Even after making adjustments for the usual seasonal slowdown, sales of existing single-family California homes fell for the third straight month in October, and Realtors say last month’s government shutdown was largely to blame.
The California Association of Realtors reports that sales slipped 2.7 percent from September to October, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 401,170 — an 11.1 percent decline from the same time a year ago.
“As anticipated, the housing market was disrupted by the closure of the federal government in October, which prolonged the loan approval process and led to the delay of many home closings, especially on FHA transactions,” said 2014 CAR President Kevin Brown in a statement.
The median price of an existing, single-family home in October was up 25.3 percent year over year to $428,740. Source: BusinessWire