The statewide median resale home price rose for the seventh straight month in September, while the pace of single-family sales of previously owned homes was up 0.6 percent from the prior month and up 2.1 percent compared to the same month last year, the California Association of Realtors trade group reported Monday.
The median price of resale homes in the state was up 1.1 percent in September, to $296,090, while falling 7.3 percent compared to September 2008, CAR also reported. The year-over-year statewide median price had dropped in double-digit percentages for 22 consecutive months before the single-digit percentage decline in September, the group noted.
The statewide median price compares to a national median resale price of $174,900 in September (see related article) — the national median price dropped 8.1 percent compared to September 2008.
CAR’s chief economist, Leslie Appleton-Young, said in statement, "Efforts by the government to stimulate housing and the economy clearly are impacting the market." She noted that sales through September, on a year-to-date basis, are up 33.1 percent compared to the same period in 2008.
The group’s Unsold Inventory Index, which indicates the months’ supply of for-sale homes given the latest monthly sales rate, was at 4.2 months in September, compared with 6.5 months in September 2008. A supply of six months is generally considered to be a rough equilibrium between a buyer’s market and seller’s market, with fewer months’ supply indicating a seller’s market.
It took a median 33.6 days to sell a home in September, compared with 46.2 days during September 2008, CAR also reported.
The sales rate for resale condos in the state was up 2.2 percent compared to August and up 10.8 percent compared to September 2008, while the median resale condo price was up 3.8 percent on a monthly basis but down 6.5 percent compared to September 2008.
CAR’s regional data for single-family resale homes show the September median price was off 64.8 percent from its April 2006 peak price for the High Desert region, off 61.5 percent from its August 2007 peak price for the Monterey region, and off 59.4 percent from its June 2005 peak in the Palm Springs-Lower Desert region. …CONTINUED
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