January California Home Sales Press Release

California January Home Sales

February 18, 2015

An estimated 25,325 new and resale houses and condos sold in California in January 2015. That was down month over month by 30.6 percent from 36,468 sales in December 2014 and down year over year by 2.0 percent from 25,832 sales in January 2014.

January home sales have varied from a low of 19,145 sales in 2008 to a high of 47,138 sales in 2004. The January 2015 sales were 18.8 percent lower than the January average of 31,177 sales since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick data began. 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 January 2015 was $376,000, down month over month by 3.1 percent from $388,000 in December 2014 and up year over year by 6.5 percent from $353,000 in January 2014.

January 2015 marked the 35th consecutive month in which the state's median sale price has increased on a year-over-year basis. The peak year-over-year price gain during that period was 29.2 percent in July 2013. Since then price gains have trended lower and since July 2014 the year-over-year increases have been single-digit – between about 6 percent and 7 percent from October 2014 through January 2015.

The January 2015 median price was 22.3 percent lower than California’s peak median price of $484,000, reached in March/April/May 2007, and it was 70.1 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 January 2015, 6.7 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was up from a revised 6.0 percent in December 2014 and down from 7.7 percent in January 2014. Foreclosure resales peaked at 58.8 percent in February 2009.

Short sales made up an estimated 6.4 percent of homes that resold in January 2015, up slightly month over month from 6.3 percent in December 2014 and down year over year from 10.7 percent in January 2014. Short sales are transactions in which the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property.

The typical monthly mortgage payment for California homebuyers in January 2015 was $1,379, down from $1,457 in December 2014 and down from $1,426 in January 2014. Adjusted for inflation, the January 2015 typical payment was 40.6 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, which was the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 51.8 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006 and 49.0 percent above the January 2012 trough of the current cycle.

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2015 CoreLogic. All rights reserved.

January Bay Area Region Home Sales Press Release

Bay Area January Home Sales Slowest in Seven Years; Single-Digit Annual Price Gain

February 18, 2015

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its January 2015 San Francisco Bay Area housing market report. January home sales dropped sharply month over month, which is normal for the season, and dipped year over year to the lowest level for a January in seven years. The median price paid for a home in January also declined sharply month over month – another seasonal norm – but it rose 9 percent from a year earlier, marking the 34th straight month with a year-over-year price gain.

A total of 4,439 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area in January 2015. That was down month over month by 40.5 percent from 7,456 sales in December 2014 and down year over year by 5.5 percent from 4,696 sales in January 2014, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

Bay Area sales have fallen an average of 28.5 percent between the months of December and January since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick data began.

January 2015 sales were the lowest for that month since 3,586 homes sold in January 2008, which is the trough for January home sales in CoreLogic DataQuick’s statistics. The peak for January home sales was in 2005, when 8,298 homes sold. The January 2015 sales tally was 25.8 percent below the historical January average of 5,985 sales.

The median price paid for a home in the Bay Area was $572,000 in January 2015. That was down month over month by 5.1 percent from $603,000 in December 2014 and up year over year by 9.0 percent from $525,000 in January 2014. Although January 2015 marked the 34th consecutive month with a year-over-year gain in the median sale price, those annual increases slipped from double-digit to single-digit gains in the last few months. In January 2014 the region’s median price rose by 26.5 percent compared with January 2013 – nearly triple the gain when comparing January 2015 to January 2014.

The Bay Area 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.

“January isn’t really a bellwether month when it comes to housing trends. For that we’ll have to wait until spring,” said Andrew LePage,” CoreLogic DataQuick data analyst. “But the latest data do indicate the market continues to struggle with challenges that many in the industry hoped would be resolved last year – challenges such as inactive groups of buyers and sellers and a mortgage market that remains difficult for many. More job and income growth, coupled with low mortgage rates, could fuel demand this year in a market still running short on supply and struggling with affordability constraints. It will be interesting to see whether recent home price appreciation will trigger a more pronounced ‘supply response’ – an increase in the number of homes listed for sale.”

Other January 2015 Bay Area housing market highlights include the following:


•Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), an indicator of mortgage availability, accounted for 20.5 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans in January, down from a revised 22.0 percent in December 2014, and down from 25.1 percent in January 2014. 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 about 46 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans.

•Jumbo loans, or mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 52.3 percent of purchase lending in January, down from a revised 54.5 percent in December 2014, and up from 46.1 percent in January 2014. Jumbo usage dropped to as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009. Prior to the August 2007 credit crunch, jumbo loans accounted for more than 60 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans.

•Foreclosure resales accounted for 4.5 percent of all resales in January, up from a revised 3.6 percent in December 2014 and down from 5.2 percent in January 2014. Foreclosure resales in the Bay Area peaked at 52.0 percent in February 2009, while the monthly average over the past 17 years is about 10 percent. Foreclosure resales are purchased homes that have been previously foreclosed upon in the prior 12 months.

•Short sales made up an estimated 4.0 percent of Bay Area resales in January, the same as in December 2014 and down from 8.5 percent in January 2014. Short sales are transactions in which the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property.

•Absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 21.0 percent of all Bay Area homes sold in January, up from a revised 19.0 percent in December 2014 and down from 24.5 percent in January 2014. The November 2014 absentee share (18.3 percent) was the lowest for any month since August 2010, when it was 17.8 percent. The peak absentee share was 28.7 percent in February 2013, and the monthly average since 2000, when CoreLogic DataQuick absentee data began, is about 16 percent.

•Cash buyers accounted for 22.6 percent of home sales in January, up from 18.2 percent in December 2014 and down from 25.8 percent in January 2014. The December 2014 cash level was the lowest for any month since September 2008, when it was 17.7 percent. The peak was 32.3 percent in February 2013, and the monthly average since 1988 is about 14 percent.

•Bay Area home buyers used $1.44 billion of their own money in the form of a down payment or as an outright cash purchase in January 2015. They borrowed $2.09 billion in mortgage money from lenders.

•The typical monthly mortgage payment for Bay Area home buyers in January 2015 was $2,099. Adjusted for inflation, that payment was 26.7 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 45.8 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007 and 66 percent above the February 2012 bottom of the current cycle.
Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in San Mateo County.

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

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick. Data available at DQNews.com
© 2015 CoreLogic, Inc. All rights reserved.

January Southland Home Sales Press Release

Southern California Home Sales Decline; Median Sale Price Still Up Year Over Year

February 17, 2015

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its January 2015 Southern California housing market report. Home sales in January fell sharply from December, as they normally do, and dipped modestly from a year earlier, marking the 14th month in the last 16 to post a year-over-year sales decline. The median price paid for a home in the six-county region also dropped month over month but rose year over year for the 34th consecutive month, although that increase was less than half the gain of a year earlier.

A total of 13,560 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in January 2015. That was down month over month 29.4 percent from 19,205 sales in December 2014, and down year over year 6.3 percent from 14,471 sales in January 2014, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

On average, Southern California sales have fallen 27.6 percent between December and January since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick data began.

January home sales have ranged from a low of 9,983 in 2008 to a high of 26,083 in 2004. January 2015 sales were 21.7 percent below the January average of 17,322 sales since 1988.

"The January and February statistics are always interesting, and sometimes a bit strange, but they're not necessarily a good indication of what's to come," said Andrew LePage, data analyst for CoreLogic DataQuick. "That's largely because many traditional buyers and sellers drop out of the housing market during the holidays and mid winter, and therefore don’t close deals during those months. In recent years that's led to somewhat higher concentrations of investor activity for January and February, and we saw that again last month. Heading into spring it will be interesting to see whether price appreciation and other factors will finally release a lot of the pent-up supply of homes out there. More owners have gained enough equity to sell and buy another home and more will be satisfied with how much their homes can fetch. At the same time, recent gains in job and income growth, coupled with low mortgage rates, could stoke demand and put significant pressure on prices unless we see a meaningful jump in inventory.”

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region in January 2015 was $409,000, down 1.4 percent month over month from $415,000 in December 2014 and up 7.6 percent year over year from $380,000 in January 2014. The median hasn't changed significantly since September 2014, when it was $413,000. The median's peak for 2014 was $420,000 in August.

Southern California's median sale price has risen on a year-over-year basis each month since April 2012. In the 22 months between August 2012 and May 2014 those annual gains were double digit, as high as 28.3 percent in June 2013. Since then, the year-over-year increases in the median sale price have been single-digit. In January 2014 the median rose 18.4 percent compared with January 2013 – more than twice the 7.6 percent gain when comparing January 2015 with January 2014.

The January 2015 median sale price was 19.0 percent below the peak median price of $505,000 reached in March, April, May and July of 2007. Among the region’s six counties, the January 2015 median in Orange County ($562,500) was the closest – within 12.8 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 January 2015, the lowest-cost third of the region's housing stock experienced a 9.0 percent year-over-year increase in the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses. The annual gain was 5.7 percent for the middle third of the market and 3.2 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

The number of homes that sold for $500,000 or more in January 2015 rose 2.0 percent compared with January 2014. Sales below $500,000 fell 13.8 percent year over year, and sales below $200,000 dropped 30.3 percent.

Other Southern California housing market highlights from January 2015 include the following:

•Foreclosure resales represented 5.7 percent of the resale market in January. That was up from a revised 5.3 percent in December 2014 and down from 6.6 percent in January 2014. 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 have been previously foreclosed upon in the prior 12 months.

•Short sales made up an estimated 6.5 percent of resales in January, up from a revised 6.2 in December 2014 and down from 10.7 percent in January 2014. Short sales are transactions in which the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property.

•Absentee buyers – mostly investors – bought 25.0 percent of the homes sold in January. That was up from a revised 23.6 percent in December 2014 and down from 27.6 percent in January 2014. The December 2014 absentee level tied the October 2014 level as 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, and the monthly average since 2000, when CoreLogic DataQuick absentee data began, 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 24.6 percent of January home sales, up from a revised 22.2 percent in December 2014 and down from 29.9 percent in January 2014. The December 2014 cash share 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 the monthly average since 1988 is about 17 percent.

•Jumbo loans, or mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 30.7 percent of purchase lending in January, down from a revised 32.1 percent in December 2014 and up from 26.6 percent in January 2014. 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 11.3 percent of home purchase loans in January, down from 12.3 percent in December 2014 and down from 13.5 percent in January 2014. 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.

•The typical monthly mortgage payment for Southern California home buyers in January was $1,501, down from $1,558 in December 2014 and down from $1,528 in January 2014. Adjusted for inflation, the January 2015 typical payment was 37.7 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was also 48.9 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 2015 CoreLogic. All rights reserved.

December California Home Sales Press Release

California December Home Sales

An estimated 36,468 new and resale houses and condos were sold in California in December 2014. That was up month over month by 23.8 percent from 29,459 sales in November 2014, and up year over year by 4.3 percent from 34,949 sales in December 2013.

December home sales have varied from a low of 25,585 sales in 2007 to a high of 66,503 sales in 2003. The December 2014 sales were 15.7 percent lower than the December average of 43,285 sales since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick data began. 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 December 2014 was $388,000, up month over month by 1.8 percent from $381,000 in November 2014 and up year over year by 6.3 percent from $365,000 in December 2013.

December 2014 marked the 34th consecutive month in which the state's median sale price has increased on a year-over-year basis. The peak year-over-year price gain was 29.2 percent in July 2013. Since then the annual gains have generally trended downward and have been single-digit since July 2014.

The December 2014 median price was 19.8 percent lower than California’s peak median price of $484,000, reached in March/April/May 2007, and it was 75.6 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 December 2014, 5.7 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was down from a revised 5.9 percent in November 2014 and down from 6.9 percent in December 2013. Foreclosure resales peaked at 58.8 percent in February 2009.

Short sales made up an estimated 6.3 percent of homes that resold in December 2014, up slightly month over month from 6.2 percent in November 2014 and down year over year from 10.3 percent in December 2013. Short sales are transactions in which the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property.

The typical monthly mortgage payment for California homebuyers in December 2014 was $1,457, up from $1,455 in November 2014 and down from $1,473 in December 2013. Adjusted for inflation, the December 2014 typical payment was 37.8 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, which was the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 49.6 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006 and 56.1 percent above the January 2012 trough of the current cycle.

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2015 CoreLogic. All rights reserved.

December Bay Area Home Sales Press Release

Bay Area Home Sales and Prices Rise in December 2014

January 15, 2015

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its December San Francisco Bay Area housing market report. Home buying picked up steam late in 2014, with December posting strong month-over-month and year-over-year sales gains. Price appreciation remained lower than it had been earlier in 2014, but the median sale price, which has moved little since late last summer, was still nearly 10 percent higher than it was the same time a year earlier.

A total of 7,456 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area in December 2014. That was up month over month 24.2 percent from 6,003 in November 2014 and up year over year 14.1 percent from 6,532 in December 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

A rise in sales from November to December is normal for the season. Bay Area sales have risen an average of 9.6 percent between those two months since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick data began.

The region’s monthly home sales have ranged between 7,000 and 8,000 for seven of the last nine months. Since 1988, December sales have varied from a low of 5,065 in 2007 to a high of 12,349 in 2003, and the December 2014 sales were 12.1 percent below the December average of 8,482.

The median price paid for a home in the Bay Area was $603,000 in December 2014. That was up month over month by 0.3 percent from $601,000 in November 2014 and up year over year 9.9 percent from $548,500 in December 2013. December 2014 was the 33rd consecutive month with a year-over-year gain in the median sale price. However, those annual increases slipped from double-digit to single-digit in the last two months of 2014. In December 2013 the region’s $548,500 median was 23.9 percent higher than in December 2012.

The Bay Area 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.

“The Bay Area’s residential real estate market ended 2014 on a cautiously optimistic note, with moderate year-over-year increases in both median price and sales counts,” said John Karevoll, CoreLogic DataQuick analyst. “Supply continues to be constrained, and the mortgage market remains difficult. As long-term trends, cash sales and investor purchases are declining slowly, but they are still significant market factors. We know that there is a significant amount of pent-up demand lying in wait, and there is a good chance the market could see a surge this spring and summer as more homes are put up for sale.”

Other December 2014 Bay Area housing market highlights include the following:

•Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), an important indicator of mortgage availability, accounted for 22.3 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans in December 2014, down from a revised 23.6 percent in November 2014, and up from 22.2 percent in December 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 46.2 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans.

•Jumbo loans, or mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 54.1 percent of purchase lending in December 2014, down from a revised 56.4 percent in November 2014, and up from 48.2 percent in December 2013. Jumbo usage dropped to as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009. It reached 56.4 percent in May 2014 and has stayed close to that percentage since. Prior to the August 2007 credit crunch, jumbo loans accounted for more than 60 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans.

•Foreclosure resales accounted for 3.7 percent of all resales in December 2014, up from 2.8 percent in November 2014, and down from 4.6 percent in December 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 9.6 percent. Foreclosure resales are purchased homes that have been previously foreclosed upon in the prior 12 months.

•Short sales made up an estimated 4.0 percent of Bay Area resales in December 2014, up from a revised 3.9 percent in November 2014 and down from 7.9 percent in December 2013. Short sales are transactions in which the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property.

•Absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 18.3 percent of all Bay Area homes in December 2014, up insignificantly from a revised 18.2 percent in November 2014 and down from 22.5 percent in December 2013. The November 2014 absentee level was the lowest for any month since August 2010, when it was 17.8 percent. The peak absentee share was 28.7 percent in February 2013, and the monthly average since 2000, when CoreLogic DataQuick absentee data began, is 15.7 percent.

•Cash buyers accounted for 19.0 percent of home sales in December 2014 – the lowest for any month since the cash buyer level was 18.5 percent in October 2008. The December 2014 absentee level was down slightly from a revised 19.3 percent in November 2014 and down from 23.5 percent in December 2013. The peak was 32.3 percent in February 2013, and the monthly average since 1988 is 13.7 percent.

•Bay Area home buyers used $2.18 billion of their own money in the form of a down payment or as an outright cash purchase in December 2014. They borrowed $3.06 billion in mortgage money from lenders.

•The typical monthly mortgage payment for Bay Area home buyers in December 2014 was $2,264. Adjusted for inflation, that payment was 21.6 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 42.0 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 home sale chart, please visit DQNews.com.

December Southern California Home Sales Press Release

Southern California Home Sales and Median Sale Price Rise

January 14, 2015

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its December Southern California housing market report. The number of homes sold increased sharply from the month of November and rose modestly from the same time a year earlier, marking one of just two months in 2014 to post a year-over-year gain in sales. The region’s median sale price also increased from November and rose year over year for the 33rd consecutive month, although that annual gain was the lowest since the string of price increases began in spring 2012.

A total of 19,205 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in December 2014. That was up month over month 22.8 percent from 15,643 sales in November 2014, and up year over year 4.3 percent from 18,415 sales in December 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.

Sales usually increase from November to December. On average, Southern California sales have risen 13.1 percent between those two months since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick data began. On a year-over-year basis, sales in 2014 fell each month except in September (+1.2 percent) and December.

The total number of homes sold in Southern California in all of 2014 fell 8.7 percent compared with 2013.

December home sales have ranged from a low of 13,240 in 2007 to a high of 36,865 in 2003. December 2014 sales were 20.2 percent below the December average of 24,067 sales since 1988.

"One month doesn’t make a trend, but December’s uptick in home sales might indicate renewed interest in housing thanks to lower mortgage rates and job growth in recent months,” said Andrew LePage, data analyst for CoreLogic DataQuick. “The gain came despite a continued decline in the share of homes sold to investors and cash buyers. If demand continues to build we'll need more supply to keep up with it. One of the big questions hanging over the housing market is whether higher demand and home values will lead to a lot more people listing their homes for sale, as well as more new-home construction, which remains well below average.”

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region in December 2014 was $415,000, up 0.7 percent month over month from $412,000 in November and up 5.1 percent year over year from $395,000 in December 2013. The median hasn't moved much since September 2014, when it was $413,000. The median's peak for 2014 was $420,000 in August.

The region's median sale price has increased on a year-over-year basis for the past 33 consecutive months, but the 5.1 percent annual gain in December 2014 was the smallest since April 2012, when the $290,000 median rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier.

Southern California's December median sale price was 17.8 percent below the peak median price of $505,000 reached in March, April, May and July of 2007. Among the region’s six counties, the December 2014 median in Orange County ($591,000) 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 December, the lowest-cost third of the region's housing stock experienced 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 in December 2014 rose 10.1 percent compared with December 2013. Sales below $500,000 rose 3.4 percent year over year, and sales below $200,000 dropped by 20.6 percent.


Among the other Southern California housing market highlights from December 2014:

•Foreclosure resales represented 5.0 percent of the resale market in December. That was down from a revised 5.5 percent in November 2014 and down from 5.8 percent in December 2013. 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 have been previously foreclosed upon in the prior 12 months.

•Short sales made up an estimated 6.2 percent of resales in December, down from a revised 6.4 in November 2014 and down from 10.2 percent in December 2013. Short sales are transactions in which the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property.

•Absentee buyers – mostly investors – bought 23.4 percent of the homes sold in December. That was down from a revised 23.8 percent in November 2014 and down from 26.9 percent in December 2013. The December 2014 absentee level ties the October 2014 level as 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, and the monthly average since 2000, when CoreLogic DataQuick absentee data began, 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 23.8 percent of December home sales, down from a revised 24.3 percent in November 2014 and down from 28.8 percent in December 2013. The December 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 the monthly average since 1988 is 16.7 percent.

•Southern California home buyers committed a total of $4.43 billion of their own money in the form of down payments or all-cash purchases in December. That was up from a revised $3.47 billion in November 2014. 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 December, up from a revised 30.5 percent in November 2014 and up from 28.5 percent in December 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 12.1 percent of home purchase loans in December, up from 12.0 percent in November 2014 and down from 13.0 percent in December 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 $6.19 billion in mortgage money to Southern California home buyers in December, up from a revised $4.88 billion in November 2014 and up from $5.40 billion in December 2013.

•The typical monthly mortgage payment for Southern California home buyers in December was $1,558, down slightly from $1,560 in November 2014 and down from $1,594 in December 2013. Adjusted for inflation, the December 2014 typical payment was 35.6 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was also 47.3 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 2015 CoreLogic. All rights reserved.

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
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