November Bay Area Home Sales Press Release

Bay Area Home Sales Slowest in Six Years; Single-Digit Price Increase

December 16, 2014

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its November San Francisco Bay Area housing market report. Home sales dropped to the lowest level for the month of November since 2008, the result of a limited number of homes for sale, cautious buyers, a challenging mortgage market and a quirk of the calendar that resulted in a relatively low number days for recording deals. The single-digit, year-over-year rise in the median sale price was the lowest since May 2012.

A total of 6,003 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area in November 2014. That was down 22.0 percent from 7,693 in October of this year and down 9.9 percent from 6,659 in November 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

A decline in sales from October to November is normal for the season. It’s likely that this November’s sales decline from October was especially sharp because of a calendar issue: There were only 17 days on which home sales could be recorded at county recorders’ offices this November, compared with 22 or 23 days in October, depending on the county. Over the last decade, there has been an average of about 19 days for such recordings in the month of November.

The November 2014 sales count was the lowest for any November since 5,756 homes sold in November 2008. Sales for the month of November have varied from 5,127 in 2007 to 11,906 in 2004. The average November sales since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick’s statistics begin, is 7,772.

The median price paid for a home in the nine-county Bay Area was $601,000 in November. That was the same as in October and up 9.3 percent from $550,000 in November 2013. The year-over-year increase was the lowest since May 2012, when it was 7.5 percent. The Bay Area’s median sale price peaked at $665,000 in June and July 2007 and dropped to a post-boom low of $290,000 in March 2009.

“Each calendar month has its own set of characteristics, its own personality. November is always kind of an interlude month, and the statistics aren’t really very good for predicting upcoming activity. That said, we did see a continuation of long-term trends: Low supply levels, a dysfunctional mortgage market and dormant market categories. This could change fast, and the big question then will be just how much pent-up demand is out there. No one knows,” said John Karevoll, CoreLogic DataQuick analyst.


Other Bay Area housing market highlights from November 2014:

• Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), an important indicator of mortgage availability, accounted for 23.4 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans in November, up from a revised 23.1 percent in October, and up from 20.1 percent in November 2013. ARMs hit a low of 3.0 percent of purchase loans in January 2009 and reached a post-housing-bust peak of 27.8 percent in April 2014. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for 46.5 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans.

•Jumbo loans, or mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 56.9 percent of purchase lending in November, up from a revised 55.6 percent in October, and up from 50.0 percent in November 2013. Jumbo usage dropped to as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009. It reached 56.4 percent in May of this year and has stayed close to that percentage since.

•Foreclosure resales accounted for 2.8 percent of all resales in November, unchanged from a revised 2.8 percent in October, and down from 3.7 percent in November 2013. 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. Foreclosure resales are purchased homes that had been previously foreclosed upon in the prior 12 months.

•Short sales made up an estimated 4.3 percent of Bay Area resales in November, up from an estimated 3.4 percent in October and down from 7.2 percent in November 2013. Short sales are transactions in which the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property.

•Absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 18.6 percent of all Bay Area homes in November, which was the lowest absentee level for any month since September 2010, when it was 18.5 percent. This November's absentee level was down from a revised 19.2 percent in October, and down from 20.4 percent in November 2013.

•Cash buyers accounted for 18.9 percent of sales in November – the lowest level for any month since it was 18.5 percent in October 2008. This November's absentee level was down from a revised 20.9 percent in October and down from 22.4 percent in November 2013.

•Bay Area home buyers used $2.06 billion of their own money in the form of a down payment or as an outright cash purchase in November. They borrowed $3.05 billion in mortgage money from lenders.

•The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed to in November was $2,268. Adjusted for inflation, that payment was 21.8 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 42.2 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007 and 77.1 percent above the February 2012 bottom of the current cycle.

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

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick. Data available at DQNews.com
© 2014 CoreLogic, Inc. All rights reserved.

November Southland Home Sales Press Release

Southern California November Home Sales Fall Sharply; Median Sale Price Holds Steady Again

December 15, 2014

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its November Southern California housing market report. Home sales dropped to the lowest level for the month of November in seven years, the result of a relatively low number of days for recording deals, as well as fewer investor purchases and other market factors. There were also more signs of home prices flattening out: The region's median sale price has changed little over the last three months and November marked the sixth consecutive month in which the median had a single-digit year-over-year gain, following 22 months of double-digit increases.

A total of 15,643 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in November 2014. That was down 18.8 percent from 19,271 sales in October, and down 9.5 percent from 17,283 sales in November 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

On average, Southern California sales have fallen 8.4 percent between October and November since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick data began. It’s likely that this November’s sales decline from October was especially sharp because of a calendar issue: There were only 17 days on which home sales could be recorded at county recorders' offices this November, compared with 22 or 23 days in October, depending on the county. Over the last decade, there has been an average of about 19 days for such recordings in the month of November.

November home sales have ranged from a low of 13,173 in 2007 to a high of 31,987 in 1988. November 2014 sales were 26.7 percent below the November average of 21,340 sales. Between January and November of this year, home sales were down 9.8 percent from the same 11-month period in 2013.

"Southern California home sales are closing on a low note in 2014,” said Andrew LePage, data analyst for CoreLogic DataQuick. “Inventory still lags demand in many markets and traditional buyers haven’t filled the void left by the investors who’ve pulled out. Among would-be buyers, affordability and mortgage availability remain as hurdles, as do concerns about job security and the direction of the housing market. But there are reasons to expect more housing demand ahead. According to recent data from the federal government, job and income growth has improved. Many people who became renters after a foreclosure or short sale over the past seven years will want to buy again. And potential home buyers sitting on the fence might be tempted to jump off if they see evidence that mortgage rates will spike from today’s exceptionally low levels.”

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region in November 2014 was $412,000, up 0.5 percent from $410,000 in October and up 7.0 percent from $385,000 in November 2013. The median hasn't moved much since September this year, when it was $413,000. The median's peak for 2014 was $420,000 in August.

Southern California's $412,000 November median sale price was 18.4 percent below the peak $505,000 median reached in March, April, May and July of 2007. Among the region’s six counties, the November 2014 median in Orange County ($585,000) was the closest – within about 9 percent – to its peak of $645,000 in June 2007.

Home prices in Southern California have been rising at different rates depending on price segment. In November, the lowest-cost third of the region's housing stock saw a 12.9 percent year-over-year increase in the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses. The annual gain was 6.3 percent for the middle third of the market and 2.3 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

The number of homes that sold for $500,000 or more this November fell 3.3 percent compared with November 2013. Sales below $500,000 fell 16.9 percent year-over-year, and sales below $200,000 dropped 35.4 percent.

Other Southern California housing market highlights from November 2014:

•Foreclosure resales represented 5.3 percent of the Southern California resale market in November. That was up from a revised 4.9 percent in October and down from 6.3 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. Foreclosure resales are purchased homes that had been previously foreclosed upon in the prior 12 months.

•Short sales made up an estimated 6.2 percent of resales in November, up from a revised 6.0 percent in October and down from 10.5 percent in November 2013. Short sales are transactions in which the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property.

•Absentee buyers – mostly investors – bought 23.5 percent of the homes sold in November. That was up slightly from a revised 23.2 percent in October and down from 26.8 percent in November 2013. The October 2014 level was the lowest for any month since October 2010, when 22.1 percent of homes were sold to absentee buyers. The peak absentee share was 32.4 percent in January 2013, while the monthly average since 2000, when the CoreLogic DataQuick absentee data begin, is about 19 percent. Absentee buyers include those who purchase vacation homes or other properties that public property records suggest are not used as primary residences.

•Cash buyers accounted for 23.9 percent of November home sales, up from 23.5 percent in October and down from 28.1 percent in November 2013. The October 2014 cash level was the lowest for any month since January 2009, when 22.0 percent of homes were bought with cash. The peak was 36.9 percent in February 2013, and since 1988 the monthly average is 16.7 percent.

•Southern California home buyers committed a total of $3.28 billion of their own money in the form of down payments or all-cash purchases in November. That was down from a revised $4.09 billion in October. The out-of-pocket total peaked in May 2013 at $5.41 billion.

•Jumbo loans, or mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 31.0 percent of purchase lending in November, down from a revised 31.7 percent in October and up from 27.9 percent in November 2013. The July/August 2014 level of 32.3 percent was the highest since the credit crunch struck in August 2007. Prior to August 2007 jumbo loans accounted for around 40 percent of the home-loan market. The jumbo level dropped to as low as 9.3 percent in January 2009.

•Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) represented 12.3 percent of home purchase loans in November, down slightly from 12.9 percent in October and up from 11.2 percent in November 2013. 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 percent of purchase loans have been ARMs.

•All lenders combined provided a total of $4.78 billion in mortgage money to Southern California home buyers in November, down from a revised $6.1 billion in October and down from $4.93 billion in November 2013.

•The typical monthly mortgage payment Southern California home buyers committed to was $1,560 in November, down from $1,574 in October and up from $1,517 in November 2013. Adjusted for inflation, the November 2014 typical payment was 35.9 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was also 47.5 percent below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.

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

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick. Data available at DQNews.com
Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2014 CoreLogic. All rights reserved.

October California Home Sales Press Release

California October Home Sales

November 13, 2014

An estimated 36,830 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide in October 2014. That was up 1.4 percent from 36,316 in September, and up 1.0 percent from 36,468 sales in October 2013.

Statewide sales have increased slightly on a year-over-year basis for two consecutive months. The October sales tally was the highest for that month in two years. October sales have varied from a low of 25,832 in 2007 to a high of 70,152 in 2003. The October 2014 sales were 14.1 percent below the average of 42,860 sales for the month of October since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick data 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 in October was $382,000, down 1.8 percent from $389,000 in September and up 7.0 percent from $357,000 in October 2013. The median sale price has declined slightly month-over-month over the past two months. However, October marked the 32nd consecutive month in which the state's median price has been higher than a year earlier. Those year-over-year price increases peaked at 29.2 percent in July last year and since then they have gradually ratcheted down, with single-digit annual gains since July this year.

The October 2014 median was 21.1 percent lower than California’s peak $484,000 median reached in March/April/May 2007, and it was nearly 73 percent higher than the post-peak trough of $221,000 in April 2009. (That trough was reached during a period when distressed property sales were at unusually high levels and sales of mid- to high-end homes were at relatively low levels.)

Of the existing homes sold statewide in October, 5.3 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was down from a revised 5.4 percent in September and down from 6.7 percent in October 2013. 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 6.1 percent of the homes that resold in October. That was up insignificantly from 6.0 percent in September and down from 10.3 percent in October 2013.

The typical California monthly mortgage payment in October was $1,466, down from a revised $1,515 in September and up from $1,395 in October 2013. Adjusted for inflation, the October 2014 payment was 37.7 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 49.5 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006. It was 55.9 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.

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2014 CoreLogic. All rights reserved.

October Bay Area Home Sales Press Release

San Francisco Bay Area Home Sales Edge Higher; Price Growth Ratchets Down Again

November 13, 2014

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its October San Francisco Bay Area homes sales report. The Bay Area housing market posted another modest uptick in sales during October but activity remained below average as cash purchases continued to taper off and buyers faced a limited inventory as well as affordability and mortgage availability challenges. Home prices appear to have plateaued in recent months, although the October median sale price was still about 11 percent higher than a year earlier.

A total of 7,693 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area in October 2014. That was up 3.4 percent from 7,443 in September and up 1.3 percent from 7,595 in October 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data..

A small gain in sales from September to October is normal for the season. The October sales count was the highest for that month since 7,902 homes sold in October 2012. October sales have ranged from a low of 5,486 in 2007 to a high of 13,392 in 2003. October 2014 sales were 9.7 percent below the October average of 8,521 sales since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick’s data began.

The median price paid for a home in the nine-county Bay Area in October 2014 was $601,000. That was down 0.5 percent from $604,000 in September, and up 11.3 percent from $539,750 in October 2013.

The median sale price lurched above $600,000 in April this year, when it was $610,000, and then reached a 2014 high of $618,000 in June. Since June the median price has declined on a month-over-month basis and the October median was the lowest since March, when it was $579,000. The 11.3 percent year-over-year gain in the October median price was the second-lowest, behind this July's 9.8 percent increase, since June 2012, when the median rose 10.4 percent compared with June 2011.

The Bay Area median sale price peaked at $665,000 in June and July 2007, then dropped to a low of $290,000 in March 2009. The $601,000 October 2014 median price was 9.6 percent below the peak, which is the closest any major region of the state has come to its peak median sale price.

“After hitting what many view as a stratospheric level, Bay Area home prices have shown signs of leveling off,” said Andrew LePage, data analyst for CoreLogic DataQuick. “To some extent it’s the result of sticker shock and a modest pickup in inventory. A bigger jump in inventory would make price spikes less likely. Still, if we see more job and wage growth heading into 2015 it's easy to imagine demand and price pressures building again. People torn from homeownership by a foreclosure or short sale over the past seven years will be looking to buy again. And there’s pent-up demand from those who've delayed a purchase as they repaired their finances, struggled to qualify for a loan, or wrestled with doubts about job security or the direction of the housing market.”

A variety of market indicators continue to trend slowly, and sometimes inconsistently, toward long-term norms.

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), an important indicator or mortgage availability, accounted for 24.0 percent of the region’s home purchase loans in October. That was down slightly from a revised 24.2 percent in September and up from 20.5 percent in October 2013. The ARM share hit a low of 3.0 percent of purchase loans in January 2009. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for a monthly average of 39.4 percent of Bay Area purchase loans.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 55.3 percent of October purchase lending, up from a revised 54.7 percent in September and up from 47.8 percent in October 2013. In recent months the jumbo loan level has ranged from about 55 percent to 57 percent of purchase loans – the highest level since the credit crunch hit in August 2007. Prior to that crunch, Bay Area jumbo loans accounted for more than 60 percent of home purchase loans. The jumbo loan share dropped to as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009.

Foreclosure resales accounted for 2.7 percent of resales in October, down from a revised 2.8 percent the month before, and down from 3.7 percent a year ago. Foreclosure resales in the Bay Area peaked at 52.0 percent in February 2009, while the monthly average since 1995 is 9.7 percent. Foreclosure resales are homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 3.5 percent of Bay Area resales in October. That was down from an estimated 3.8 percent in September and down from 7.3 percent in October 2013.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 19.4 percent of all Bay Area homes that sold in October. That was down from a revised 19.6 percent in September, and down from 20.3 percent in October 2013. In recent months the absentee buyer share has hovered near its lowest level since late 2010.

Buyers paying cash accounted for 20.5 percent of sales in October, down from a revised 20.7 percent in September and down from 24.2 percent in October 2013. The cash level in October was the second-lowest, behind 20.3 percent this July, since November 2008, when cash buyers purchased 20.2 percent of all homes sold.

The typical monthly mortgage payment in the Bay Area was $2,307 in October. Adjusted for inflation, the October payment was 20.4 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 41.2 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007. It was 78.8 percent above the February 2012 bottom of the current cycle.

Indicators of market distress continue to decline. Foreclosure activity remains well below year-ago and far below peak levels. Financing with multiple mortgages is very low, and down payment sizes are stable. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

For view the county-by-county home sales chart, please visit DQNews.com.

October Southland Home Sales Press Release

Southern California Home Sales Dip To Three-Year Low; Smaller Year-Over-Year Gain for Median Sale Price

November 12, 2014

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its October Southern California homes sales report. Southland homes sold at the slowest pace for the month of October in three years as sales to investors and cash buyers continued to run well below October 2013 levels. Additionally, the median price paid for a home fell month-over-month again and the single-digit gain from a year earlier was the smallest in 28 months.

A total of 19,271 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in October 2014. That was down 0.4 percent from 19,348 sales in September, and down 4.4 percent from 20,150 sales in October 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

Last month’s sales decline from September was not unusual. On average, Southern California sales have fallen 0.3 percent between September and October since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick data begin.

October home sales have ranged from a low of 12,913 in 2007 to a high of 37,642 in 2003. October 2014 sales were 17.7 percent below the October average of 23,413 sales.

"It was another sub-par month for Southern California home sales. We've yet to see traditional buyers fill the void left by the drop-off in investor and cash buyers, which began in spring last year,” said Andrew LePage, data analyst for CoreLogic DataQuick. “Of course, there are multiple reasons for this year's lackluster sales. New-home transactions are still running at about half their normal level. The resale market is hampered by constrained inventory in many areas, in part because some people who want to put their homes up for sale still haven't regained enough equity to purchase their next home. Then there are the would-be buyers who continue to struggle with affordability and mortgage availability, if not uncertainty over their employment or the direction of the housing market."

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region in October 2014 was $410,000, down 0.7 percent from $413,000 in September and up 6.8 percent from $383,750 in October 2013. The median price also fell month-over-month between September and August this year. The August median of $420,000 was the highest for any month since December 2007, when it was $425,000.

The 6.8 percent year-over-year gain for the October median sale price marked the fifth consecutive month with a single-digit annual increase following 22 straight months of double-digit gains as high as 28.3 percent. The last time the year-over-year increase in the median sale price was lower than last month’s gain was in June 2012, when it was 5.3 percent.

The $410,000 October median stood at 18.8 percent below the peak $505,000 median reached in spring/summer 2007. Among the region’s six counties, the October 2014 median in Orange County ($595,000) was the closest – within about 8 percent – to its peak of $645,000 in June 2007.

Home prices in Southern California have been rising at different rates depending on price segment. In October, the lowest-cost third of the region's housing stock saw a 13.6 percent year-over-year increase in the median price paid per square foot for resale houses. The annual gain was 5.1 percent for the middle third of the market and 3.6 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

The number of homes that sold for $500,000 or more rose 2.6 percent in October compared with a year earlier. Sales below $500,000 fell 10.4 percent year-over-year, and sales below $200,000 dropped 30.8 percent.

In October 2014, 35.8 percent of all Southern California home sales were for $500,000 or more, down from 36.4 percent in September and up from 32.8 percent in October 2013.

Also in the region, distressed property sales continued to wane last month.

Foreclosure resales represented 4.8 percent of the Southern California resale market in October. That was up insignificantly from 4.7 percent the prior month and down from 6.3 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. Foreclosure resales are homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months.

Short sales made up an estimated 5.9 percent of resales last month. That was down from 6.1 percent the prior month and down from 10.8 percent a year earlier. Short sales are transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property.

Other Southern California housing market highlights from October 2014:

•Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 23.6 percent of the homes sold last month. That tied the September 2014 revised absentee level as the lowest since October 2010, when 22.1 percent of homes were sold to absentee buyers. The October figure was down from 27.1 percent a year earlier. The peak absentee share 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 23.5 percent of October home sales, down from a revised 24.2 percent the prior month and down from 28.6 percent a year earlier. Last month’s figure was the lowest since January 2009, when 22.0 percent of homes were bought with cash. The peak was 36.9 percent in February 2013, and since 1988 the monthly average has been 16.7 percent.

•In October, Southern California home buyers committed a total of $4.12 billion of their own money in the form of down payments or cash purchases. That was down from a revised $4.50 billion in September. The out-of-pocket total peaked in May 2013 at $5.41 billion.

•Jumbo loans, or mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 31.3 percent of purchase lending in October, up from a revised 30.9 the month before and up from 26.3 percent a year earlier. The July/August 2014 level of 32.3 percent was the highest since the credit crunch struck in August 2007. Prior to August 2007 jumbo loans 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 October, 12.9 percent of home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), down slightly from 13.3 percent the month before and up from 12.0 percent a year earlier. 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 percent of purchase loans have been ARMs.

•All lenders combined provided a total of $5.58 billion in mortgage money to Southern California home buyers in October, down from a revised $5.63 billion the month before and down from $5.63 billion a year earlier.

•The typical monthly mortgage payment in Southern California was $1,574 in October 2014, down from $1,608 the month before and up from $1,499 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, the typical payment in October was 35.5 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was also 47.2 percent below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.

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

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick. Data available at DQNews.com
Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2014 CoreLogic. All rights reserved.

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.

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

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