· Existing, single-family home sales increased 35.2 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 556,590 on an annualized basis.
· The statewide median price of an existing single-family home increased 4.2 percent in May to $267,570, compared with April 2009.
· C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index fell to 4.2 months in May, compared with 8.7 months in May 2008.
[Note: Large changes in local median home prices typically indicate both local home price appreciation, and often, large shifts in the composition of housing market activity. Some of the variations in median home prices for April may be exaggerated due to compositional changes in housing demand. The DataQuick tables listing median home prices in California cities and counties are accessible through C.A.R. Online athttp://www.car.org/economics/historicalprices/2009medianprices/may2009medianprices]
My comments:
The overall huge drop in unsold inventory was aided by a foreclosure moratorium earlier this year, with a new 90-day moratorium enacted in Ca that started this June. In Pasadena and surrounding areas, good inventory remains low to almost non-existent, so when a good property hits the market, the multiple offers are just piling in. Also, interest rates had dropped to an unbelievable 4.5% a couple mos ago, which made the inventory suddenly very affordable to a larger number of buyers. At roughly 5.5% today, affordability is still good and many buyers are competing in this low-inventory market to try and get in while the rates are still low.
With the combination of low inventory levels and low interest rates, Ray and I are actually noting value increases in recent sales compared to the beginning of the year!
Read article HERE
