11:13 a.m. May 19, 2009
Source: MDA DataQuick, DQNews.com -
Southern California home sales rose 31.4 percent in April over year-ago levels but low-priced foreclosure homes continued to depress overall prices, MDA DataQuick reported Tuesday.
The overall median price for the six-county region was $247,000, down $3,000 from March and off 35.8 percent from April 2008's $385,000. San Bernardino felt the biggest month-to-month decline, with a smaller drop for Riverside and Orange counties.
San Diego was up $5,000 to $290,000 and Los Angeles was unchanged at $300,000.
Sales totaled 20,514, up from 19,486 in March and 15,615 in April 2008. Five of the six counties saw more activity, with the exception being Ventura County.
As reported Monday, San Diego County was up 20.1 percent year-over-year to 3,375 sales
Foreclosure sales, involving homes that previously went through foreclosure since April 2008, represented 53.6 percent of all resales in Southern California. It was the seventh consecutive month in which post-foreclosure properties represented a majority of resales.
But San Diego dipped below the 50 percent mark to 47.3 percent. The local figure had been as high as 55 percent in January.
DataQuick analysts said the price picture reflects a sluggish market in higher-cost homes, for which jumbo mortgages over $417,000 have been harder to obtain since August 2007. Before that month, jumbos typically represented nearly 40 percent of all mortgages. In April they only accounted for 10.9 percent.
By contrast, lower-cost homes financed with FHA-insured loans represented a near-record 39.1 of all home purchases last month, up from 18.4 percent a year ago.
DataQuick President John Walsh said overall market indications should be pointing to a stabilizing of prices, but the deterioriating employment outlook and a possible new round of foreclosures make such predictions problematic.
“If job cuts remain deep and foreclosures spike,” Walsh said, “then the past few months might be viewed as nothing more than a brief calm before the next foreclosure storm.”