The median price of resale homes in California has risen almost 30 percent since February 2009, after falling 58.8 percent from its record high in 2007, the California Association of Realtors reported today.
The median price of existing, single-family homes in California rose 8.6 percent in August compared to the same month last year, and up 1.2 percent compared to July 2010, to $318,660, and was up 29.9 percent from a cyclical low point at $245,230 in February 2009. The median price had reached $594,530 in May 2007, the association reported.
Single-family existing-home sales fell 14.9 percent year-over-year in August, and dropped 1.8 percent compared to July 2010, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 447,530. This rate is a projection of a monthly sales total over a one-year period, adjusted to accounted for seasonal fluctuations in sales activity.
There is far less demand for homes in the higher price ranges than homes near or below the state’s median price, CAR also reported.
There was an estimated 12.7-month supply of for-sale existing homes priced above $1 million in California as of August, up from 11.3 months in August 2009.
That compares with a 6.5-month supply of for-sale homes in the $750,000-$1 million range in August 2010, a 4.6-month supply of homes in the $500,000-$750,000 range, a 3.8-month supply of homes in the $300,000-$500,000 range and a 2.7-month supply of homes priced at $300,000 or below.
A six-month supply is considered a rough equilibrium, with a larger supply indicative of a buyer’s market.
It took a median 47.1 days in August 2010 to sell an existing single-family home, compared with 34.8 days in August 2009.
In separate data collected by CAR and real estate data company DataQuick Information Systems, 176 of 339 (51.2 percent) cities and communities in the state experienced a rise in the median price of new and existing single-family homes and condos year-over-year in August.
The 10 cities with the greatest median home-price increases from August 2009 to August 2010, according to DataQuick and CAR, were: Palm Springs, 60.5 percent; Coronado, 56.6 percent; Rohnert Park, 31.5 percent; Placentia, 26.1 percent; San Bernardino, 25 percent; Santee, 21.9 percent; Norco, 21.3 percent; Lake Forest, 21.3 percent; Auburn, Banning and Lompoc, 20 percent; Pittsburg, 18.8 percent; and Pomona, 18.4 percent.
The 10 cities with the highest median home prices in California in August 2010 were: Los Altos, $1.8 million; Saratoga, $1.4 million; Coronado and Manhattan Beach, $1.3 million; Palo Alto and Newport Beach, $1.2 million; Calabasas, $1 million; Los Gatos, $962,500; Cupertino, $940,000; and La Canada Flintridge, $935,000.
