California January Home Sales

February 17, 2006

A total of 38,300 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That's down 27.5 percent from 52,800 for December and down 9.5 percent from 42,300 for January 2005. A decrease from December to January is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the lowest since 38,137 homes were sold in January 2002. Sales for the first month of the year are generally lower than in the rest of the year, they have ranged from 20,894 in 1993 to 42,300 for January last year.

The median price paid for a home last month was $452,000. That was down 1.3 percent from $458,000 for December and up 13.0 percent from $400,000 for January a year ago. Last month's year-over-year increase was the lowest since a 12.4% increase in March 2003 when the median reached $290,000. Prices increased at their fastest rate in June 2004 when the $382,000 median was up 23.2% from the same month a year before.

The typical mortgage payment that home buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $2,084. That was down from $2,156 in December, and up from $1,756 for January a year ago.

DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. The numbers cover all sales, new and resale, houses and condos.

Market stress indicators are still very low: Down payments are stable, speculation buying is moderate, there are no significant shifts in market mix and default rates are rising, but still low. Earlier increases in non owner-occupied purchase activity and flipping activity have leveled off.

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