California Home Sales and Median Prices in February

The California Association of Realtors released their report on California existing home sales and median prices in February. The statewide median price rose over the 12 months ending in February by 5.5% to $428,970. Although median prices have been on the rise for more than two years (on a year-to-year basis), the gains have moderated significantly from a year ago. Compared with January, the median price edge up by 0.5%, halting the month-to-month decline recorded in four of the previous five months. (The statewide median typically experiences a 1.4% month-to-month decline from January to February, based on data going back to 1990).

Statewide, the number of single-family homes that closed escrow in February bumped up by 2.4% over the year to 368,160 units (seasonally adjusted, annualized rate) and rose by 4.7% compared with January, a moderate improvement but a hopeful sign nonetheless as the market transitions to the spring/summer home-buying season.

Inventories are improving throughout much of California. Statewide, there was a 5.0-month supply of homes for sale in February versus 4.7 months a year ago. In the Los Angeles metro area, there was a 5.8-month supply and in the Inland Empire the supply was 6.7 months, both up from a year ago. In the San Francisco Bay Area inventories are still far more constrained -- 3.2 months in February, down from 3.3 months last year.

Mortgage interest rates reversed course and edged up in February. The average 30-year fixed rate was 3.71%, up from 3.67% in January but were still down from 4.30% a year ago.

Below is a year-over-year summary of sales and price activity in Southern California by county. Although the statewide sales figures are seasonally adjusted, regional and county figures are not. Sales that are not adjusted for seasonality are usually quite a bit lower from November through February compared with the rest of the year. Meanwhile, the median price typically goes sideways or edges down from late summer through February as the market moves past its typical spring-summer peak.

§  Los Angeles County:  unit sales declined by 3.2% over the year in February while the median price rose by 7.8% to $419,260.

§  Orange County:  sales increased by 6.3% last month but the median price barely budged, inching up by 0.4% to $680,290.

§  Riverside County:  sales of existing homes fell by 7.7%, while the median price increased last month by 6.9% to $323,220.

§  San Bernardino County:  sales edged down by 0.6% in February but the median price rose by 14.7% to $213,930.

§  San Diego County:  unit sales were up by 5.7% and the median price rose by 4.7% to $499,000.

§  Ventura County:  Sales increased by 6.4% the year while the median price moved up by 1.9% to $568,840

Source: http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/2015releases/feb2015sales