Southland Home Sales Drop; Record Yr/Yr Gain for Median Sale Price

July 17, 2013

Southern California home sales fell in June amid a still-tight supply of homes for sale, rising mortgage rates and a letup in investor buying. The median sale price rose at a record year-over-year pace to the highest level – $385,000 – in more than five years, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 21,608 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 6.2 percent from 23,034 sales in May, and down 2.1 percent from 22,075 sales in June 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. （更多…）

California Foreclosure Starts Up From First Quarter

July 23, 2013

While up from the first quarter, the number of California homeowners entering the foreclosure process was at its second-lowest level in seven years last quarter, largely the result of a steep rise in home values, a real estate information service reported.

Lenders filed 25,747 Notices of Default (NoDs) during the April-to-June period. That was up 38.7 percent from 18,568 for the previous quarter, and down 52.9 percent from 54,615 for second-quarter 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. （更多…）

  如果有人说，在南加州买房，出10万元还有找，你会相信吗？这不是吹牛，而是千真万确。只不过南加州「很大」，洛杉矶只是其中一县，要找10万元上下的房子必须前往内陆帝国 (Inland  Empire) 。根据最新房市资料，南加州房子最便宜的十个邮递区号，都在河滨县 (Riverside County) 与圣伯纳汀诺县 (San Bernadino County) 。

说起南加州，大家普遍印象是房价偏高。但只要愿意远离海边，南加州内陆地区遍布「跳楼价」的房屋，甚至比美中西部或低于全美水平。

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「富比世」(Forbes)杂志16日引述大型全球房地产公司世邦魏理仕(CB Richard
Ellis)发布的报告说，未来几年，富裕中国人花在美国房地产市场上的金额将达数十亿美元。报导说，美国是中国买家首选的国家。加拿大和澳洲分别排在第二位和第三位。这些富有的中国个人和精明的中国企业正大举买入世界级城市中的物业。

报导说，关于中国买家新达成的房地产交易的新闻每个季度都会见诸媒体。类似的情况出现在上世纪80年代日本人大肆购入美国房产的时期。现在则轮到中国人。根据大多数业内人士观察，中国人正在抢购洛杉矶、旧金山、纽约的高档物业。

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房市正在复苏，但是房贷利率最近开始上扬，现在是买房的好时机吗？
全国房价比一年前上涨10.2%，不过仍远低于金融危机前的高峰价。与1990年代8%的30年固定房贷利率或1980年代的17%相比，目前30年固定利率为4.12%，算是非常低，但比六周前的3.52%高了些。

鉴于这些因素，现在真是买房的好时机吗? 房地产专栏作家Ilyce R. Glink的答案是肯定的。

她指出，尽管房价涨了不少，还是有社区的房子仍比高峰价低了30%到50%，意味还是可以找到划算的交易。

但不要因为买得起就去买，特别是从投资的观点来看，你希望将来卖屋能有回报，你应该问自己的最重要问题是：未来五到七年，你想住在哪里?

因为可能要花那么长的时间，才能使房价上涨的幅度弥补卖房的费用。而且我们从最近一次的房市危机学到一个教训，那就是房价不一定会上涨。

假如你担心房贷利率上扬，专家劝告：如果利率上扬半个百分点就会使你买不起房子，那表示你买错房子，应该选一栋更便宜的房子!

The number of California homeowners entering the foreclosure process plunged to the lowest level in more than seven years last quarter. The unusually sharp drop in the number of mortgage default notices filed by lenders stems mainly from rising home values, a strengthening economy and government efforts to reduce foreclosures, a real estate information service reported.

During first-quarter 2013 lenders recorded 18,567 Notices of Default (NoDs) on California houses and condos. That was down 51.4 percent from 38,212 during the prior three months, and down 67.0 percent from 56,258 in first-quarter 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. （更多…）

The number of Golden State homes sold for a million dollars or more rose to its highest level since 2007, fueled by a recovering economy, rising home prices and a record number of cash purchases. The number of homes sold for more than $5 million rose to an all-time high, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 26,993 homes sold for $1 million-plus last year, up 26.9 percent from 21,267 in 2011. It was the most sold since 42,502 homes crossed the million-dollar threshold in 2007, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

The all-time high was 2005, when 54,773 homes sold for a million dollars or more. Last year’s 26.9 percent year-over-year sales gain outpaced the state’s market as a whole: Overall sales totaled 447,573, up 8.2 percent from 413,479 in 2011. （更多…）

The number of California homes purchased with cash reached an all-time high last year, the result of high investor interest, a difficult mortgage environment, and perceived higher returns on investment, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 145,797 condos and houses were bought without mortgage financing in 2012, a record. That was up from 125,812 in 2011, the previous high. In 2007, as the housing market deflated, cash sales totaled 39,731, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

“It’s clear that a lot of today’s housing market recovery is being fueled by people putting their own money into homes. Some cash buying is part of a normal housing market, but we’re at twice that normal rate. There are always some rich people, also buyers from abroad, but in a normal market the biggest single category would be retirees and empty-nesters who are down-sizing. Today, a lot of buyers are chasing what they view as the deal of a lifetime,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president. （更多…）

Southern California home sales held at a seven-year high last month thanks to a stronger economy, pent-up demand, low mortgage rates and the widening perception that a home is a good investment. Prices continued to regain lost territory as buyers competed for a thin supply of homes for sale and poured a record amount of cash into the housing market, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 23,034 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 7.6 percent from 21,415 sales in April, and up 3.8 percent from 22,192 sales in May 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Last month’s sales were the highest for the month of May since 30,303 Southland homes sold in May 2006, but they were still 10.1 percent below the May average of 25,617 sales since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. Over the last seven years Southland home sales have been below average for any particular month. （更多…）

La Jolla, CA.–Bay Area home prices continued to rise in May, the result of an improving economy, low mortgage rates, pent-up demand and continued investor interest. Sales remained below average, mainly because the supply of homes for sale remains unusually tight, a real estate information service reported.

The median price paid for a home in the nine-county Bay Area last month was $519,000, up 1.8 percent from $510,000 in April, and up 29.8 percent from $400,000 in May 2012. That was the highest median since March 2008, when it was $536,000, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

The Bay Area median peaked at $665,000 in June and July 2007, then dropped as low as $290,000 in March 2009 – a decline of $375,000, or 56.4 percent. In May the median was still 22.0 percent below the peak but it had made up about 61 percent of its peak-to-trough loss. （更多…）