California pending home sales rise in June, distressed properties remain flat C.A.R. reports

For release:
July 20, 2011
California pending home sales rise in June, distressed properties remain flat C.A.R. reports
LOS ANGELES (July 20) – California pending home sales rose for the second consecutive month in June, while the share of distressed property sales was unchanged, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today. 
Pending home sales:
Pending home sales in California rose in June, according to C.A.R.’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)*.  The index was 119.0 in June, an increase of 1.9 percent from May’s revised index of 116.8, based on contracts signed in June.  The index also was up 4.4 percent from June 2010.  Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.
“Pending home sales have improved in the last couple of months and the next few months should bring continued gains,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce.  “So much depends on the direction of the economy going forward. As for the makeup of the market, distressed sales continue to be a significant part of the market with the split between short sales and REO sales varying greatly across the state.”
Distressed housing market data:

• The total share of all distressed property types sold statewide was unchanged in June from May’s revised 47 percent.  The share also was unchanged from a year prior.
• Of the distressed properties sold statewide, 19 percent were short sales, a decline from last month’s share of 20 percent and last year’s share of 21 percent.
• At 27 percent, the share of REO (real estate-owned) sales was unchanged compared with May, but was up from 25 percent reported in June 2010.
• Non-distressed sales made up the remaining share of home sales in June at 53 percent, unchanged from both previous month and year.

Multimedia:

• View a video of C.A.R. Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young discussing highlights of the June existing home sales and price report, which was released July 14.
• View a chart of pending sales compared with closed sales.
  
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Share of Distressed Sales to Total Sales
(Single-family)

Type of Sale	June-10	May-11	June-11
REOs	25%	27%	27%
Short Sales	21%	20%	19%
Total Distressed Sales	47%	47%	47%

 
Single-family Distressed Home Sales by Select Counties
(Percent of total sales)

County	June-10	May-11	June-11
Amador	44%	61%	51%
Butte	27%	44%	34%
Humboldt	20%	17%	29%
Kern	68%	66%	66%
Lake	62%	80%	86%
Los Angeles	47%	45%	47%
Madera	54%	85%	83%
Marin	20%	28%	26%
Mendocino	32%	51%	63%
Merced	53%	59%	64%
Napa	49%	43%	51%
Orange	33%	36%	35%
Riverside	69%	65%	61%
Sacramento	62%	65%	65%
San Bernardino	69%	69%	69%
San Diego	25%	29%	28%
San Luis Obispo	40%	40%	42%
Solano	66%	71%	72%
Sonoma	43%	48%	51%
Tehama	67%	62%	73%
CALIFORNIA	47%	47%	47%

*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 more than 160,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Yoli and Sharon Annual Shopping Trip

It’s shopping time again with
Yoli & Sharon!
Your favorite Realtors! (Tell a friend!)
Join us for a day of Fashion, Shopping, Eating and Good Cheer!

Come take a ride with us to the world famous Union Square in San Francisco. We invite you to a wonderful day of pampering and shopping! Your trip will include: snacks, drinks, prizes, surprises, and round trip transportation. Very limited seating, so hurry and send your reservation today!

Date: Saturday, December 5th, 2009
Time: 8:00 am. till 8:00 pm. (traffic permitting)
Meet us at our office @ 7410 Greenhaven Drive #105, Sacramento Ca 95831
Cost: $35.00 (sorry, no refunds & due to the popularity of this event, seats will be reserved only when payment is received,
(we only have 50 seats!)
Checks can be made to
Manzo & Boatwright Partnership.
ReMax Gold
730 Alhambra Blvd. #150
Sacramento, CA 95816
Another Fabulous event by Yoli & Sharon!
Yoli Manzo (916) 997-6934
Sharon Boatwright (916) 825-4315
Www.yoliandsharon.blogspot.com

Sacramento! It is competitive out there!

First off, we would like to congratulate Scott S. and Michelle S. for being the lucky winners to last week's drawing. Both of them won two tickets each, to the Sacramento Monarch's opening game. Stay tuned because we will be doing periodic raffles and prizes!

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So, anyone try to submit an offer on a property in the Sacramento area lately? Tell us about it! Currently, Sharon and I are working with about 7 "First Time" buyers. Literally, we are chasing homes! When ever we do get an accepted offer, it is like hitting the lottery. It is that crazy out there!

Currently, we are experiencing a very low housing inventory, and with the very favorable property prices and interest rates, everyone is bidding for the few houses that are out there on the market. While it can be a frustrating process, do not give up. Diligence and patience are the key to success in this market.

Here is an article on the latest Real Estate statistics throughout the country.

Pending Home Sales Increase Nearly 7 Percent The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.7 percent to 90.3 from a reading of 84.6 in March, and is 3.2 percent above April 2008 when it was 87.5.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says buyers are responding to very favorable market conditions. “Housing affordability conditions have been at historic highs, but now the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit is beginning to impact the market,” he says. “Since first-time buyers must finalize their purchase by November 30 to get the credit, we expect greater activity in the months ahead, and that should spark more sales by repeat buyers.”Geographical Breakdown

Northeast: The Pending Home Sales Index shot up 32.6 percent to 78.9 in April and is 0.8 percent above a year ago.
Midwest: The index rose 9.8 percent to 90.4 and is 11.1 percent above April 2008.
South: The index slipped 0.2 percent to 93 in April but is 3.5 percent higher than a year ago.
West: The index rose 1.8 percent to 94.8 but is 2.9 percent below April 2008.

NAR President Charles McMillan says there are numerous buyer assistance programs around the country.
“Some states are offering bridge loans that allow first-time buyers to use the tax credit for downpayment and closing costs, but there are many other local government and nonprofit programs available to buyers, depending on location,” McMillan says.

Last week, HUD announced that qualifying buyers can use the tax credit for closing costs on FHA loans, to buy down the interest rate or make a larger down payment.

Affordable Housing

NAR’s Housing Affordability Index is in record territory. The affordability index rose to 174.8 in April from an upwardly revised 171.9 in March, which makes it the second-highest monthly reading on record after peaking at 176.9 in January of this year.

The HAI is a broad measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, which examines the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income.

A median-income family, earning $60,900, could afford a home costing $296,800 in April with a 20 percent down payment, assuming 25 percent of gross income is devoted to mortgage principal and interest.

Affordability conditions for first-time buyers with the same income and small down payments are roughly 80 percent of that amount. The affordable price was well above the median existing single-family home price in April, which was $169,800.

Pending vs. Existing Sales

Yun cautions that the reporting sample for pending home sales is smaller than that of existing-home sales, so it is subject to greater variability.

“In addition, the relationship between contracts on pending home sales and closings on existing-home sales is taking longer than in the past for several reasons,” he says. “Mortgage processing time has increased, it is taking many months to close on those homes requiring short sales with lender approval, and some sales are falling through at the last moment.”

The total number of existing-home sales is expected to improve but with dramatic local market variation in the timing of recovery. “The market has already bottomed in some areas, but this is an unusual housing cycle with some areas improving rapidly while others languish or decline,” Yun says.

Existing-home sales for May will be released June 23. The next Pending Home Sales Index will be on July 1.

Source: NAR (06/02/09)