Monday, December 28, 2015

California Home Sales and Median Prices in November

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) recently released their report on California existing home sales and median prices in November. The statewide median price fell slightly (by 0.2%) compared with October to $475,000, but was up over the year by 6.8%.



The number of single-family homes in California that closed escrow in November fell by 1.6% over the year to 369,680 units (seasonally adjusted annualized rate). Compared with October, sales were down by 8.4%. This was the first time sales dipped below 400,000 since March 2015 and was the first year-over-year decline since January 2015.

Mortgage interest rates inched up in November, with the 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaging 3.94%, up from 3.80% in October, but below the year ago rate of 4.00%. The Federal Reserve’s recent announcement that it would raise the Federal Funds rate has been anticipated for a long time and should not initially have an adverse impact on the housing market since interest rates are still at historical lows. The CAR report noted that the increase might actually help home sales in the near-term. Potential buyers who had been hesitating may finally move now that interest rates are expected to begin a slow but steady rise over the next few years.

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.

Los Angeles County:  unit sales declined by 5.5% over the year in November, while the median price rose by 5.5% to $457,870.

Orange County: sales fell by 5.0% as the median price increased by 3.1% to $711,030

Riverside County:  sales of existing homes edged down by 1.4% and the median price moved higher by 5.1% to $337,200.

San Bernardino County:  sales slipped by 1.4% in November but the median price increased by 10.5% to $236,220.

San Diego County:  unit sales edged up by 0.8% and the median price rose by   12.8% to $554,440.

Ventura County:  sales declined by 5.4% over the year while the median price rose by 13.5% to $623,400.

Source: http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/2015releases/november2015sales?view=Standard

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