California June Home Sales

July 14, 2011

An estimated 38,975 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 9.7 percent from 35,536 sales in May, and down 11.3 percent from 43,964 sales in June 2010. California sales for the month of June have varied from a low of 35,202 in 2008 to a high of 76,669 in 2004, while the average is 49,929. DataQuick's statistics go back to 1988.

The median price paid for a home in California last month was $253,000, up 1.6 percent from $249,000 in May and down 6.3 percent from $270,000 in June 2010. The year-over-year decrease was the ninth in a row after 11 months of increases. The statewide median’s low point in the current cycle was $221,000 in April 2009, while the peak was $484,000 in early 2007.

Distressed property sales made up more than half of California’s resale market last month.

Of the existing homes sold in June, 35.0 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the prior 12 months. That was down from 35.3 percent in May but up from 34.1 percent in June 2010. The all-time high was 58.5 percent in February 2009.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 17.6 percent of resales last month. That was the same as in May and down from 20.0 percent a year earlier. Two years ago short sales made up 13.5 percent of the resale market.

The typical mortgage payment that home buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,027. That was up from $1,026 in May and down from $1,125 in June 2010. Adjusted for inflation, last month's mortgage payment was 53.8 percent below the spring 1989 peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 62.5 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006.

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.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity has declined but remains high by historical standards. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, cash and non-owner occupied buying has eased a bit in recent months but remains relatively high, DataQuick reported.

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

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com