California Foreclosure Listings slowed in September, but foreclosed properties still defined the market and still constituted a strong force that affected sales prices.
According to data from a San Diego-based research firm, foreclosed homes accounted for 42 percent of all houses sold in September, a decrease from the 59-percent share in February.
In the San Francisco Bay Area in September, 33 percent of all houses sold were properties that were foreclosed in 2008, down from 52 percent in February.
The median home sales price increased by almost 1 percent from the August median price to $251,000 in September and the number of houses sold also increased by 1 percent. More than 40,200 houses were sold throughout California in September, about the same as sales in September 2008.
Analysts said that the September sales price increased partly because of increased home sales in the high-cost Bay Area. House sales in the area totaled 7,879 units and comprised a high percentage of sales statewide in September. The median home sales price increased to $365,000, up by 1 percent from August. The number of units sold increased by 5 percent from August sales and by 9 percent from sales in September 2008.
They also said that September home sales were still driven by lower-priced homes in California foreclosure listings and by the approaching expiration of the $8,000 federal tax credit.
The researchers said that the California housing market is getting closer to normal, compared to its weak situation in the first months of the year, although the lower end of the market is stronger than the higher end.
In Southern California, the number of houses sold increased to 21,539 units compared to September last year. The number was about the same compared to the previous month. The median home sales price of $275,000 was also about the same as the August median price.
The percentage of foreclosure sales in Southern California also declined, falling to 40 percent of all homes sold in the region, down from 57 percent in February.
According to Leslie Appleton-Young, senior economist of the California Association of Realtors, although the percentage of foreclosures dropped, they were still influencing strongly the prices. Sellers were still competing with the lower prices of foreclosed homes.
Appleton-Young also added that prices in the higher end of the market will still decrease because the number of foreclosed high end properties has been increasing.
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