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The number of homes sold in June in Southern California rose to their highest level since 2006. The enticement: Price declines of as much as 26% from a year ago.
A total of 23,262 houses and condos changed hands in Southern California last month, according to the San Diego-based research firm MDA DataQuick. That was up 12.0 percent from 20,775 homes in May and up 29.0 percent from 18,032 a year ago.
Southern California had been one of the most feverish markets during the housing boom. Now it looks to be crawling out of the bust.
Sales have increased year-over-year for 12 consecutive months. June’s sales were the highest for that month since 2006, when 31,602 homes sold. June sales peaked at 40,156 in 2005 and hit a low last year.
Foreclosures were a major force in the market, but their impact eased for the third consecutive month. Homes that sold in June that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – represented 45.3 percent of sales last month, down from a peak 56.7 percent in February of this year.
Lower prices are enticing buyers. The median price paid for all houses and condos was $265,000, up 6.4 percent from May but down 26.4 percent from $360,000 a year ago. It was the second consecutive month in which the median rose on a month-over-month basis.
Lower prices mean people can actually afford their mortgages. The typical monthly mortgage payment that Southern California buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,193 last month, down from $1,762 a year ago, Dataquick says. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are 46.0 percent below typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. They are 55.7 percent below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.
Sales of single-family houses priced $500,000 and above rose to 19.6 percent of all existing houses sold in June. That category had been as little as 13.4 percent of sales in January.
“The rising median should still be viewed mainly as a sign the market’s moving back toward a more normal distribution of sales across the home price spectrum,” said John Walsh, DataQuick’s president. “What’s missing, still, is a wide-open financing spigot for the would-be buyers of these more expensive homes.”
Bank of America made the most home purchase loans in Southern California with about 20 percent of the market. Wells Fargo has 10 percent of the market.
Investors bought 18.6 percent of the homes sold last month, up from 16.1 percent a year ago but down from 19.5 percent in May. The monthly average since 2000: 15 percent.
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Southern California Homes Sales Rise Again
- On Jul 15, 2009
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Lobsterman Greg Turner keeps a sandwich-board sign at the end of his driveway that advertises fresh lobster for sale from his garage, an attempt to claw for a few extra dollars by reaching buyers directly. With prices stuck on low and expected to fall further…
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Desperate Maine lobstermen sell from trucks, homes
- On Jun 23, 2009
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Dozens of New Jersey homes are scheduled to go to auction this weekend through one of the country’s largest foreclosure auction companies. On Saturday, Hudson & Marshall is scheduled to auction more than 40 homes in New Jersey at the…
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N.J. homes slated for auction in Newark, Mt. Laurel
- On Jun 15, 2009
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Chrysler’s hourly workers have until April 27 to accept buyout and retirement offers.
The Detroit automaker made its latest offer in February and has twice extended the sign-up deadline, saying it wanted to give workers time to review union concessions before…
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Chrysler sets April 27 as deadline for buyout, retirement offers
- On Apr 13, 2009
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Shares of wafer maker MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. slid today after the company issued an earnings outlook Thursday that fell below analysts’ expectations.
In afternoon trading, MEMC shares fell $2.96, or 16 percent, to $15.98, from Thursday’s close of $18.94. Today was…
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MEMC shares down on gloomy outlook, analyst reactions
- On Apr 13, 2009
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Thermadyne Holdings Corp. investor John P. Pecora has increased his stake in the Chesterfield-based company to 6.9 percent, according to a regulatory filing today.
Pecora, whose listed address is in Princeton, N.J., used personal funds to buy a total of 928,000…
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SEC: Thermadyne shareholder takes 6.9 percent stake
- On Apr 10, 2009
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The 60 million American homes that rely on natural gas for heat can expect substantially lower bills next winter thanks to a glut in supply and the weak economy. Just as distributors start to lock in contracts for the coming winter, natural gas prices have…
- On Apr 10, 2009
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Stocks bounded higher early Thursday after banking giant Wells Fargo & Co. issued a surprise profit announcement that was far above analysts’ estimates. The Wells Fargo news offered investors some of the best evidence to date that the credit and lending…
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Stocks surge as profits at Wells Fargo jump
- On Apr 9, 2009
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Stocks bounded higher early Thursday after banking giant Wells Fargo & Co. issued a surprise profit announcement that was far above analysts’ estimates. The Wells Fargo news offered investors some of the best evidence to date that the credit and lending…
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Stocks jump at open on Wells Fargo profit surprise
- On Apr 9, 2009
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Official inflation calculated in U.S. dollars, the nation’s adopted currency, dipped slightly in March but an independent consumer group said Thursday overall living costs for an average family rose. The Consumer Council said while food prices dropped there…
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Zimbabwe inflation falls, survival battle goes on
- On Apr 9, 2009
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Canada lost a worse-than-expected 61,300 jobs in March as the unemployment rate jumped to the highest level in seven years. The loss brought Canada’s official unemployment rate to eight percent. Statistics Canada noted that since October employment has fallen…
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Canadian economy shets 61,300 jobs in March
- On Apr 9, 2009
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Oil prices were near $51 a barrel Thursday as upbeat reports from some U.S. retailers suggested Americans may once again be willing to increase spending. So far this week, home decor chain Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and restaurant Ruby Tuesday Inc. have reported…
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Oil up near $51 on signs of higher US consumption
- On Apr 9, 2009
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Barclays PLC says it has agreed to sell its U.S.-based asset management business iShares to European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners Group for $4.4 billion. In the deal announced Thursday, Barclays will receive a net gain of $2.2 billion from the…
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