California August 2008 Home Sales

September 19, 2008

An estimated 37,988 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was down 3.8 percent from 39,507 in July and up 13.6 percent from 33,429 for August last year. California sales for the month of August have varied from 29,764 in 1992 to 73,285 in 2005, the average is 49,927. MDA DataQuick's statistics go back to 1988.

Of the homes sold in August, 46.9 percent were foreclosure resales, up from a revised 44.9 percent in July and 9.4 percent in August a year ago.

The median price paid for a home last month was $301,000, down 5.3 percent from $318,000 for the month before, and down 35.3 percent from $465,000 for August a year ago. Around half the drop in median is due to depreciation, the other half due to shifts in the types of homes selling, and how those homes are financed.

The typical mortgage payment that home buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,428. That was down from $1,501 in July, and down from $2,251 for August a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, mortgage payments are back to where they were in late 2001. They are 31.0 percent below the spring 1989 peak of the prior real estate cycle. They are 44.2 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006.

MDA DataQuick is a division of MDA Lending Solutions, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. MDA DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is at record levels, financing with adjustable-rate mortgages is near the all-time low, as is financing with multiple mortgages. Down payment sizes and flipping rates are stable, non-owner occupied buying activity appears flat but might be emerging, MDA DataQuick reported.