Spring home-buying season off to strong start in April, with third straight monthly and annual home sales and price increases, C.A.R. reports

News provided by

CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R.)

May 15, 2015, 11:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California's housing market accelerated in April as the spring home-buying season kicked off with both higher home sales and prices for the third straight month, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (C.A.R.) said today.

Home sales rose above the 400,000 mark in April for the first time since October 2013 to post the highest level since August 2013. Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 427,620 units in April, 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 2015 if sales maintained the April pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

The April figure was 9.2 percent higher than the revised 391,440 homes sold in March. Home sales were up 9.3 percent from a revised 391,330 in April a year ago, and the increase was the highest year-over-year change since May 2012.

"It's encouraging that the spring home-buying season is off to such a strong start," said C.A.R. President Chris Kutzkey. "Sales activity is at the highest level in the last year and a half, and should remain solid throughout the rest of the season. We are finally seeing some of the pent-up housing demand that we talked about in the past turning into actual sales, thanks to solid job growth, record-low interest rates, and looser lending requirements."

The median price of an existing, single-family detached California home increased in April from both the previous month and year for the third consecutive month. The median home price was up 2.8 percent from $468,550 in March to $481,760 in April, the highest level since November 2007. April's median price was 7.4 percent higher than the revised $448,720 recorded in April 2014. 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.

"While it's a welcomed sign to see the growth in housing demand continue, the lack of supply remains a concern," said C.A.R Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. "The imbalance between the two sides not only intensifies market competition and pushes home prices higher, but also leads to housing affordability issues that could ultimately lower the homeownership rate if the problem persists."

Other key facts from C.A.R.'s April 2015 resale housing report include:

While both sales and active listings increased from the previous year, sales grew at a much faster pace than did active listings, contributing to a decline in available homes for sale. The Unsold Inventory Index fell from the 3.8 months reported in March to 3.5 months in April. The index, which indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate, stood at 3.6 months in April 2014. A six- to seven-month supply is considered typical in a normal market.
The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home also fell in April, down from 39 days in March to 34.2 days in April but was up from 33.9 days in April 2014.
According to C.A.R.'s newest housing market indicator measuring sales-to-list price ratio*, properties are again generally selling below the list price, except in the San Francisco Bay Area, where a lack of homes for sale is pushing sales prices higher than original asking prices. The statewide measure suggests that homes are selling at a median of 98.8 percent of the list price, essentially flat compared to a ratio of 98.7 percent at the same time last year. The Bay Area is the only region where homes are selling above original list prices due to constrained supply with a ratio of 107.1 percent, up from 105.2 percent a year ago.
The average California price per square foot** for an existing single-family home was $232 in April 2015, an increase of 4 percent from the previous month and an 8.4 percent increase from April 2014. Price per square foot at the state level has been showing an upward trend since early 2012, and has been rising on a year-over-year basis for 39 consecutive months. In recent months, however, the growth rate in price per square foot has slowed down as home prices level off. San Francisco County had the highest price per square foot in April at $793/sq. ft., followed by San Mateo ($735/sq. ft.), and Santa Clara ($569/sq. ft.). The three counties with the lowest price per square foot in April were Siskiyou ($99/sq. ft.), Glenn ($113/sq. ft.), and Merced ($114/sq. ft.).
Mortgage rates fell in April, with the 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaging 3.67 percent, down from 3.77 percent in March and down from 4.34 percent in April 2014, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates were flat in April, averaging 2.46 percent, unchanged from March but up from 2.44 percent in April 2014.

Graphics (click links to open):

Note: The County MLS median price and sales data in the tables are generated from a survey of more than 90 associations of REALTORS^® throughout the state, and represent statistics of existing single-family detached homes only. County sales data are not adjusted to account for seasonal factors that can influence home sales. Movements in sales prices should not be interpreted as changes in the cost of a standard home. The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less; medians are more typical than average prices, which are skewed by a relatively small share of transactions at either the lower-end or the upper-end. Median prices can be influenced by changes in cost, as well as changes in the characteristics and the size of homes sold. Due to the low sales volume in some areas, median price changes in April exhibit unusual fluctuation. The change 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 home sellers under current market conditions. The ratio is calculated by dividing the final sales price of a property by its last list price and is expressed as a percentage. A sales-to-list ratio with 100 percent or above suggests that the property sold for more than the list price, and a ratio below 100 percent indicates that the price sold below the asking price.

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

Leading the way…^® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with 175,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

April 2015 County Sales and Price Activity (Regional and condo sales data not seasonally adjusted)

April 2015	Median Sold Price of Existing Single-Family Homes							Sales
State/Region/County	April 2015	March 2015		April 2014		MTM% Chg	YTY% Chg	MTM% Chg	YTY% Chg
Calif. Single-family (SAAR)	$481,760	$468,550		$448,720	r	2.8%	7.4%	9.2%	9.3%
Calif. Condo/Townhome	$381,310	$382,050		$369,720	r	-0.2%	3.1%	11.9%	5.4%
Los Angeles Metro Area	$434,240	$431,660		$411,660	r	0.6%	5.5%	16.2%	9.6%
Inland Empire	$288,290	$290,240		$263,610	r	-0.7%	9.4%	11.7%	10.4%
San Francisco Bay Area	$844,810	$809,200		$772,110	r	4.4%	9.4%	23.0%	7.7%

San Francisco Bay Area
Alameda	$808,240	$756,250		$718,580		6.9%	12.5%	14.4%	4.2%
Contra-Costa (Ctl. Cty.)	$838,980	$784,950		$755,950		6.9%	11.0%	22.0%	0.7%
Marin	$1,208,330	$1,085,230		$1,007,580		11.3%	19.9%	21.3%	-5.9%
Napa	$617,650	$562,500		$523,150		9.8%	18.1%	-6.7%	-13.3%
San Francisco	$1,348,480	$1,275,000		$1,132,810	r	5.8%	19.0%	15.4%	1.9%
San Mateo	$1,280,000	$1,300,000		$1,001,000		-1.5%	27.9%	21.8%	-4.3%
Santa Clara	$960,000	$932,100		$900,500	r	3.0%	6.6%	31.0%	11.2%
Solano	$337,930	$345,100		$315,150		-2.1%	7.2%	23.3%	35.6%
Sonoma	$558,510	$519,500		$475,260		7.5%	17.5%	34.4%	23.3%
Southern California
Los Angeles	$426,580	$425,860		$406,750		0.2%	4.9%	18.3%	3.2%
Orange County	$705,190	$696,060		$679,820		1.3%	3.7%	18.1%	19.9%
Riverside County	$333,520	$331,710		$309,240		0.5%	7.9%	8.5%	10.3%
San Bernardino	$219,150	$215,640		$199,420	r	1.6%	9.9%	17.4%	10.6%
San Diego	$530,810	$530,650		$492,080		0.0%	7.9%	17.9%	9.3%
Ventura	$598,500	$596,890		$575,390		0.3%	4.0%	24.9%	19.7%
Central Coast
Monterey	$455,000	$510,000		$451,500		-10.8%	0.8%	-1.8%	0.5%
San Luis Obispo	$522,220	$507,440		$465,310	r	2.9%	12.2%	5.2%	6.5%
Santa Barbara	$672,410	$770,830		$633,330		-12.8%	6.2%	-8.8%	-6.7%
Santa Cruz	$757,500	$747,250		$626,500	r	1.4%	20.9%	23.9%	15.8%
Central Valley
Fresno	$217,510	$213,960		$192,880		1.7%	12.8%	6.7%	6.0%
Glenn	$153,330	$190,000		$170,000		-19.3%	-9.8%	42.9%	53.8%
Kern (Bakersfield)	$210,000	$205,000	r	$200,000	r	2.4%	5.0%	-0.6%	-7.2%
Kings County	$172,860	$190,000		$166,250		-9.0%	4.0%	44.4%	31.9%
Madera	$222,500	$198,750		$214,060	r	11.9%	3.9%	18.2%	6.6%
Merced	$204,840	$190,000		$164,550	r	7.8%	24.5%	14.9%	0.9%
Placer County	$394,570	$383,330		$375,160		2.9%	5.2%	10.8%	27.5%
Sacramento	$283,600	$282,080		$267,260		0.5%	6.1%	15.9%	9.6%
San Benito	$465,000	$474,900		$430,000		-2.1%	8.1%	2.0%	8.3%
San Joaquin	$280,870	$272,500		$251,100		3.1%	11.9%	0.0%	-0.2%
Stanislaus	$243,800	$242,170		$212,500		0.7%	14.7%	10.5%	-7.8%
Tulare	$188,460	$182,630		$172,500		3.2%	9.3%	15.3%	10.5%
Other Counties in Calif.
Amador	$227,500	$250,000		$190,000		-9.0%	19.7%	40.6%	-2.2%
Butte County	$253,850	$233,930		$231,670	r	8.5%	9.6%	9.5%	0.0%
Calaveras	$265,000	$258,500		$239,000		2.5%	10.9%	5.6%	5.6%
Del Norte	$130,000	$139,250		$147,500		-6.6%	-11.9%	61.1%	190.0%
El Dorado County	$405,170	$393,400		$366,950		3.0%	10.4%	21.5%	10.7%
Humboldt	$256,250	$253,120		$238,460		1.2%	7.5%	-16.5%	-15.7%
Lake County	$200,000	$225,000		$158,000		-11.1%	26.6%	39.6%	12.1%
Mariposa	$245,830	$275,000		$237,500		-10.6%	3.5%	375.0%	26.7%
Mendocino	$379,170	$297,500		$300,000		27.5%	26.4%	8.2%	20.5%
Nevada	$327,500	$337,000		$339,000		-2.8%	-3.4%	42.9%	94.0%
Plumas	$200,000	$245,000		$231,500		-18.4%	-13.6%	13.3%	-15.0%
Shasta	$230,930	$223,750		$202,270		3.2%	14.2%	19.9%	23.3%
Siskiyou County	$153,330	$176,670		$150,000		-13.2%	2.2%	-18.9%	-11.8%
Sutter	$211,110	$250,000		$218,750	r	-15.6%	-3.5%	15.2%	26.7%
Tehama	$165,000	$163,330		$250,000		1.0%	-34.0%	-7.3%	90.0%
Tuolumne	$230,000	$232,140		$237,500		-0.9%	-3.2%	-3.0%	3.2%
Yolo	$376,190	$334,720		$331,250		12.4%	13.6%	35.0%	10.7%
Yuba	$206,670	$198,890		$191,670	r	3.9%	7.8%	7.5%	-7.7%

r = revised

April 2015 County Unsold Inventory and Time on Market (Regional and condo sales data not seasonally adjusted)

April 2015	Unsold Inventory Index					Median Time on Market
State/Region/County	April 2015	March 2015		April 2014		April 2015	March 2015	April 2014
Calif. Single-family (SAAR)	3.5	3.8		3.6		34.2	39.0	33.9	r
Calif. Condo/Townhome	2.9	3.2		3.1		33.6	36.6	31.8
Los Angeles Metro Area	3.8	4.3		3.9	r	47.5	51.2	44.4
Inland Empire	4.4	4.9		4.3	r	51.6	59.1	46.4	r
San Francisco Bay Area	2.2	2.4		2.5	r	29.8	31.7	29.7	r

San Francisco Bay Area
Alameda	2.0	2.0		2.3		44.2	45.4	45.2
Contra-Costa (Ctl. Cty.)	2.4	2.3		2.4		46.1	45.3	46.7
Marin	2.4	2.6		2.7		27.6	27.0	24.8
Napa	5.2	4.1		4.5		51.1	49.9	39.6
San Francisco	1.6	1.6		2.3		21.0	20.7	23.1	r
San Mateo	1.6	1.6		1.8		17.4	17.9	17.9
Santa Clara	1.6	1.9		1.8		17.5	17.7	18.1
Solano	3.0	3.7		3.4		41.2	46.4	33.7
Sonoma	3.0	3.7		3.7		37.8	43.6	45.7
Southern California
Los Angeles	3.6	3.9		3.5		42.1	44.7	39.5
Orange County	3.3	3.7		4.0		48.3	51.3	49.9
Riverside County	4.5	5.0		4.3		55.1	64.5	49.5
San Bernardino	4.3	4.8		4.2	r	44.7	52.3	40.7	r
San Diego	3.2	3.7		3.6		23.0	24.7	26.7
Ventura	3.8	4.5		3.9		53.6	55.1	49.4
Central Coast
Monterey	3.9	3.6		4.2		29.9	36.7	29.9
San Luis Obispo	4.7	4.6		4.9		29.6	28.4	27.8
Santa Barbara	4.2	3.8		4.1		40.9	46.9	52.5
Santa Cruz	3.0	3.3		3.5		22.2	22.6	23.6
Central Valley
Fresno	4.5	4.6		4.3		28.1	33.1	26.1
Glenn	3.7	5.5		6.4	r	40.7	105.5	38.3
Kern (Bakersfield)	4.1	3.7	r	2.8	r	21.0	28.0	24.0
Kings County	3.8	5.4		3.7		28.5	48.6	46.5
Madera	6.4	7.2		3.3		68.3	88.2	48.6	r
Merced	4.4	4.6		4.0		39.3	46.1	27.3
Placer County	3.1	3.1		3.8		22.3	25.2	23.9
Sacramento	2.7	2.9		2.9		22.5	23.7	22.0
San Benito	2.4	2.3		3.0		25.3	28.4	25.0
San Joaquin	3.4	3.2		3.0		24.2	29.4	23.8
Stanislaus	3.3	3.6		2.6		24.7	25.2	22.7
Tulare	4.2	4.8		4.3		37.3	41.5	37.4
Other Counties in California
Amador	5.0	6.7		4.3		56.4	105.5	57.1
Butte County	4.0	4.2		4.2		26.0	44.7	41.0	r
Calaveras	8.1	7.9		7.4		55.0	150.0	54.0
Del Norte	5.1	8.4		17.8		99.0	130.0	121.5
El Dorado County	4.5	4.9		4.6		27.0	37.4	37.6
Humboldt	5.8	4.7		5.5		46.6	61.9	48.8
Lake County	6.6	8.1		6.5		82.8	117.9	65.5
Mariposa	6.8	33.0		4.9		85.2	45.5	122.8
Mendocino	7.3	7.1		8.9		95.8	98.3	75.5
Nevada	4.4	5.8		9.0		34.5	48.0	25.0
Plumas	23.5	22.5		19.5		154.0	175.0	157.0
Shasta	4.8	5.4		5.2		28.4	42.7	32.1
Siskiyou County	13.0	9.7		10.6		78.4	75.5	124.8
Sutter	3.1	3.5		4.3		27.9	43.1	31.0	r
Tehama	6.1	5.7		11.4		28.6	53.6	91.0
Tuolumne	6.3	5.4		7.1		26.4	77.6	49.9
Yolo	2.4	3.3		2.8		21.4	25.4	23.9
Yuba	3.5	3.6		2.8		28.5	27.3	27.9	r