Low Mortgage Rates Fail to Perk California Home Sales in October, C.A.R. Reports

Low Mortgage Rates Fail to Perk California Home Sales inOctober, C.A.R. Reports

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The lowest mortgage rates in 18 months failed to spark theCalifornia housing market in October as sales stayed flat and home prices increased at the slowestpace since early 2012, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonallyadjusted annualized rate of 396,220 units in October, according to information collected by C.A.R.from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. Sales in October wereunchanged from a revised 396,400 in September but were down 1.9 percent from a revised 404,000in October 2013. October marked a full year that sales were below the 400,000 level. The statewidesales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2014 if salesmaintained the October pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors thattypically influence home sales.

"As we move into the off-peak home buying season, prospective buyers who may have delayed theirpurchase earlier in the year should take advantage of the current favorable market conditions andresume their home search," said 2015 C.A.R. President Chris Kutzkey. "With home prices stabilizingand interest rates dropping back down to levels not seen since mid-last year, housing affordabilityshould improve to benefit buyers."

The median price of an existing, single-family detached California home decreased 2.3 percent fromSeptember's median price of $461,370 to $450,620 in October but was up 5.4 percent from therevised $427,540 recorded in October 2013. The statewide median home price has been higher on ayear-over-year basis for more than two years. The median sales price is the point at which half ofhomes sold for more and half sold for less; it is influenced by the types of homes selling as well as ageneral change in values.

"While home sales essentially were unchanged statewide, there were pockets of strong sales growth,especially in coastal regions. The Bay Area, for example, continued to exhibit strong price gains,decent sales growth, and extremely low housing inventory," said C.A.R. Vice President and ChiefEconomist Leslie Appleton-Young. "If current price and rate conditions persist, overall home salesshould improve for the rest of the year."

Other key facts from C.A.R.'s October 2014 resale housing report include:

Housing inventory slipped in October, with the available supply of existing, single-family detachedhomes for sale dropping from 4.2 months in September to 3.8 months in October. The index was arevised 3.3 months in October 2013. The index indicates the number of months needed to sell thesupply of homes on the market at the current sales rate. A six- to seven-month supply is consideredtypical in a normal market.

The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home edged up in October, up from arevised 40 days in September to 41.9 days in October and from 33.4 days in October 2013.

According to C.A.R.'s newest housing market indicator measuring sales-to-list price ratio*, multiple

bid offers for properties has waned, and properties are again generally selling below the list price.The statewide measure suggests that homes are selling at 97.5 percent of the list price. This is downfrom a 99.1% ratio at the same time last year. The Bay Area is the only region where homes areselling above list prices and are generally selling about 1.3 percent more than asking price.

The median price per square foot** for an existing single-family California home was $216 inOctober 2014, an increase of 0.2 percent from the previous month and a 6.4 percent increase fromOctober 2013. Price per square foot at the state level has been showing an upward trend since early2012. In fact, it has been rising on a year-over-year basis for 33 consecutive months. San MateoCounty had the highest price per square foot in October with $659/sq. ft., followed by Santa Clara($521/sq. ft.), and Santa Cruz ($399/sq. ft.). The top three counties with the lowest price per squarefoot in October were Siskiyou ($104/sq. ft.), Glenn ($110/sq. ft.), and Madera ($111/sq. ft.).

Mortgage rates fell in October, with the 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaging 4.04percent, down from 4.16 percent in September and down from 4.19 percent in October 2013,according to Freddie Mac. The October 2014 average 30-year fixed rate was the lowest since May2013, just before the Federal Reserve announced its intention to taper the bond buying program.Adjustable-mortgage interest rates in October also fell, averaging 2.41 percent, down from 2.43percent in September and down from 2.63 percent in October 2013.

Graphics (click links to open):

Note: The County MLS median price and sales data in the tables are generated from a survey ofmore than 90 associations of REALTORS® throughout the state, and represent statistics of existingsingle-family detached homes only. County sales data are not adjusted to account for seasonalfactors that can influence home sales. Movements in sales prices should not be interpreted aschanges in the cost of a standard home. The median price is where half sold for more and half soldfor less; medians are more typical than average prices, which are skewed by a relatively small shareof transactions at either the lower-end or the upper-end. Median prices can be influenced bychanges in cost, as well as changes in the characteristics and the size of homes sold. Due to the lowsales volume in some areas, median price changes in October exhibit unusual fluctuation. Thechange in median prices should not be construed as actual price changes in specific homes.

*Sales-to-list price ratio is an indicator that reflects the negotiation power of home buyers and homesellers under current market conditions. The ratio is calculated by dividing the final sales price of aproperty by its last list price and is expressed as a percentage. A sales-to-list ratio with 100 percentor above suggests that the property sold for more than the list price, and a ratio below 100 percentindicates that the price sold below the asking price.

**Price per square foot is a measure commonly used by real estate agents and brokers to determinehow much a square foot of space a buyer will pay for a property. It is calculated as the sale price ofthe home divided by the number of finished square feet. C.A.R. currently tracks price-per-squarefoot statistics for 33 counties.

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Leading the way...® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIAASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in theUnited States with 165,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate.

C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

October 2014 County Sales and Price Activity

(Regional and condo sales data not seasonally adjusted)

October 2014

Median Sold Price of Existing Single-Family

Homes

Sales

State/Region/County

Oct.

2014

Sept.

2014

Oct.

2013

MTM%

Chg

YTY%

Chg

MTM%

Chg

YTY%

Chg

Calif. Single-family (SAAR)

$

450,620

$

461,370

r

$

427,540

r

-2.3

%

5.4

%

0.0

%

-1.9

%

Calif. Condo/Townhome

$

374,480

$

369,180

r

$

349,810

r

1.4

%

7.1

%

2.5

%

-2.6

%

Los Angeles Metro Area

$

412,860

$

413,730

r

$

392,610

r

-0.2

%

5.2

%

8.6

%

-2.3

%

Inland Empire

$

274,950

$

275,160

r

$

257,560

r

-0.1

%

6.8

%

2.7

%

1.6

%

San Francisco Bay Area

$

760,610

$

730,240

$

671,490

r

4.2

%

13.3

%

8.6

%

-2.6

%

San Francisco Bay Area

Alameda

$

706,280

$

675,430

$

618,930

4.6

%

14.1

%

5.9

%

-7.5

%

Contra-Costa (Cty.)

$

721,590

$

742,520

$

647,920

r

-2.8

%

11.4

%

18.6

%

13.1

%

Marin

$

969,700

$

1,151,040

$

959,740

-15.8

%

1.0

%

24.0

%

-1.3

%

Napa

$

599,140

$

633,930

$

497,730

-5.5

%

20.4

%

7.3

%

-1.9

%

San Francisco

$

986,260

$

950,340

$

844,510

3.8

%

16.8

%

36.5

%

4.5

%

San Mateo

$

1,071,000

$

1,075,000

$

910,000

-0.4

%

17.7

%

8.3

%

-6.1

%

Santa Clara

$

870,000

$

850,000

$

770,000

2.4

%

13.0

%

4.8

%

-2.2

%

Solano

$

327,460

$

328,040

$

294,920

-0.2

%

11.0

%

5.5

%

-9.5

%

Sonoma

$

487,930

$

496,400

$

469,900

-1.7

%

3.8

%

-10.9

%

-9.6

%

Southern California

Los Angeles

$

477,600

$

486,030

$

447,130

-1.7

%

6.8

%

17.0

%

-5.4

%

Orange County

$

692,390

$

696,190

$

660,070

r

-0.5

%

4.9

%

-0.5

%

-0.8

%

Riverside County

$

322,700

$

316,500

$

296,640

2.0

%

8.8

%

0.1

%

-1.0

%

San Bernardino

$

208,080

$

212,790

r

$

191,330

r

-2.2

%

8.8

%

6.8

%

5.6

%

San Diego

$

493,030

$

519,420

$

477,130

-5.1

%

3.3

%

1.8

%

-6.8

%

Ventura

$

583,810

$

589,080

$

538,740

-0.9

%

8.4

%

12.9

%

-3.5

%

Central Coast

Monterey

$

460,000

$

451,000

$

412,000

2.0

%

11.7

%

15.5

%

23.6

%

San Luis Obispo

$

455,660

$

480,640

$

440,380

-5.2

%

3.5

%

13.2

%

11.3

%

Santa Barbara

$

570,000

$

778,230

$

613,640

-26.8

%

-7.1

%

-2.6

%

0.0

%

Santa Cruz

$

715,000

$

670,000

$

650,000

6.7

%

10.0

%

-11.6

%

-1.2

%

Central Valley

Fresno

$

200,600

$

208,210

$

182,620

-3.7

%

9.8

%

4.2

%

-1.0

%

Glenn

$

167,500

$

147,500

$

125,000

13.6

%

34.0

%

-10.5

%

30.8

%

Kern (Bakersfield)

$

215,000

$

215,000

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r

$

185,000

0.0

%

16.2

%

3.0

%

-5.5

%

Kings County

$

168,670

$

183,330

$

181,000

-8.0

%

-6.8

%

-13.1

%

5.8

%

Madera

$

166,000

$

156,670

$

153,330

6.0

%

8.3

%

53.3

%

-36.1

%

Merced

$

190,710

$

159,500

$

171,820

19.6

%

11.0

%

0.0

%

-8.0

%

Placer County

$

380,170

$

384,850

$

364,150

-1.2

%

4.4

%

0.6

%

11.6

%

Sacramento

$

270,150

$

276,960

$

253,560

-2.5

%

6.5

%

-1.0

%

0.1

%

San Benito

$

435,000

$

424,000

$

397,500

2.6

%

9.4

%

21.6

%

-2.2

%

San Joaquin

$

263,270

$

265,400

$

234,160

-0.8

%

12.4

%

7.6

%

-8.2

%

Stanislaus

$

228,630

$

230,000

$

209,110

-0.6

%

9.3

%

7.1

%

-8.7

%

Tulare

$

179,060

$

175,000

$

161,330

2.3

%

11.0

%

9.6

%

3.7

%

Other Counties in Calif.

Amador

$

265,000

$

225,000

$

198,000

17.8

%

33.8

%

7.9

%

24.2

%

Butte County

$

247,580

$

258,650

$

248,330

-4.3

%

-0.3

%

36.5

%

35.3

%

Calaveras

$

245,000

$

238,000

$

225,000

2.9

%

8.9

%

-4.6

%

7.8

%

Del Norte

$

160,000

$

138,000

$

176,600

15.9

%

-9.4

%

11.8

%

-17.4

%

El Dorado County

$

355,800

$

364,650

$

367,390

-2.4

%

-3.2

%

12.3

%

7.7

%

Humboldt

$

260,340

$

246,050

$

260,530

5.8

%

-0.1

%

26.4

%

31.0

%

Lake County

$

190,000

$

180,000

$

196,250

5.6

%

-3.2

%

5.2

%

-14.1

%

Tuolumne

$

219,640

$

215,910

$

200,000

1.7

%

9.8

%

37.7

%

21.7

%

Mendocino

$

337,500

$

307,690

$

255,000

9.7

%

32.4

%

14.3

%

-4.0

%

Nevada

$

323,000

$

322,500

$

319,000

0.2

%

1.3

%

46.1

%

13.3

%

Plumas

$

242,000

$

270,000

$

250,000

-10.4

%

-3.2

%

20.5

%

27.0

%

Shasta

$

220,920

$

222,550

$

208,540

-0.7

%

5.9

%

2.3

%

17.6

%

Siskiyou County

$

161,670

$

155,000

$

156,670

4.3

%

3.2

%

-3.1

%

0.0

%

Sutter

$

213,240

$

206,820

r

$

199,090

r

3.1

%

7.1

%

6.2

%

13.1

%

Tehama

$

160,000

$

166,670

$

142,500

-4.0

%

12.3

%

43.8

%

119.0

%

Yolo

$

344,740

$

344,230

$

311,290

0.1

%

10.7

%

-5.8

%

-21.4

%

Yuba

$

210,940

$

219,440

r

$

195,710

r

-3.9

%

7.8

%

13.2

%

14.9

%

r = revised

NA = not available

October 2014 County Unsold Inventory and Time on Market

(Regional and condo sales data not seasonally adjusted)

October 2014

Unsold Inventory Index

Median Time on Market

State/Region/County

Oct.

2014

Sept.

2014

Oct.

2013

Oct.

2014

Sept.

2014

Oct.

2013

Calif. Single-family (SAAR)

3.8

4.2

3.3

r

41.9

40.0

r

33.4

Calif. Condo/Townhome

3.3

3.5

3.0

41.3

40.3

r

31.9

r

Los Angeles Metro Area

4.2

4.5

3.6

51.7

49.9

40.7

Inland Empire

4.7

4.8

4.1

r

53.9

51.0

r

37.2

San Francisco Bay Area

2.2

2.8

2.3

38.7

39.5

r

38.2

r

San Francisco Bay Area

Alameda

2.0

2.3

2.0

49.5

49.8

50.0

Contra-Costa (Central Cty.)

2.4

2.9

2.0

r

54.2

52.3

53.0

r

Marin

2.5

3.6

2.9

38.9

45.2

38.4

Napa

4.7

5.3

4.7

64.8

64.4

49.0

San Francisco

2.0

3.6

2.5

22.5

23.1

25.1

San Mateo

1.6

2.0

1.8

19.5

19.9

19.4

Santa Clara

1.8

2.2

1.9

20.9

21.1

21.4

Solano

2.4

3.8

2.4

45.0

46.3

38.0

Sonoma

3.2

3.0

3.0

50.2

48.4

48.1

Southern California

Los Angeles

3.9

4.2

3.2

45.5

45.1

35.7

Orange County

4.1

4.3

3.8

62.3

57.3

54.5

Riverside County

4.8

4.9

4.3

56.7

53.5

38.1

San Bernardino

4.5

4.8

r

3.7

r

49.6

47.0

r

35.7

r

San Diego

4.3

4.4

3.7

28.3

26.9

28.1

Ventura

4.4

5.1

3.3

63.0

59.2

49.1

Central Coast

Monterey

3.8

4.6

4.3

26.2

26.1

26.8

San Luis Obispo

4.3

5.1

4.8

50.2

46.7

27.5

Santa Barbara

4.4

4.3

4.1

41.5

37.3

33.8

Santa Cruz

3.1

3.1

3.5

33.7

27.6

27.1

Central Valley

Fresno

4.9

5.2

4.3

29.4

27.1

24.3

Glenn

5.5

5.5

6.7

47.9

33.9

69.7

Kern (Bakersfield)

3.6

3.7

2.8

r

28.0

27.0

r

18.0

r

Kings County

3.6

3.2

3.9

44.5

41.9

32.3

Madera

4.9

7.1

2.9

23.2

41.9

28.5

Merced

3.9

4.1

2.5

46.3

34.0

23.1

Placer County

3.5

3.8

3.2

29.6

27.0

24.7

Sacramento

3.3

3.4

3.1

25.8

23.9

21.6

San Benito

3.7

4.5

2.8

40.2

24.3

24.8

San Joaquin

3.4

3.7

2.6

25.5

23.4

20.9

Stanislaus

3.5

3.7

2.5

25.2

24.0

20.4

Tulare

4.4

4.9

4.0

42.8

36.2

28.6

Other Counties in California

Amador

5.9

6.8

5.6

65.8

64.6

28.9

Butte County

3.1

4.6

4.4

35.8

29.8

45.0

Calaveras

6.7

6.9

6.2

59.0

72.0

62.0

Del Norte

9.5

11.6

7.3

106.0

103.0

78.0

El Dorado County

4.3

5.2

4.4

55.1

55.2

42.2

Humboldt

5.4

7.2

7.2

52.4

45.5

32.9

Lake County

7.2

8.3

5.5

80.0

58.7

75.5

Tuolumne

6.0

9.0

7.3

73.3

72.6

29.5

Mendocino

7.4

9.0

6.9

91.0

57.8

73.4

Nevada

5.4

8.4

5.1

50.0

51.0

44.0

Plumas

8.1

11.4

7.5

174.0

151.0

158.0

Shasta

5.5

5.8

5.5

56.1

42.0

27.2

Siskiyou County

12.4

12.6

11.2

45.5

38.3

93.9

Sutter

4.1

4.5

3.0

r

24.8

48.1

r

21.6

r

Tehama

4.7

7.4

9.4

41.2

61.0

41.9

Yolo

3.4

3.5

2.6

23.3

26.4

21.8

Yuba

2.9

3.9

r

2.9

r

40.0

28.4

r

26.6

r

r = revised

NA = not available