New Home Sales Increase Best in 30 Years!
The Commerce Department reported today that sales in October jumped 25.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000 units. Sales of new U.S. single-family homes had their biggest increase in nearly 33-1/2 years.
The huge jump in new home sales in October caused the stock of houses on the market to fall 3.7 percent after touching their highest level in nearly three years in September.
But, even with this good news and the tight supply of properties, the median price of a new home slipped 0.6 percent from a year-ago.
On the home resales market the news was not so good. Home resales for October dropped for a second straight month in a row since nearing an eight-year high in August.
CALIFORNIA PENDING HOME SALES
California pending home sales reversed a two-month decline to post higher in October, but were down from a year earlier, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.
Pending home sales data:
- California pending home sales rose in October, with the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)*Â climbing 2.5 percent in October to 109.3, up from 106.7 in September, based on signed contracts. The monthly increase was considerably greater than the average September-to-October change of 0.7 percent over the past five years. Pending sales were down 9.9 percent from the 121.2 index recorded in October 2012. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.
Distressed housing market data:
- The share of equity sales – or non-distressed property sales – dipped slightly in October, but still made up more than eight in 10 sales, marking the fourth straight month that equity sales have been more than 80 percent of total sales. The share of equity sales in October dipped to 85.5 percent, down from 85.7 percent in September. Equity sales made up 63.2 percent of sales in October 2012.
- The combined share of all distressed property sales edged up slightly in October, inching up to 14.5 percent, up from 14.3 percent in September but down sharply from 36.8 percent in October 2012. However, 16 of the 38 reported counties showed a month-to-month decrease in the share of distressed sales, with San Mateo County having the lowest share at 3 percent.
- Of the distressed properties, the share of short sales was essentially unchanged at 9.4 percent in October, compared to a revised 9.3 percent in September. October’s figure was down significantly from 24.4 percent in October 2012 and remained at the lowest levels since January 2009.
- The share of REO sales edged up in October, but was in the single-digits for the seventh straight month. REOs made up only 4.7 percent of all sales in October, up slightly from 4.4 percent in September but down from 12 percent in October 2012.
- Housing inventory levels tightened slightly for the first time in five months but were still extremely low. The Unsold Inventory Index for equity sales dipped from 3.5 months in September to 3.4 months in October. The supply of REOs was unchanged from September at 2.7 months, but the supply of short sales slipped from 3.8 months in September to 3.6 months in October.
Charts:
- Pending sales compared with closed sales.
- Historical trend in the share of equity sales compared with distressed sales.
- Closed housing sales in October by sales type (equity, distressed).
- Housing supply of REOs, short sales, and equity sales in October.
- A historical trend of REO, short sale, and equity sales housing supply.
- Year-to-year change in sales by property type.
| Share of Distressed Sales to Total Sales | ||||||||||||
| (Single-family) | ||||||||||||
| Oct. | Sept. | Oct. | ||||||||||
| Type of Sale | 2013 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||||
| Equity Sales | 85.5% | 85.7% | 63.2% | |||||||||
| Total Distressed Sales | 14.5% | 14.3% | 36.8% | |||||||||
| REOs | 4.7% | 4.4% | 12.0% | |||||||||
| Short Sales | 9.4% | 9.3% | 24.4% | |||||||||
| Other Distressed Sales (Not Specified) | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.4% | |||||||||
| All Sales | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | |||||||||
| Single-family Distressed Home Sales by Select Counties | ||||||||||||
| (Percent of total sales) | ||||||||||||
| Oct. | Sept. | Oct. | ||||||||||
| County | 2013 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||||
| Alameda | 6% | 7% | 21% | |||||||||
| Amador | NA | NA | 38% | |||||||||
| Butte | 9% | 14% | 35% | |||||||||
| Contra Costa | 7% | 7% | 26% | |||||||||
| El Dorado | 15% | 16% | 36% | |||||||||
| Fresno | 27% | 27% | 48% | |||||||||
| Humboldt | 10% | 13% | 20% | |||||||||
| Kern | NA | 18% | 41% | |||||||||
| Kings | 32% | 28% | 42% | |||||||||
| Lake | 20% | 31% | 50% | |||||||||
| Los Angeles | 15% | 14% | 37% | |||||||||
| Madera | 19% | 32% | 55% | |||||||||
| Marin | 5% | 7% | 21% | |||||||||
| Mendocino | 13% | 23% | 43% | |||||||||
| Merced | 28% | 21% | 47% | |||||||||
| Monterey | 18% | 21% | 45% | |||||||||
| Napa | 12% | 12% | 30% | |||||||||
| Orange | 7% | 9% | 28% | |||||||||
| Placer | 11% | 11% | 40% | |||||||||
| Riverside | 19% | 18% | 50% | |||||||||
| Sacramento | 17% | 16% | 47% | |||||||||
| San Benito | 11% | 13% | 58% | |||||||||
| San Bernardino | 22% | 21% | 46% | |||||||||
| San Diego | 5% | 4% | 14% | |||||||||
| San Joaquin | 23% | 23% | 49% | |||||||||
| San Luis Obispo | 12% | 11% | 29% | |||||||||
| San Mateo | 3% | 4% | 17% | |||||||||
| Santa Clara | 4% | 4% | 22% | |||||||||
| Santa Cruz | 11% | 9% | 28% | |||||||||
| Siskiyou | 23% | 23% | 32% | |||||||||
| Solano | 22% | 22% | 62% | |||||||||
| Sonoma | 9% | 12% | 29% | |||||||||
| Stanislaus | 22% | 23% | 55% | |||||||||
| Sutter | 22% | 23% | NA | |||||||||
| Tehama | NA | NA | 43% | |||||||||
| Tulare | 32% | 26% | 45% | |||||||||
| Yolo | 13% | 9% | 45% | |||||||||
| Yuba | 23% | 25% | NA | |||||||||
| California | 15% | 14% | 37% | |||||||||
NA = not available
*Note: C.A.R.’s pending sales information is generated from a survey of more than 70 associations of REALTORS® and MLSs throughout the state. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, offering solid information on future changes in the direction of the market. A sale is listed as pending after a seller has accepted a sales contract on a property. The majority of pending home sales usually becomes closed sales transactions one to two months later. The year 2008 was used as the benchmark for the Pending Homes Sales Index. An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2008.
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 155,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.
