SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) – A research firm said home prices in the San Francisco Bay Area began to cool off last month after a torrid run.

California posted its strongest homes sales for any August in seven years as price increases cooled, a research firm said Friday, a relief to buyers who have been competing over slim pickings.

There were 42,546 new and existing houses and condominiums sold, up 3.1 percent from 41,280 sales a year earlier and the highest August tally since 51,054 homes sold in 2006, according to DataQuick.

The median sales price was $361,000, down 0.6 percent from 363,000 in July but still up 28.5 percent from $281,000 in August 2012. It was the 18th straight month of annual price gains.

Sales were especially strong for mid- to high-priced homes. Sales above $500,000 jumped 28.2 percent in the nine-county Bay Area and soared 48.7 percent in Southern California.

Louis Marcoux, 35, lost three bids before buying a four-bedroom house last month for $830,000 in Pleasanton. It is better house than the previous ones he sought—and less expensive.

“It got sort of crazy in May, June,” said Marcoux, an executive at a medical device maker. “We were ready but weren’t pressed for time … The wait was worth it.”

The median sales price in the Bay area was $540,000, down 3.9 percent from $542,000 in July but still up a whopping 31.7 percent from $410,000 in August 2012. There were 8,616 homes sold in the Bay area, down 0.6 percent from a year earlier.

DataQuick reported Thursday that Southern California’s median sales price was $385,000 last month, matching a 64-month high and marking the 13th straight month of annual double-digit gains. Sales increased 2.8 percent to 23,057 homes.

“We’re starting to see an overdue correction that’s going to lead to much more moderate price increases,” said Michael Lea, lecturer at San Diego State University’s Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate.

The sales increase partly reflects a national trend of fewer homeowners owing more than their homes are worth, allowing them to sell without taking a loss, analysts said. CoreLogic Inc., a real-estate data firm, reported this week that 15.4 percent of its mortgaged homes in California were “underwater” at the end of June, down from 21.3 percent three months earlier.

Foreclosed homes, which drove sales after the 2008 financial market meltdown, made up a much smaller part of the sales mix. According to DataQuick, homes foreclosed upon during the previous year accounted for 7.8 percent of existing home sales in August, down from 20 percent a year earlier and 58.8 percent in February 2009.

Lea said he is watching for housing inventories to grow, which will help keep a lid on price increases.

The California Association of Realtors reported a 2.9-month supply of single-family homes for sale in July, down from 3.5 months a year earlier. A normal supply is considered five to seven months.

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Article source: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/09/13/bay-area-home-prices-cooling-off/

The median price for houses and condominiums in the nine-
county Bay Area increased to $400,000, up 2.6 percent from April
and 7.5 percent from May 2011, the San Diego-based data seller
said today in a statement. Almost 39 percent of purchases
exceeded $500,000, the most since August 2010.

“It’s not exactly a stampede, but people are starting to
move off the housing-market sidelines in numbers we haven’t seen
in quite a while,” DataQuick President John Walsh said in the
statement. “Foreclosures are a significantly smaller portion of
what’s selling, and the higher-cost coastal markets are seeing
more activity.”

Total sales in the Bay Area rose to 8,810, up 15 percent
from the previous month and 26 percent from May 2011. It was the
highest tally for the month since 2006. Foreclosure sales
accounted for 22 percent of the total, down from almost 27
percent a year earlier and the lowest since January 2008.

Prices in both San Francisco and Santa Clara counties rose
6.2 percent, to a median $701,000 and $529,000, respectively.
The biggest increase was in Contra Costa County, where the
median gained 16 percent to $295,000. The Marin County median
price fell 2 percent to $627,000, according to DataQuick.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Dan Levy in San Francisco at
dlevy13@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Kara Wetzel at
kwetzel@bloomberg.net

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Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-14/san-francisco-bay-area-home-prices-climb-to-22-month-high.html

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

SAN FRANCISCO

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.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9U85KVG0.htm

A record amount of purchases by investors and cash buyers helped push monthly sales of new and existing homes in the Bay Area higher in February according to real estate information provider DataQuick.

A total of 5,702 new and resale homes were sold in February in the nine county Bay Area, which includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma Counties. That was 4.1 percent higher than the 5,479 home sales in January and 14.2 percent higher than the 4,991 sales posted in February of 2011. Year-over-year home sales have improved for eight consecutive months.

Home sales typically increase from January to February in the Bay area with last month’s sales still 9.0 percent below the historical average of 6,268 sales despite the help of an extra day of sales due to the leap year. February’s sales tally was still the highest for that month since 2007.

Cash buyers accounted for a record 32.0 percent of the homes sold for the month, up from a revised 29.9 percent in January, paying a median price of $247,000 for their purchases. The previous record for cash purchases was 30.5 percent, reached in February of 2011.

Absentee buyers, usually investors and vacation home buyers, accounted for a record 26.0 percent of all sales, up from a revised 25.2 percent in January, paying a median price of $230,000 for the homes they purchased.

The median sales price for new and resale homes and condos in February fell 0.3 percent to $325,500, down from $326,000 in January. The median price was 3.6 percent lower than in February of 2011, when the median price stood at $337,250. It was the 17th consecutive month that home prices have declined year-over-year.

By comparison, the lowest median price posted during the current real estate cycle was $290,000 in March 2009, while the peak median price was $665,000 in June/July 2007.

Transactions below $300,000, where most cash buyers and investors make their purchases, posted the largest increase in sales activity, up 16.8 percent from a year ago.

John Walsh, president of DataQuick, stated, “The market is still strange, just a little less strange than it was. We also need to keep in mind that, when it comes to statistical trends, February is the least typical month of the year. Over the winter you’re left with a higher concentration of investors and people who must buy or sell because of a major life event. In the spring, when many traditional buyers return, we’ll get a much better read on the market. Meanwhile, many potential buyers are still waiting for the lending spigot to open more. Drum-tight credit conditions continue to undermine housing, along with negative equity and the various uncertainties plaguing would-be buyers.”

Distressed home sales accounted for 50.5 percent of the Bay Area’s re-sale market last month, down from a revised 50.7 percent in January. Foreclosure re-sales accounted for 27.4 percent of all existing home sales in February, up from a revised 27.2 percent in January, while short sales made up about 23.1 percent of the Bay Area’s existing homes sales last month, down from a revised 23.5 percent in January.

Foreclosure re-sales peaked at 52.0 percent in February 2009 while the rate of foreclosure re-sales has been about ten percent over the last 15 years.

Tags: Bay Area, DataQuick, home sales, home prices, spring selling season, median sales price, new homes, re-sale homes

Source:
Dataquick

Article source: http://loanrateupdate.com/mortgages/bay-area-home-sales-improve-as-investors-and-cash-buyers-move-in

After posting a strong month-to-month sales gain in June, the Bay Area housing market took a breather in July as potential buyers and sellers watched the strange political show in Washington D.C. and pondered a rising tide of dreary economic reports.

Sales fell more than usual from June – especially for homes above $500,000 – but edged higher than July last year, which was 2010′s first month to lose the full force of homebuyer tax credits, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 6,887 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was down 13.9% from 7,998 in June and up 1.7% from 6,773 in July 2010, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

A decline from June to July is normal for the season, with that dip averaging 6.8% since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. July sales have varied from a low of 6,666 in July 1995 to 14,258 in 2004. Last month’s sales were the third-lowest on record for a July, behind July last year and in 1995, and fell 26.8% below the average July sale tally.

“Last year’s tax credits were by and large gone by July, so last month’s year-over-year comparison is pretty much apples and apples. We’re still looking at a dysfunctional market. Distribution curves are lopsided, bottom-feeding is still prevalent and the lending market is just plain weird. We’re off bottom by all metrics, but far from anything resembling normal,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

Last month’s sales fell harder in the higher price ranges: The number of $500,000-plus homes sold dropped 25.4% month-to-month and 19.2% year-over-year, while sales below $500,000 fell 17.1% month-to-month and increased 3.5% from a year ago.

“There’s certainly a lot more discretionary buying in the higher price ranges,” Walsh said. “A lot of those buyers have the option to just take it or leave it and, lately, it looks like more have been leaving it. There was a lot of uncertainty out there over the economy, home prices and the nation’s future. And that was before the stock market turbulence hit in early August.”

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Bay Area last month was $374,000, down 1.0% from $377,750 in June and down 7.0% from $402,000 in July 2010. The June median was the highest this year, while the July median was the second-highest.

The median’s low point during the current real estate cycle was $290,000 in March 2009. The peak was $665,000 in June/July 2007. Around half of the median’s peak-to-trough drop was the result of a decline in home values, while the other half reflects a shift in the sales mix.

Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 26.6% of resales in July. Last month’s figure was up slightly from a revised 26.1% in June and up from 25.3% a year ago. Foreclosure resales peaked at 52.0% in February 2009. The monthly average for foreclosure resales over the past 15 years is about 9%.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 18.8% of Bay Area resales last month. That was up from an estimated 17.9% in June, 17.2% a year earlier, and 14.4% two years ago.

Last month 35.3% of Bay Area sales were for $500,000 or more, down from 37.7% in June and down from 41.1% in July 2010. The all-time low for the current cycle was in January 2009, when just 22.7% of sales crossed the $500,000 threshold. Over the past 10 years, a monthly average of 47.3% of homes sold for $500,000-plus.

Fueling many lower-end transactions are low-down-payment, government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers. They accounted for 22.4% of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages in July, up from 20.6% in June and down from 23.1% a year earlier.

One indicator of mortgage availability that has seen improvement this year dropped in July. Last month 14.2% of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages, a drop from June’s 16.8, which was the highest portion since 20.7% in August 2008. The average monthly ARM rate over the past 10 years is 45.3%. ARMs hit a low of 3.0% in January 2009.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, remain relatively hard to get but accounted for 32.7% of last month’s purchase lending, down from 36.8% in June and 36.4% a year ago. Jumbo use hit a low for this cycle of 17.1% in January 2009. Before the credit crunch struck in August 2007, jumbos accounted for nearly 60% of the Bay Area purchase loan market.

Last month absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 21.2% of all Bay Area homes sold, up from 20.0% in June and 17.4% a year ago. The peak was 23.4% in February this year, while the monthly average since 2000 is 13.8%. Absentee buyers paid a median $236,000 in July, up from $235,000 in June but down from $269,250 a year ago.

Buyers who appeared to have paid all cash – meaning no corresponding purchase loan was found in the public record – accounted for 26.3% of sales in July, up from 26.0% in June and up from 25.1% a year ago. The record was 30.5% this February, while the monthly average is 11.9% since 1988. Cash buyers paid a median $230,000 in July, down from $248,000 in June and $270,000 a year earlier.

San Diego-based DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda and San Mateo counties.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,525, up from $1,533 in June and down from $1,641 a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 44.7% below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 59.1% below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but below peak levels reached over the last three years. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, and non-owner occupied buying is above average, DataQuick reported.

This article was republished with permission from The Street.

Article source: http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/bay-area-sales-see-summer-slip-57651.aspx