Foreclosed home listing sales, existing home sales and new home sales in Southern California increased for the 11th straight month in May, according to market data released this week.
Sales of homes in the $500,000 price range increased, pushing total sales to new heights. The median home price also increased from April levels, as sales of homes in the middle and high-end sector increased.
In the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, Ventura and San Bernardino, collectively called Southland, there were 20,775 units of new homes, condos and pre-owned homes sold during the month of May. This total represented an increase of 1.3 percent from the April sales of 20,514 and an increase of 22.8 percent from the 16,917 units sold in May 2008.
For the past 11 months, monthly sales have increased on a year-over-year comparison.
The total sales for May this year were the highest May total since May 2006, but were more than 21 percent below the average sales for the month of May since 1988.
In the Southland area, foreclosed home listing sales in May accounted for 50.2 percent of all resales, a drop from April’s 53.5 percent share and from the high 56.7 percent share registered in February. The May percentage was also the lowest since October when foreclosed home listing sales accounted for 50.9 percent of all resales.
The significant drops in median home prices in the Southland region compared to May 2008 were largely caused by the increase in foreclosed home listing sales in inland markets where foreclosure actions continued to be filed.
One of the major reasons why sales of homes in the middle and high-end sector increased was the decision of sellers to drop their asking prices. Declines in foreclosed home listing prices pulled home values down.
In May, 83 percent of existing homes in the Southland area were sold below $500,000, a decrease from the 84.8 percent share in April. In contrast, 17 percent of existing homes priced above $500,000 were sold, an increase of the 15.2 percent share in April.
In October, nearly 20 percent of all Southland house sales were sales of existing homes priced above $500,000.
The median price for all new home sales, existing home sales and foreclosed home listing sales sold in May in the Southland region was $249,000, an increase of 0.8 percent from the previous month’s median price of $247,000, but represented a decline from the $370,000 price in May 2008.
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