California Home Prices for March Posted May 4, 2012
LOS ANGELES -- California home sales declined in March from February's pace, while the median home price snapped a 16-month annual price decline and posted its first year-over-year gain, according to data from the California Association of Realtors.
"While home sales were down statewide, the housing market continued to perform at a solid pace by historical standards. In fact, sales jumped significantly in most regions of the state, with many areas experiencing double-digit gains," said C.A.R. President LeFrancis Arnold. "Tight inventory and robust home sales, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, fueled the substantial increase in the March median home price."
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 505,360 units in March, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTORŪ associations and MLSs statewide. Sales in March were down 4.5 percent month-over-month and 2.3 percent year-to-year. The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2012 if sales maintained the March pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home jumped 9.2 percent to $291,080 in March from February's $266,660 median price and was up 1.6 percent from a revised $286,550 recorded in March 2011. The month-to-month increase was the largest since March 2004.
"Housing inventory remains extremely tight throughout the state and at levels severely under normal market conditions," said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. "In areas, such as Los Angeles and Riverside counties, where the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) wants to implement the REO bulk sale pilot program, inventory is running at levels well below the long-run average. These low inventory levels demonstrate that the pilot program is not necessary in California."
Highlights of C.A.R.'s resale housing report for March 2012:
- California's housing inventory declined in March, with the Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes decreasing to 4.1 months in March, down from a revised 5.4 months in February and down from the 5.4-month supply in March 2011. The index indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate. A 7-month supply is considered normal.
- Interest rates edged up slightly in March. Thirty-year fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 3.95 percent during March 2012, down from 4.84 percent in March 2011, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates averaged 2.77 percent in March 2012, compared with 3.22 percent in March 2011.
- The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home fell to 53.1 days in March 2012 and was down from a revised 57 days for the same period a year ago.
March-12 Median Price of Existing Single-Family Homes Sales State/Region/County Mar-12 Feb-12 Mar-11 MTM% Chg YTY% Chg MTM% Chg YTY% Chg CA SFH (SAAR) $291,080 $266,660 $286,550 r 9.2% 1.6% -4.5% -2.3% CA Condo/Townhomes $235,760 $216,520 $232,270 r 8.9% 1.5% 27.6% 0.7% Los Angeles Metropolitan Area $276,270 $264,430 $272,600 4.5% 1.3% 29.8% 3.4% Inland Empire $179,500 $172,600 $172,730 4.0% 3.9% 29.0% 1.7% S.F. Bay Area $478,330 $438,280 $486,010 r 9.1% -1.6% 37.4% 0.7% S.F. Bay Area Alameda $425,000 $402,880 $480,250 5.5% -11.5% 46.2% -7.6% Contra-Costa (Central County) $582,070 $515,620 $567,310 12.9% 2.6% 49.6% 5.9% Marin $672,620 $732,140 $826,700 -8.1% -18.6% 49.6% 2.3% Napa $351,470 $348,000 $332,610 1.0% 5.7% 34.4% 11.0% San Francisco $649,390 $592,950 $679,780 r 9.5% -4.5% 26.1% -2.8% San Mateo $677,900 $582,500 $666,950 r 16.4% 1.6% 63.6% 16.8% Santa Clara $575,250 $530,000 $550,250 r 8.5% 4.5% 36.2% -4.5% Solano $194,310 $179,020 $193,480 8.5% 0.4% 22.8% 1.1% Sonoma $317,650 $324,710 $325,910 -2.2% -2.5% 20.1% 4.8% Southern California Los Angeles $272,920 $272,690 $282,170 0.1% -3.3% 25.3% 1.2% Orange County $485,300 $485,380 $523,610 0.0% -7.3% 41.3% 12.0% Riverside County $211,350 $200,730 $201,520 5.3% 4.9% 34.5% 4.1% San Bernardino $131,640 $132,500 $130,690 -0.6% 0.7% 19.6% -2.7% San Diego $363,710 $362,470 $383,620 0.3% -5.2% 24.0% 8.9% Ventura $417,020 $392,350 $443,920 6.3% -6.1% 40.4% 10.0% Central Coast Monterey $314,900 $265,000 $255,900 r 18.8% 23.1% 28.3% -11.1% San Luis Obispo $380,140 $354,350 $362,700 7.3% 4.8% 27.0% 6.9% Santa Barbara $405,380 $345,000 $436,360 r 17.5% -7.1% 41.6% 15.0% Santa Cruz $482,160 $499,950 $465,000 r -3.6% 3.7% 37.1% 0.6% Central Valley Fresno $137,350 $142,300 $138,120 -3.5% -0.6% 19.6% -3.7% Kern (Bakersfield) $131,000 $120,000 r $127,500 r 9.2% 2.7% 24.7% -7.3% Kings County $141,430 $144,440 $137,270 -2.1% 3.0% 12.5% 11.0% Madera $125,000 $103,330 $133,530 21.0% -6.4% -2.4% -49.4% Merced $115,290 $119,280 $115,290 -3.3% 0.0% 11.3% -22.0% Placer County $268,750 $251,450 $253,750 6.9% 5.9% 13.4% -1.5% Sacramento $168,370 $163,870 $168,250 2.7% 0.1% 22.4% -2.6% San Benito $232,350 $255,500 $247,500 -9.1% -6.1% 8.0% 3.8% Tulare $121,280 $119,330 $121,950 1.6% -0.5% 23.1% -6.6% Other Counties in California Amador $118,750 $176,670 $170,000 -32.8% -30.1% -6.0% 51.6% Butte County $200,000 $177,860 $222,370 12.4% -10.1% 9.1% 21.3% Humboldt NA $232,950 $250,000 NA NA -1.3% 18.8% Lake County $110,000 $103,640 $94,170 6.1% 16.8% 8.7% 13.0% Tuolumne $165,000 $165,000 $151,430 0.0% 9.0% -3.0% 20.4% Mendocino $225,000 $190,000 $192,500 18.4% 16.9% 38.7% -4.4% Shasta $148,420 $141,900 $154,810 4.6% -4.1% 2.0% 9.9% Siskiyou County $110,000 $123,330 $107,500 r -10.8% 2.3% -33.3% -48.6% Tehama $108,000 $85,000 $125,000 27.1% -13.6% 15.8% 29.4% March 2012 County Unsold Inventory and Time on Market
(Regional and condo sales data not seasonally adjusted)
March-12 Unsold Inventory Index Median Time on Market State/Region/County Mar-12 Feb-12 Mar-11 Mar-12 Feb-12 Mar-11 CA SFH (SAAR) 4.1 5.4 r 5.4 r 53.1 58.9 57.0 r CA Condo/Townhomes 4.2 5.5 5.7 56.7 67.1 63.7 Los Angeles Metropolitan Area 4.3 5.9 5.7 57.0 63.2 58.0 Inland Empire 3.9 5.3 5.0 53.6 57.1 52.0 S.F. Bay Area 3.5 4.2 4.4 r 53.2 62.7 56.0 S.F. Bay Area Alameda 3.3 5.0 4.1 74.6 87.8 73.7 Contra-Costa (Central County) 3.4 5.0 4.9 75.7 87.5 87.2 Marin 4.6 4.0 5.1 65.3 102.1 54.9 Napa 5.9 6.4 6.4 82.8 85.9 78.2 San Francisco 3.9 4.8 5.1 39.5 47.3 47.4 San Mateo 2.4 4.0 4.3 r 25.1 36.8 27.2 r Santa Clara 2.5 3.5 3.6 r 24.3 28.0 27.6 r Solano 4.0 3.7 4.5 52.6 53.1 56.5 Sonoma 4.9 4.5 5.0 91.0 93.0 77.0 Sourthern California Los Angeles 4.3 5.7 5.5 55.6 59.5 56.5 r Orange County 4.9 7.1 7.0 70.2 82.0 79.0 Riverside County 3.8 5.5 5.0 58.5 58.3 52.5 San Bernardino 4.1 5.1 5.0 44.5 55.0 51.4 San Diego 5.1 6.3 6.8 52.1 59.0 55.3 Ventura 5.8 8.2 7.0 73.4 86.5 75.1 Central Coast Monterey 4.0 5.4 4.8 r 50.9 44.2 43.5 r San Luis Obispo 4.7 5.9 6.3 75.0 69.1 75.5 Santa Barbara 4.6 6.7 6.2 r 81.7 74.7 71.9 r Santa Cruz 4.0 5.4 5.0 r 43.4 56.1 54.0 r Central Valley Fresno 3.2 4.0 NA 36.8 44.6 49.4 Kern (Bakersfield) 3.5 4.2 r 4.4 r NA NA NA Kings County 3.6 4.1 5.4 66.4 70.7 87.1 Madera 3.7 3.8 7.1 39.7 58.4 52.8 Merced 3.7 4.3 4.1 44.9 52.4 41.9 Placer County NA NA NA NA NA NA Sacramento 3.7 4.5 4.5 r 34.1 45.0 48.7 San Benito 3.4 3.7 5.2 r 37.4 49.1 42.6 Tulare 3.9 4.9 4.6 32.3 29.6 52.8 Other Counties in California Amador 5.8 5.4 9.6 93.1 76.8 95.8 Butte County 4.1 4.5 7.0 67.4 68.7 67.4 Humboldt NA 6.6 9.3 NA 62.8 52.8 Lake County 5.5 5.7 7.7 66.6 86.1 83.9 Tuolumne 5.9 5.5 11.0 64.6 52.1 99.1 Mendocino 7.6 9.6 8.4 105.5 78.1 83.8 Shasta 4.5 4.6 6.9 37.3 50.3 82.1 Siskiyou County 19.9 12.6 10.5 r 82.8 125.5 78.4 r Tehama 5.5 6.5 8.6 56.4 56.8 49.1 r=revised
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