(04-19) 14:24 PDT San Francisco, CA (AP) –
A new survey finds that the number of homes sold in California during the month of March has hit a five-year high as prices hold steady.
Real estate research firm DataQuick reported Thursday that more than 37,000 new and existing homes and condominiums sold in the state last month.
That’s almost a 3 percent rise over the same time last year and the highest number since nearly 40,000 homes sold in March 2007.
The median price paid for a home in California last month was $251,000, up less than a percent compared to a year ago.
More than half of last month’s sales statewide were of homes either in foreclosure or being sold for less than what the seller owed.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
Home prices across much of the San Francisco Bay area showed signs of leveling off as March sales hit their highest point in five years, a real estate research firm reported Thursday.
Nearly 7,700 new and existing homes and condominiums sold in a nine-county region in March, up more than 9 percent from the same period in 2011, according to a survey by DataQuick. It’s the highest tally for the month since more than 8,300 homes were sold in March 2007.
The San Diego-based firm said the jump was spurred in part by lower prices, though the decline compared to the same time last year was minimal. The median sales price last month was $358,000, a drop of less than 1 percent from the median March 2011 price of $360,000.
“While the changes we’re seeing are incremental, they’re incremental in a positive direction,” said Dataquick president John Walsh.
About one-quarter of existing home sales were for properties in foreclosure during the previous year. Another 19 percent were “short sales” — when the price is below the amount owed by the seller.
All-cash sales favored by investors accounted for just less than 30 percent of March sales in the region, while absentee buyers made up a little less than one-quarter of all sales. Both rates were near historic highs.
DataQuick said foreclosures in the Bay Area remained above typical levels but were down compared to the peak of the housing crisis.
Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/04/19/state/n095526D64.DTL