THE PRESIDENTS'S CORNER #8
C.A.R. reports sales decrease 12.6 percent in January, median price of a home in California at $559,640, up 1.9 percent from year ago
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 27) – Home sales decreased 12.6 percent in January in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home increased 1.9 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today. Here are some bullet points:
· After holding steady at 445-450,000 units on a seasonally adjusted basis from July through December 2006, seasonally adjusted sales declines slightly in January 2007 to 437,580 homes.
· Sales fell 12.6 percent year-to-year in January, the smallest year-to-year decline in more than a year and about one-third smaller than the year-to-year declines of a year ago. Sales declined 3.2 percent compared to December 2006.
· Across counties and regions, raw sales (not seasonally adjusted) generally fell month-to-month by an average of 27 percent, reflecting the seasonal nature of the market. It is common for sales to drop by large margins from December to January. January and February are typically the weakest months for home sales, each accounting for about 6 percent of annual sales.
· The statewide median fell slightly month-to-month in January to $559,640, but continued to climb in year-over-year terms with a 1.9 percent increase from $549,460 a year ago. The median fell 1.7 percent from the December median of $569,560.
· The median price has shown little upward movement since August 2005, when the median was $567,320, and has fluctuated in the range of $550,000 to $576,000 since March 2006.
· Across the regions of the state, all but three regions (Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Riverside/San Bernardino) posted a year-to-year percent decline in January 2007. Regional prices averaged about a 2 to 2.5 percent decline year-to-year, with a more mixed month-to-month picture of small increases and decreases. Prices continued to be weakest in areas that experienced significant home building activity in the recent past and/or were popular for second-home purchases.
· The unsold inventory index jumped to 9.1 months in January after hovering in the range of the long-run average of 7 months since mid-2006. The San Francisco Bay Area continues to see leaner inventory levels (3.9 months) compared to the state as a whole and Southern California (10.4 months) in particular.
· Statewide listings displayed an increase that is characteristic of the start of the year, but remained near their long-run average in January. As such, the increase in unsold inventory from December to January was mainly attributable to a decline in sales rather than an increase in the number of listings.
· Time on the market (TOM) rose to 75 days in January, up slightly from 72.7 days in December. This was the highest January reading since 1996 when the figure was 74 days. TOM generally shows a slight increase through the off-season, mainly from December through February.
· The share of homes on the market 30 days or less held steady at 20 percent. On the other hand, the number of homes on the market 90 days or more has nearly tripled from 15 percent to 40 percent over the past year.
Please bear in mind that ALL REAL ESTATE MARKETS ARE LOCAL! It’s dangerous to apply statewide or national statistics to any particular local market. However, the above data helps you get a glimpse of the bigger picture.
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 27) – Home sales decreased 12.6 percent in January in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home increased 1.9 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today. Here are some bullet points:
· After holding steady at 445-450,000 units on a seasonally adjusted basis from July through December 2006, seasonally adjusted sales declines slightly in January 2007 to 437,580 homes.
· Sales fell 12.6 percent year-to-year in January, the smallest year-to-year decline in more than a year and about one-third smaller than the year-to-year declines of a year ago. Sales declined 3.2 percent compared to December 2006.
· Across counties and regions, raw sales (not seasonally adjusted) generally fell month-to-month by an average of 27 percent, reflecting the seasonal nature of the market. It is common for sales to drop by large margins from December to January. January and February are typically the weakest months for home sales, each accounting for about 6 percent of annual sales.
· The statewide median fell slightly month-to-month in January to $559,640, but continued to climb in year-over-year terms with a 1.9 percent increase from $549,460 a year ago. The median fell 1.7 percent from the December median of $569,560.
· The median price has shown little upward movement since August 2005, when the median was $567,320, and has fluctuated in the range of $550,000 to $576,000 since March 2006.
· Across the regions of the state, all but three regions (Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Riverside/San Bernardino) posted a year-to-year percent decline in January 2007. Regional prices averaged about a 2 to 2.5 percent decline year-to-year, with a more mixed month-to-month picture of small increases and decreases. Prices continued to be weakest in areas that experienced significant home building activity in the recent past and/or were popular for second-home purchases.
· The unsold inventory index jumped to 9.1 months in January after hovering in the range of the long-run average of 7 months since mid-2006. The San Francisco Bay Area continues to see leaner inventory levels (3.9 months) compared to the state as a whole and Southern California (10.4 months) in particular.
· Statewide listings displayed an increase that is characteristic of the start of the year, but remained near their long-run average in January. As such, the increase in unsold inventory from December to January was mainly attributable to a decline in sales rather than an increase in the number of listings.
· Time on the market (TOM) rose to 75 days in January, up slightly from 72.7 days in December. This was the highest January reading since 1996 when the figure was 74 days. TOM generally shows a slight increase through the off-season, mainly from December through February.
· The share of homes on the market 30 days or less held steady at 20 percent. On the other hand, the number of homes on the market 90 days or more has nearly tripled from 15 percent to 40 percent over the past year.
Please bear in mind that ALL REAL ESTATE MARKETS ARE LOCAL! It’s dangerous to apply statewide or national statistics to any particular local market. However, the above data helps you get a glimpse of the bigger picture.
posted by Larry Underhill at 09:24
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home