CA Home Sales Down in Sept.; Median Prices Rise

From DQ News on California home sales in September:

1. "An estimated 33,176 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was down 3.1 percent from 34,239 in August, and down 17.5 percent from 40,216 for September 2009. California sales for the month of September have varied from a low of 24,460 in 2007 to a high of 68,114 in 2005, while the average is 44,310.

2. The median price paid for a home last month was $265,000, up 1.9 percent from $260,000 in August, and up 5.6 percent from $251,000 for September a year ago. The year-over-year increase was the 11th in a row, following 27 months of year-over-year declines. The bottom of the current cycle saw a median of $221,000 in April 2009, while the peak was $484,000 in early 2007.

3. Of the existing homes sold last month, 35.8 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was up from a revised 35.7 percent in August and down from 41.7 percent in September a year ago. The all-time high was in February 2009 at 58.5 percent."

MP: Although September home sales in California were below both August and last September, they were above the September 2007 bottom by 35.6%.  Further, median home prices rose for the 11th month in September and were 5.6% above median prices last September; and sales of foreclosed properties in September (35.8% of the total) were below the 41.7% level in September of 2009.