the $4-$5 million range, 316 were in the $3-$4 million range, 909 were in the $2-$3 million range, 5,100 were in the $1-$2 million range. The exact price on the rest could not be determined, although financing and other factors made it clear that it was a million-dollar sale.

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.

The most expensive confirmed purchase last quarter was a 17,908-square-foot, 9-bedroom, 14-bathroom Beverly Hills mansion built in 2008 which sold for $34,500,000 in May. It was also the largest million-dollar home sold last year.

While second-quarter sales in some communities were a mix of prestige and non-prestige homes, some communities are exclusively million-dollar, including 92067 Rancho Santa Fe, 94024 Los Altos and 90402 Santa Monica.

Newly-built houses and condos accounted for 4.3 percent of last quarter's $1 million-plus sales, down from 5.2 percent a year ago. Condo sales made up 8.8 percent of the million-dollar category, up slightly from 8.6 percent. Most $1 million-plus condos were sold in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego counties.

The median-sized million-dollar home sold last quarter was 2,629 sq.ft., with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The median price paid per square foot for all million-dollar homes in the April-to-June period was $632, up 2.0 percent from $619 in second-quarter 2011. For the market overall, the square-foot median was $169, up 6.4 percent from $159, DataQuick reported.

Last quarter, 31.0 percent of the $1 million-plus buyers paid cash, down from 37.7 percent the previous quarter and down from 31.9 percent for second-quarter 2011. In the over-$5 million category, 59.4 percent of the purchases were cash. Of those who did finance their purchase last year, the median down payment was 26.0 percent of the purchase price.

The lending institutions most willing to provide mortgage financing for $1 million-plus homes were Wells Fargo, Union Bank, First Republic Bank and Bank of America. Wells Fargo's market share was greater than the next three combined.

There are 8.74 million houses and condos in California. Of those, 239,636 are assessed for more than a million dollars by county assessor offices, up from 233,006 a year earlier, DataQuick reported.

For a list of top million dollar sale zip codes, see DQNews.com.

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com
Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157
Copyright 2012 DataQuick Information Systems. All rights reserved.

June Seattle Region Home Sale Press Release

Seattle Region June Home Sales

 Seattle-area home sales rose above a year earlier for the 12th consecutive month in June, when increased activity above $300,000 outweighed sales declines in some of the lower price ranges. Mirroring a trend seen in other large markets, the median sale price rose year-over-year for the third consecutive month, hitting a nearly two-year high, amid the simultaneous shift toward more mid- to high-end transactions and fewer foreclosure resales, a real estate information service reported.  

A total of 4,886 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow during June in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area encompassing King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. June's total sales rose 4.6 percent from the month before and increased 10.5 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records. 

A significant rise in sales between May and June is normal, with that increase averaging 9.8 percent since 1994, when DataQuick's complete Seattle-area statistics begin.  

The number of homes sold this June was the highest for that month since June 2007, when 7,255 homes sold. However, this June's sales total was still 21.2 percent below the average number of homes sold during the month of June since 1994.  

The Seattle-area resale market - existing single-family houses and condos combined - posted a 9.4 percent sales gain from a year earlier, while sales of newly built homes logged a 17.3 percent increase. June sales of new Seattle-area houses and condos combined were the highest for that month in two years.  

The year-over-year increase in total June sales was the result of more activity above $200,000. The number of homes that sold for less than $200,000 fell 1.0 percent from a year earlier. Sales above $300,000 rose 24.3 percent, while sales from $200,000 to $600,000 rose 14.3 percent from a year ago. The number of homes sold from $600,000 to $900,000 rose 35.4 percent year-over-year. (Note: $600,000-to-$900,000 sales represented 9.0 percent of June transactions, while sub-$200,000 deals accounted for 26.7 percent of the market and $200,000-to-$600,000 sales accounted for 60.7 percent). 

Buyers paid a median $289,950 for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the three-county Seattle area during June. That was up 3.0 percent from the prior month and up 8.2 percent from a year earlier. The median began rising on a year-over-year basis this April, following 20 consecutive months of year-over-year declines.  

June's median was 20.6 percent lower than the Seattle area's peak $365,200 median in June 2007, and it was 21.8 percent higher than the post-peak trough of $238,000 in January this year.    

Another key price measure, the median paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses, rose to $176 in June - the highest since it was $178 in September 2010. This June's figure rose 2.9 percent from the prior month and rose 6.8 percent from a year earlier. The median paid per square foot has risen year-over-year for two consecutive months, following 20 straight months of year-over-year declines. The June figure was 26.3 percent lower than the peak $239 median paid per square foot in June 2007.  

At the county level in June, the median price paid per square foot for resale detached houses rose 4.1 percent year-over-year in King County, while it increased 1.8 percent from a year ago in Pierce County and rose 4.7 percent in Snohomish County.  

Distressed property sales - foreclosure resales and "short sales" combined - represented roughly 38 percent of the Seattle area's resale market in June, down from about 40 percent the month before and about 43 percent a year earlier.  

Foreclosure resales - properties foreclosed on in the prior 12 months - represented 14.6 percent of the resale market in June - the lowest since October 2008, when foreclosure resales were 10.4 percent of the resale market. This June's figure was down from 19.3 percent the prior month and down from 28.8 percent a year earlier.  

Short sales - transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property - made up an estimated 23.3 percent of the Seattle-area's June resales. That was up from 20.3 percent the month before and up from an estimated 13.9 percent a year earlier.  

In June, lenders foreclosed on 594 single-family houses and condo units in the region, up 13.6 percent from the month before and down 45.2 percent from a year earlier. During the first six months of this year, 3,175 homes were foreclosed on in the Seattle area, down 52.5 percent from the same period last year. The figures are based on the number of Trustees Deeds filed with county recorder offices.  

Investors and first-time buyers continue to snap up many of the distressed homes on the market. 

Absentee buyers - mainly investors - accounted for 17.2 percent of the Seattle area's June home sales, up from 16.9 percent the month before and down from 25.4 percent a year earlier. Absentee buyers paid a median $215,000 in June, up 2.4 percent from a year earlier. While many of these buyers are investors, they can include second-home buyers and others who indicated at the time of sale that the property tax bill would be sent to a different address. 

Many investors are among the cash buyers, who accounted for 23.9 percent of June home sales, up from 20.5 percent the prior month and 20.9 percent a year earlier. Cash buyers paid a median $256,641 in June, up 20.6 percent year-over-year.

In June, 19.9 percent of Seattle-area purchase mortgages were government-insured FHA loans, a popular, low-down-payment choice among first-time home buyers. That was down from 20.2 percent of home purchase loans the prior month, down from 25.6 percent a year earlier, and the lowest since the FHA level was 19.0 percent in June 2008. The region's FHA level peaked for the current housing cycle at 39.9 percent in October 2009.


See the full home sale chart at DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2012 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

June Las Vegas Home Sale Press Release

Las Vegas Region June Home Sales

Las Vegas-area home sales fell year-over-year for the first time in 12 months during June, when a sharp drop in sub-$200,000 sales, especially lender-owned properties, offset gains for more expensive homes. The combination of a 4.5-year low in foreclosure resales and a pick-up in mid-to high-end activity helped push the median sale price up from a year ago for the third consecutive month, to a 19-month high, a real estate information service reported.

In June, 4,423 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County). That was down 8.0 percent from 4,830 sales the month before and down 15.6 percent from 5,262 sales a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

On average, sales have increased 8.6 percent between May and June since 1994, when DataQuick’s complete Las Vegas region statistics begin. This June’s sales were 16.0 percent below the average number of homes sold during all months of June since 1994, and were the lowest for that month since June 2008, when 3,829 homes sold.

June’s sales tally was below average because new-home sales remain extraordinarily weak – about 70 percent below average for the month of June. Resale activity was 11.8 percent above average for a June. However, the number of houses and condos that resold in June fell 7.8 percent from the prior month and declined 17.1 percent from a year earlier. Sales of newly built homes had been faring better this year than during the first half of 2011, rising on a year-over-year basis each month this year until June, when new-home sales dropped 2.0 percent compared with last year.

In the overall market in June, the higher price categories continued to post the largest year-over-year sales gains, while activity declined sharply in the lowest price segments. The total number of homes that sold for less than $100,000 fell 26.1 percent in June compared with a year earlier – a sign sub-$100,000 deals are getting harder to come by. The number of homes that sold for less than $200,000 declined 19.8 percent from a year earlier, while the number that sold above $300,000 rose 10.8 percent. The number of sales above $500,000 rose 35.9 percent compared with a year earlier. (The over-$500,000 market only accounts for about 2 percent of total sales).

Increased affordability from super-low mortgage rates and lower prices have spurred more demand in the mid- to higher-end markets this year. In the lower price ranges, demand among first-time buyers, investors and vacation-home buyers has been robust, and it has reportedly depleted the supply of homes on the market to the point where it’s limited the sales volume (i.e. if there were more homes on the market then sales would be higher). Why isn’t the supply of homes for sale rising to meet the demand? Many who would like to sell can’t because they owe more than their homes are worth. Other potential sellers are holding off on a move-up purchase because of uncertainty over the economy, or because they’re waiting for higher prices.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Las Vegas metro area in June was $125,000 – the highest since the median was $127,050 in November 2010. June’s median rose 2.5 percent from the prior month and rose 8.7 percent from a year earlier.

June was the fifth consecutive month to post a month-to-month gain in the median, and it was the third in a row with a year-over-year increase. Prior to this April, the median hadn’t risen year-over-year since June 2010. June’s 8.7 percent annual rise in the median was at least in part a reflection of the substantial drop in the share of all resales that were foreclosed properties, which tend to carry significant discounts and be concentrated in lower-cost areas.

The June median sale price remained 59.9 percent below the November 2006 peak of $312,000. In recent months the median has been rising off a cyclical low point of $110,000 this January – the lowest level since the median was also $110,000 in April 1994.

An alternative home-price gauge – the median paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses – rose to $70 in June. That was up 2.9 percent from both the month before and a year earlier, marking the third consecutive month with a year-over-year gain. (This January’s $64 median per square foot was the lowest since at least 1994.) The June figure was 63.2 percent lower than the peak $190 paid per square foot in May and June 2006.

Absentee buyers – mainly investors and vacation-home buyers – purchased a near-record 50.8 percent of all Las Vegas-area homes sold in June. That compares with 48.9 percent the month before and 45.9 percent a year earlier. The peak was 51.2 percent this March. Absentee buyers paid a median $104,000 in June, up from $100,000 the prior month and up 10.6 percent from $94,000 a year earlier. Absentee buyers are those who indicated at the time of sale that the property tax bill will go to a different address.

In the first half of this year, 41.9 percent of all absentee buyers in the Las Vegas region were from Nevada, while 58.1 percent had mailing addresses outside of Nevada, according to public records. Topping the list of states where these out-of-state investors and second-home buyers came from were California (31.2 percent of all absentee buyers), Utah (2.4 percent), Hawaii (2.1 percent), Washington (1.9 percent) and Texas (1.8 percent). Absentee buyers from these top five states purchased 19 percent of all homes sold in the Las Vegas area during the first half of this year. Absentee buyers from California accounted for 15 percent of the region’s total home sales during that six-month period.

Cash buyers purchased 51.6 percent of the Las Vegas-area homes that sold in June. That was down from a cash-buyer share of 53.3 percent of total sales the month before and up from 50.6 percent a year earlier. The peak was 56.7 percent in February 2011. Cash purchases are where there is no sign of a corresponding purchase mortgage in the public record. June’s cash buyers paid a median $99,450, up from $95,000 the prior month and up 19.8 percent from $83,000 a year earlier.


Distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – continued to trend downward in June, representing 48.7 percent of the resale market. That’s down from about 52.6 percent the month before and 68.6 percent a year earlier.

Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 32.7 percent of Las Vegas resale activity in June – the lowest level since December 2007, when it was 31.3 percent. June’s figure was down from 38.9 percent the month before and 57.6 percent a year earlier. Foreclosure resales peaked at 73.7 percent of the resale market in April 2009.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 16.0 percent of the resale market in June. That compares with an estimated 13.7 percent the prior month and 11.0 percent a year ago.

In the wake of a new Nevada law that creates additional requirements for lenders trying to foreclose on properties, the number of notices of default (“NODs”) filed in Clark County has plummeted in recent months. In June, lenders filed 1,568 NODs, up 16.7 percent from the prior month and down 56.6 percent from 3,612 a year earlier. The notice of default is the first step in the formal foreclosure process.

Lenders foreclosed on 1,102 homes in the Las Vegas region in June, up 21.8 percent from the month before and down 70.0 percent from a year earlier. Between January and June this year, lenders foreclosed on 8,363 single-family house and condo units, down 57.0 percent from the same period last year.

A form of low-down-payment financing that’s popular with first-time home buyers – government-insured FHA loans – accounted for 35.4 percent of all home purchase loans in June. That was down from 40.6 percent the prior month and down from 41.6 percent a year earlier. June’s FHA level was the lowest since April 2008, when it was 31.9 percent. The current cycle’s peak for FHA use was 55.1 percent of all purchase loans in September 2008.


For the full home sale chart see DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

 Copyright 2012 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

June Miami Area Home Sale Press Release

Miami Region June Home Sales

 

August 2, 2012

Miami-area June home sales bucked the norm and fell from May, but domestic and international demand remained high enough to push sales up a bit from a year ago to the highest level for a June in five years. The median sale price hit a two-year high, rising year-over-year for the sixth consecutive month amid a continuing decline in sales of lower-priced homes and a steep rise in mid- to high-end deals, a real estate information service reported.

In June, 10,105 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the metro area encompassing Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties. That was down 4.8 percent from the prior month and up 2.5 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.


Typically Miami-area sales increase between May and June, with that gain averaging 6.0 percent since 1997, when DataQuick's complete Miami-area statistics begin.


June's total sales were 17.7 percent below the average number of sales in the month of June since 1997. However, if newly built homes are excluded from the sales mix, then the number of houses and condos that closed escrow in June was 6.0 percent below the historical average for the month (resale condos were nearly 19 percent above average, while resale house sales were about 23 percent below average). The region's new-home sales in June were the lowest on record for that month and were 75.7 percent below average for the month of June.


When viewed by price segment, total June sales in the Miami area fell 9.4 percent year-over-year for homes priced below $100,000, and fell 2.9 percent for homes below $200,000. Sales between $250,000 and $450,000 posted a 24.9 percent annual sales gain in June, while the number of homes that sold between $500,000 and $800,000 rose 37.5 percent and deals above $800,000 rose 6.9 percent from the same month last year.


Increased affordability from super-low mortgage rates and lower prices have spurred more demand in the mid- to higher-end markets this year. In the lower price ranges, demand among first-time buyers, investors and vacation-home buyers has been robust, and it has reportedly depleted the supply of homes on the market to the point where it's limited the sales volume (i.e. if there were more homes on the market then sales would be higher). Why aren't more homes hitting the market to meet the higher demand? Many who would like to sell can't because they owe more than their homes are worth. Other potential sellers are holding off on a move-up purchase because of uncertainty over the economy, or because they're waiting for higher prices.


In the Miami region's multi-million-dollar luxury market, 88 homes sold for $2 million or more in June, down 27.3 percent from the month before and down 16.2 percent from one year earlier. However, luxury sales can vacillate month-to-month, and year-to-date luxury sales are up: Between January and June this year, 495 homes sold for $2 million or more, up 13.3 percent year-over-year. The figures are based on public property records, where either a price or loan amount was available.


 In the overall Miami market, the median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in June was $150,000 - the highest median for any month since June 2010, when the median was also $150,000. The June median rose 3.6 percent from the month before and rose 11.1 percent from a year earlier.


The Miami area's median sale price has increased year-over-year each month in 2012. Prior to January this year, the median hadn't risen year-over-year since September 2007. The median stopped falling year-over-year in December 2011, when it was the same as a year earlier.


The June median was 25.0 percent higher than the current housing cycle's post-peak trough of $120,000 in January and February of 2011, but it was still 48.3 percent lower than the Miami area's peak $290,000 median in June 2007.


The region's resale condo median rose 16.7 percent year-over-year in June, marking the ninth consecutive month in which that price measure posted an annual gain. The median price paid for resale single-family detached houses rose 6.3 percent in June - the fifth month in a row with a year-over-year increase.


Another key price gauge analysts watch, the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses, rose again in June to $96 for the overall region. That was up 2.8 percent from the month before and up 8.1 percent from a year earlier - the fifth consecutive year-over-year gain following 19 months of annual declines. The June figure stood 50.3 percent below the peak median of $211 paid per square foot for resale houses in May 2006.


At the county level in June, the median paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses rose to $84 in Broward County, up 3.7 percent month-to-month and up 7.7 percent year-over-year. It was the sixth consecutive month with an annual gain. The median paid per square foot was $104 in Miami-Dade County, down a tad from $105 the prior month and up 9.0 percent from a year earlier, marking the seventh consecutive month to post an annual gain. Palm Beach County's median paid per square foot increased to $105 in June, up 1.9 percent from the month before and up 3.8 percent from a year earlier, marking the fourth consecutive month with an annual gain.


For the overall region, the median price paid per square foot for resale condos in June rose to $91, up 2.2 percent from the month before and up 9.9 percent from a year earlier. The figure has risen year-over-year for nine consecutive months, but in June it was still 56.9 percent below its April 2006 peak of $211 per square foot.

Absentee buyers, including investors and vacation-home buyers, continue to snap up many of the region's condos and other lower-cost properties. Absentee buyers purchased 40.0 percent of all homes sold in the Miami area in June, down from 41.8 percent the month before and down from 42.6 percent a year earlier. However, June's absentee level was still close to the peak for such purchases - 42.6 percent in February this year. (Absentee statistics go back to January 2000).


Absentee buyers paid a median $110,000 for all new and resale houses and condos that they purchased in June, up from $105,000 the month before and up 21.3 percent from $90,700 a year earlier. Absentee buyers are investors, second-home buyers and others who indicate at the time of sale that their property tax bill will be sent to a different address.

Buyers who had a foreign mailing addresses in the public record were responsible for 5.1 percent of all Miami-area home sales in June, and 8.6 percent of the region's existing condo sales. In the first half of this year, these identified foreign buyers bought 6.1 percent of all homes sold, and 10.0 percent of all resale condos. (Note: Not all foreign buyers use a foreign mailing address, hence cannot be tracked with public records.)


In June, nearly 70 percent of the Miami-area's buyers with a foreign mailing address were from Canada, while the rest were split between Venezuela (3.7 percent of identified foreign buyers), Argentina (3.1 percent), Brazil (2.3 percent), France (1.8 percent) and more than 30 other countries. During the first half of this year, buyers from Canada accounted for 74.4 percent of all identified foreign-buyer transactions, with the rest split between Brazil (2.4 percent), Argentina (2.3 percent), Venezuela, (2.2), France (1.5 percent) and dozens of other countries.


Of all homes bought with a foreign mailing address in June, about 81 percent were existing condos, while about 12 percent were resale detached houses and the remaining 7 percent were newly built houses or condos. The breakdown was roughly the same for the first half of this year, with 82 percent of all identified foreign buyers choosing resale condos.


Foreign buyers paid a median $110,000 for all the homes they bought during the first six months of this year. They paid a median $163,000 for resale houses, a median $92,000 for resale condos and a median $300,000 for newly built houses and condos. The most expensive home bought by an identified foreign buyer in the first half of this year was a $6.8 million, 9,469-square-foot house in Palm Beach County's 33487 zip code (Highland Beach).

Many absentee buyers are also cash buyers, who purchased 63.0 percent of the Miami-area homes sold in June. That was down from 65.4 percent the prior month and down from 64.2 percent a year earlier. The peak was 68.7 percent in February this year. June's cash buyers paid a median $110,000, up from $106,000 the prior month and up 14.5 percent from $96,100 a year earlier. Cash deals are where there was no indication in the public record of a purchase loan recorded at the time of sale.

Meanwhile, use of a form of low-down-payment financing that's popular with first-time homebuyers - government-insured FHA loans - fell to 32.8 percent of all home purchase loans in June. It was the lowest FHA level since November 2008, when it was 32.7 percent. June's FHA level was down from 34.4 percent the month before and down from 39.5 percent a year earlier.

View the full Miami home sale chart at DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2012 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

June Phoenix Home Sale Press Release

Phoenix Area June Home Sales

The Phoenix region’s median sale price edged higher again last month, rising on a year-over-year basis for the seventh consecutive month to the highest level since late 2008. The number of homes sold fell from both May and a year earlier as foreclosure resales and sub-$150,000 transactions continued to dwindle, a real estate information service reported.

In June, buyers paid a median $152,000 for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the combined Maricopa-Pinal counties metro area. It was the highest for any month since the median was $154,000 in December 2008. Last month’s median rose 1.3 percent from May and rose 23.1 percent from June 2011, according to San Diego-based DataQuick, which tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

The median's 23.1 percent year-over-year increase in June followed annual gains of 25.0 percent in May, 18.3 percent in April, 13.8 percent in March, and 7.5 percent in each of the prior three months.
Last month’s median sale price stood 42.4 percent below the all-time peak of $264,100 in June 2006, but it was 28.4 percent higher than the median’s post-peak trough of $118,347 in August 2011.

To some extent, the large year-over-year gains in the median sale price in recent months reflect increased pressure on home prices. Ultra-low mortgage have helped trigger more demand at the same time the inventory of homes for sale has fallen sharply.

But there are other reasons the median sale price has posted double-digit annual gains of late. First, in recent months the region’s mid- to high-end markets have represented a substantially larger share of total sales. For example, last month 34.1 percent of all sales were above $200,000, compared with 25.6 percent a year ago. Second, there’s been a substantial drop in the portion of all resales that are foreclosed properties, which tend to carry significant discounts and be concentrated in lower-cost areas. If at some point lenders move more aggressively to clear their backlogs of distressed properties, then the inventory of homes on the market would rise, creating downward pressure on home prices.

Foreclosure resales, defined as homes that were foreclosed on in the prior 12 months, fell to 21.2 percent of the resale market last month – the lowest level for any month since January 2008, when they were 18.6 percent of the resale market. June’s foreclosure resale level fell from 24.3 percent the month before and 49.6 percent a year earlier. The peak level for foreclosure resales was 66.2 percent in March 2009.

Last month a total of 9,556 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the two-county Phoenix region, down 3.4 percent from the month before and down 8.3 percent from a year earlier. On average, June home sales have risen 1.4 percent from May since 1994, when DataQuick’s complete Phoenix region statistics begin.

Total home sales in June were 11.9 percent short of the average number sold that month, mainly because new-home sales remain far below average. Resales of houses and condos combined in June were 0.6 percent higher than the historical average for that month. New-home sales were 56.2 percent below average for a June. However, with demand outstripping supply in some segments of the Phoenix-area resale market, sales of newly built homes have been on an upswing lately. They have risen year-over-year for 12 consecutive months. June’s 1,046 new-home sales rose 31.2 percent from a year ago.

Sales continued to fall hard in the lower price ranges last month. The number of new and resale homes that sold in June for less than $100,000 dropped 40.6 percent from a year earlier, while sub-$150,000 sales fell 26.4 percent. Deals between $200,000 and $400,000 rose 22.5 percent year-over-year, while sales above $500,000 rose 17.0 percent. Sales over $800,000 rose 7.2 percent from a year earlier.

Other Phoenix region June highlights:

• A key price gauge analysts watch, the median price paid per square foot for existing single-family detached houses, rose in June to $84 – the highest since it was the same level in November 2008. Last month’s figure rose 1.2 percent from the month before and increased 25.4 percent from a year earlier. The median paid per square foot has risen year-over-year for seven consecutive months. The June figure stood 50.9 percent below the $171 peak median paid per square foot in May and June of 2006.
• At the county level in June, the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses in Maricopa County rose to $87, up 2.4 percent from the prior month and up 23.5 percent from a year earlier. It was the seventh consecutive month with a year-over-year gain. The Pinal County median paid per square foot was $60 last month, up 1.7 percent from the prior month and up 34.7 percent from a year earlier, marking the ninth consecutive month to see a year-over-year gain.
• Short sales, where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property, represented an estimated 13.7 percent of last month’s resale activity. That was up from an estimated 12.6 for May and it was down from 14.2 percent a year earlier.
• Lenders foreclosed on 2,087 Phoenix-area houses and condo units last month, down 13.6 percent from the month before and down 56.5 percent from a year earlier. The number of homes lost to foreclosure between January and June this year totaled 14,591, down 54.1 percent from the same period last year.
• Absentee buyers, who are mainly investors and vacation-home buyers, bought 39.3 percent of all Phoenix-area homes sold last month, down from 39.7 percent the month before and down from 44.3 percent a year earlier. The peak was 47.1 percent in March 2011. Last month, absentee buyers paid a median $121,000, down from $122,750 the month before and up 21.0 percent from $100,000 a year earlier.
• About 43 percent of last month’s absentee buyers had mailing addresses outside of Arizona, according to public records. Topping the list of states where these out-of-state investors and second-home buyers came from were California (10 percent), Washington (4 percent), Texas (3 percent), Illinois (3 percent) and Colorado (2 percent). The remaining 35 percent of the Phoenix region’s absentee buyers in June were based in 42 other states.
• Buyers paying cash bought 41.3 percent of all homes sold last month. That was down from 42.5 percent the prior month and up from 40.7 percent a year earlier. The record for cash buying was 48.0 percent in February 2011. Last month’s cash buyers paid a median $120,000, down from $123,500 the month before and up 34.8 percent from $89,000 a year earlier.
• The market share for FHA home loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, held at a more-than-four-year low. Last month 26.4 percent of all Phoenix-area home purchase loans were government-insured FHA mortgages, the same as in May and down from 34.7 percent a year earlier. Last month’s figure was the lowest since the FHA share of the purchase loan market was 25.3 percent in March 2008.

See the full area chart at DQNews.com

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

Copyright 2012 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

June Bay Area Home Sale Press Release

Bay Area Home Sales Up, Median Highest Since Summer 2008

July 18, 2012

La Jolla, CA.--The median price paid for a Bay Area home in June jumped to its highest level in almost four years, the result of an ongoing shift in the types of homes selling, slightly improved mortgage availability, and ultra-low interest rates on home loans. Sales increased on a year-over-year basis for the 12th month in a row, a real estate information service reported.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month was $417,000. That was up 4.3 percent from $400,000 in May, and up 10.4 percent from $377,750 in June 2011, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Last month’s median was the highest since it was $447,000 in August 2008.
    
The median’s low point for the current real estate cycle was $290,000 in March 2009, while the peak was $665,000 in June/July 2007. Around half of the median’s peak-to-trough drop was the result of a decline in home values, while the other half reflected a shift in the sales mix.

“Some of today’s stats are similar to what we saw in the thick of the housing downturn back in 2009, only in reverse: Instead of foreclosure resales soaring they’re waning, and instead of high-end sales slumping they’re posting some of the larger sales gains. This is one of the main reasons that various price measures are pointing higher – a so-called change in market mix. While last month’s jump in the median sale price might to some extent reflect prices edging a bit higher in certain markets, mostly it’s a reflection of the change in market mix. Fewer discounted distressed properties changing hands, more normal sales in the move-up range,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

A total of 8,577 new and resale homes were sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was down 2.6 percent from 8,810 the month before, and up 7.2 percent from 7,998 for June 2011.
Although they’ve increased over the past year, Bay Area sales levels are still below their long-term norm. Since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics start, June sales have varied from 7,118 in 1993 to 15,735 in 2004. Last month’s sales count was 14.8 percent below the 10,067 average for the month of June.

Last month distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – made up 36.1 percent of the resale market. That was down from 39.0 percent in May and down from 44.3 percent in June a year ago.

Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 18.1 percent of resales in June, the first time it’s been under 20 percent since it was 18.8 percent in January 2008. Last month’s 18.1 percent was down from a revised 21.4 percent in May, and down from 26.1 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 about 10 percent.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 18.0 percent of Bay Area resales last month. That was up from an estimated 17.6 percent in May and about the same as 18.2 percent a year earlier.

Last month 40.9 percent of Bay Area sales were for $500,000 or more, up from 39.4 percent in May, and up from 38.0 percent in June 2011. The low for the current cycle was January 2009, when just 22.7 percent of sales crossed the $500,000 threshold. Over the past 10 years, a monthly average of 47.9 percent of homes sold for $500,000-plus.

Government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 16.8 percent of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages in June. That was down from 17.2 percent in May and down from 20.6 percent a year earlier. Last month’s figure was the lowest since the FHA purchase loan share was 14.7 percent in August 2008.

One indicator of mortgage availability remains flat. In June, 14.0 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). That was down from a revised 14.1 percent in May, and down from 16.8 percent in June last year. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for 49.8 percent of all purchase loans. ARMs hit a low of 3.0 percent of loans in January 2009.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 38.1 percent of last month’s purchase lending, the highest since 38.6 percent in December 2007. It was up from a revised 37.2 percent in May, and up from 34.6 percent a year ago. In the current housing cycle, jumbo usage dropped as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009. Before the credit crunch struck in August 2007, jumbos accounted for nearly 60 percent of the Bay Area purchase loan market.

Last month absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 23.4 percent of all Bay Area homes, down from 24.4 percent in May, and up from 20.0 percent a year ago. Absentee buyers paid a median $270,000 in June, up from $262,000 in May and up 13.4 percent from $238,000 a year ago.

Buyers who appear to have paid all cash – meaning no corresponding purchase loan was found in the public record – accounted for 27.5 percent of sales in June. That was down from a revised 28.3 percent in May, and up from 26.0 percent a year ago. The monthly average going back to 1988 is 12.2 percent. Cash buyers paid a median $277,000 in June, down from $280,000 in May and up 11.2 percent from $249,000 a year earlier.

San Diego-based DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,532, up from $1,491 in May, and up from $1,525 a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 45.2 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 59.5 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but below peak levels reached over the last three years. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.


To view the county chart, go to DQNews.com.

Source: DataQuick, www.DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2012 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

June SoCal Home Sale Press Release

Southland Home Sales Up From Year Ago; Median Price Climbs to $300K

July 17, 2012

La Jolla, CA---The number of homes sold in Southern California rose above a year earlier for the sixth month in a row in June, the result of robust investor demand and significant sales gains for mid- to high-end homes. The continuing pattern of fewer foreclosures re-selling and more activity in pricier coastal counties helped the region’s median sale price climb to a two-year high, a real estate information service reported.

The median price paid for a home in the six-county Southland rose last month to $300,000, up 1.7 percent from $295,000 in May and up 5.3 percent from $285,000 in June 2011, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Last month’s median was the highest since the median was also $300,000 in June 2010, when the market got a final big boost from expiring homebuyer tax credits. The median has risen month-to-month for five consecutive months and has increased year-over-year for the past three. The June median’s 5.3 percent year-over-year gain followed increases of 5.4 percent and 3.6 percent in May and April, respectively. Before then, the median had fallen year-over-year for 13 straight months.

The June median was 40.6 percent lower than the Southland’s $505,000 peak median in mid 2007, and it was 21.5 percent higher than the region’s low point for the current real estate cycle – $247,000 in April 2009.

Higher demand and a smaller inventory of homes for sale have put pressure on prices in some areas, but two other trends are at work: First, there’s been a significant drop in the share of transactions that are foreclosed properties, which tend to sell at a discount and be concentrated in lower-cost areas. Second, a greater portion of sales are occurring in the higher-cost coastal markets. Last month, for example, sales in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties represented 71 percent of all Southland activity, up from 68 percent in June 2011.

“The June numbers look pretty good at first glance, but they're more mixed when you scratch beneath the surface. Yes, the median sale price rose again. But it’s clear this has a lot to do with changes in the types of homes selling, rather than across-the-board price appreciation. Fewer of the homes selling now are foreclosures, while more are nice houses in mid- to higher-end neighborhoods. June sales were stronger than a year earlier, but they were also around 20 percent below average for that month,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

“Super-low mortgage rates and lower home prices have attracted many buyers and helped compensate for the economy’s lackluster performance, and for not-so-great consumer confidence,” he said. “With inventory and foreclosure resales dwindling, more housing markets appear to be entering an early recovery phase. But in some cases we consider their status to be fairly precarious. What happens next will hinge largely on the strength of the economy and the decisions lenders make regarding scores of distressed properties that continue to hang over the market.”

In June, a total of 22,075 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties. That was down 0.5 percent from 22,192 in May, and up 7.5 percent from 20,532 in June 2011.

Home sales typically rise between May and June, with that increase averaging 6.8 percent since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. However, the drop in sales between May and June is the result of May having 22 business days on which sales could close, compared with 21 days in June. The average number of homes to close escrow daily in June was 4.2 percent higher than the May average.
On a year-over-year basis, Southland home sales have increased for six consecutive months. Sales have also increased year-over-year in ten out of the last 11 months. Still, last month’s sales were 19.9 percent lower than the average sales tally of 27,544 for all the months of June since 1988. The low for June sales was 18,032 in June 2008, while the high was 40,156 in June 2005.

While overall Southland sales rose 7.5 percent last month from a year earlier, stronger sales gains were recorded in price segments above $250,000. The volume of transactions in lower-cost markets has been restrained by, among other things, declining inventories of homes for sale, especially foreclosures.

The number of Southern California homes sold in June for less than $200,000 fell 3.0 percent from a year earlier, while the number that sold for $200,000 to $400,000 increased 21.6 percent. Sales between $300,000 and $800,000 – a range that would include many move-up buyers – increased 12.8 percent year-over-year. Sales over $800,000 rose 7.1 percent from June 2011.

Last month 22.5 percent of all Southland sales were for $500,000 or more, up from 21.8 percent in May and 21.6 percent a year earlier. June’s share of sales above $500,000 was the highest since August 2008, when they made up 23.6 percent of the market. The low point for $500,000-plus sales was in January 2009, when only 13.8 percent of sales crossed that threshold. Over the past decade, a monthly average of about 28 percent of homes sold for $500,000 or more.

Distressed sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and short sales – made up 42.2 percent of last month’s resale market. That was the lowest level since the figure was 41.4 percent in February 2008.

Foreclosure resales – properties foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 24.5 percent of the Southland resale market last month, down from a revised 26.9 percent the month before and 32.9 percent a year earlier. Last month’s figure was the lowest since foreclosure resales were 24.3 percent of the resale market in December 2007. In the current cycle, the figure 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 17.7 percent of Southland resales last month. That was down slightly from an estimated 18.0 percent the month before and 17.9 percent a year earlier.

Credit remained relatively tight last month but the share of purchase loans in the “jumbo” category edged up again, reaching its highest point since late 2007.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 20.0 percent of last month’s purchase lending – the highest since December 2007, when it was 21.7 percent. June’s figure was up from 18.9 percent the prior month and 18.2 percent a year ago. In the months leading up to the credit crisis that hit in August 2007, jumbos made up about 40 percent of the market.

The use of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) hardly budged last month. ARMs made up 6.7 percent of home purchase loans in June, compared with 6.6 percent in May and 8.8 percent a year earlier. Since 2000, a monthly average of about 34 percent of purchase loans were ARMs.

Investor and cash-only purchases continued to hover near record levels.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 27.0 percent of the Southland homes sold last month. That was down from 27.5 percent the prior month and up from 24.1 percent a year earlier. The record was 29.9 percent in February this year, while the monthly average since 2000 is 17.3 percent. Last month’s absentee buyers paid a median $225,000, the same as the month before and up from $212,000 a year earlier. The median paid by absentee buyers last month was 25.0 percent lower than the $300,000 median paid for all homes sold.

Buyers paying with cash accounted for 31.6 percent of June home sales, down from 32.1 percent the month before and up from 28.6 percent a year earlier. Cash purchases peaked at 33.7 percent of all sales this February, and since 2000 the monthly average is 14.8 percent. Cash buyers paid a median $235,000 last month, up from $234,500 the prior month and $215,000 a year ago. The median price paid by cash buyers was about 22 percent lower than the median paid for all homes sold last month.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 27.8 percent of all purchase mortgages last month. June’s FHA level was down from 29.4 percent the month before and 31.1 percent a year earlier. Last month’s FHA share was the lowest since August 2008, when it was 26.8 percent.

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

The typical monthly mortgage payment Southland buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,102, compared with $1,100 the month before and $1,157 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s typical payment was 53.1 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 61.6 percent below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but is much lower than peak levels reached in recent years. Financing with multiple mortgages is very low, and down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.
For the county-level sales chart, see DQNews.com.

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

Copyright 2012 DataQuick. All rights reserved.