California April Home Sales

May 18, 2006

A total of 47,250 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That's down 13.3 percent from 54,500 for March and down 22.4 percent from a revised 60,900 for April 2005. Last year's April was the strongest April in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988.

The median price paid for a home last month was $468,000. That was down 0.4 percent from a revised $470,000 for March, a record, and up 10.4 percent from $424,000 for April a year ago.

The typical mortgage payment that home buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $2,271. That was up from $2,235 in March, and up from $1,924 for April 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. The use of adjustable-rate mortgages has dropped the last four months.

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