Home sales rise in January 2016!
The Lawhead Team would like to share the following article from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® about home sales in January.
California home sales kick off year higher in January, marking best start in three years
- Existing, single-family home sales totaled 383,670 in January on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, down 5.4 percent from December and up 8.8 percent from January 2015.
- January’s statewide median home price was $468,330, down 4.3 percent from December and up 9.2 percent from January 2015.
- Year-over-year sales increased in the state’s major regions, including Southern California (6.5 percent), San Francisco Bay Area (6.8 percent), and with the Central Valley posting the largest annual gain of 11.8 percent.
The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said California existing home sales posted their best January performance in three years as year-over-year sales recovered from delayed escrow closings late last year caused by new loan disclosure rules.
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 383,670 units in January, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2016 if sales maintained the January pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
The January figure was down 5.4 percent from the revised 405,760 level in December and up 8.8 percent compared with home sales in January 2015 of a revised 352,640. The January 2016 sales level was the highest since January 2013, when an annualized 421,780 homes were sold.
“While home sales increased year over year in January, they decreased minimally on a monthly basis, primarily due to a stronger than usual sales gain in December 2015, when the backlog of mortgage approvals caused by new loan disclosure rules were carried over from November,” said C.A.R. President Pat “Ziggy” Zicarelli. “Looking ahead, the slowdown should be a transitory interruption to an otherwise positive trend.”
The median price of an existing, single-family detached California home fell 4.3 percent in January to $468,330 from $489,310 in December. January’s median price was 9.2 percent higher than the revised $428,980 recorded in January 2015. The median sales price is the point at which half of homes sold for more and half sold for less; it is influenced by the types of homes selling as well as a general change in values. The year-to-year price gain was the largest since May 2014 and marks the fifth consecutive month of home price acceleration, reflecting an ongoing shift in sales activity toward higher-priced properties.
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