Southern California Home Sales for November 2012

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According to Data Quick, 19,285 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in November 2012.  Sales were down 8.5 percent from November, but up 14.2 percent from November 2011.  A decline from October to November is normal and expected.  The November average has been 21,730 since Data Quick began keeping records in 1988.

The Los Angeles and Southern California median price paid for a home was $321,000 last month, up a modest 1.9 percent from $315,000 in October 2012 and up a substantial 16.7 percent from $275,000 in November 2011. The last three month’s median is the highest since August 2008.  There has been median price increases for the last 10 consecutive months.

The median price is rising due to a supply problem of homes for sale, ultra low mortgage rates and more ‘move up’ homes being sold.  Foreclosures and short sales are becoming a much smaller portion of the market.  Activity rose sharply in mid to high priced areas, up 34.6 over last year.

 “The government’s offered people an amazing gift in the form of extraordinarily low mortgage rates. But that’s not the only thing fueling these sales gains. Investor activity and cash purchases remain unusually high, and more buyers feel confident about their jobs, the economy, and the likelihood housing prices have bottomed and are likely to rise. We’re also seeing more non-distressed sales, where people sell at a profit and buy another house, triggering more move-up activity,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.