Equity Home Sales Make Up Four of Five Sales and Reach Highest Level in Nearly Six Years, C.A.R. Rep

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Equity Home Sales Make Up Four of Five Sales and Reach Highest Level in Nearly Six Years, C.A.R. Reports

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The share of equity home sales in California continued to expand in June, comprising four of every five home sales, thanks primarily to a drop in distressed sales. Meanwhile, sales of REOs fell into the single-digits for the third straight month and registered levels not seen since September 2007, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

Distressed housing market data:

  • The combined share of all distressed property sales continued to decline in June, dropping to 20.1 percent in June, down from 21.8 percent in May and down from 42.2 percent in June 2012. Twenty-one of the 36 reported counties showed a month-to-month decrease in the share of distressed sales, with San Mateo and Santa Clara each recording the smallest share at 7 percent for both counties in June.

  • The share of equity sales - or non-distressed property sales - continued to expand in June and now makes up four in five sales, the highest share since December 2007. The share of equity sales in June increased to 79.9 percent, up from 78.2 percent in May. Equity sales made up more than half (57.8 percent) of all sales in June 2012.

  • Of the distressed properties, the share of short sales was 12.9 percent in June, down from 14 percent in May and down from 21.4 percent a year ago. The June 2013 figure was the lowest since June 2009. The continuing decline in short sales indicates more previously underwater homes are moving into positive equity as home prices remain on an upward trend.

  • The share of REO sales also continued to fall, dropping to single-digits for the third straight month, down from 7.3 percent in May to 6.6 percent in June and from 20.4 percent in June 2012.

  • The available supply of homes loosened in June, particularly for equity sales, but remained tight. At 1.8 months, June's Unsold Inventory Index for REOs was essentially unchanged from 1.7 months in May. The supply of short sales inched upward from 2.3 months in May to 2.4 months in June. The June Unsold Inventory Index for equity sales rose from 2.8 months in May to 3.1 months in June.


Pending home sales data:

Rising interest rates put a damper on California pending home sales in June. C.A.R.'s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* fell 6.4 percent in June to 114.3, down from 122.1 in May, based on signed contracts. Pending sales were down 5.5 percent from the 120.9 index recorded in June 2012. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.

Charts:

Share of Distressed Sales to Total Sales

(Single-family)

Type of Sale

June

2013

May

2013

June

2012

Equity Sales

79.9

%

78.2

%

57.8

%

Total Distressed Sales

20.1

%

21.8

%

42.2

%

REOs

6.6

%

7.3

%

20.4

%

Short Sales

12.9

%

14.0

%

21.4

%

Other Distressed Sales (Not Specified)

0.5

%

0.5

%

0.4

%

All Sales

100.0

%

100.0

%

100.0

%

Single-family Distressed Home Sales by Select Counties

(Percent of total sales)

County

June

2013

May

2013

June

2012

Alameda

9%

11%

NA

Amador

NA

NA

55%

Butte

16%

20%

36%

Contra Costa

10%

9%

NA

El Dorado

22%

21%

44%

Fresno

36%

38%

54%

Humboldt

20%

16%

28%

Kern

25%

25%

48%

Kings

44%

38%

NA

Lake

35%

36%

63%

Los Angeles

21%

23%

41%

Madera

33%

52%

57%

Marin

9%

8%

20%

Mendocino

33%

31%

48%

Merced

36%

32%

52%

Monterey

32%

29%

50%

Napa

13%

20%

47%

Orange

14%

14%

31%

Placer

16%

21%

41%

Riverside

26%

29%

52%

Sacramento

26%

29%

53%

San Benito

26%

30%

63%

San Bernardino

29%

32%

58%

San Diego

6%

7%

22%

San Joaquin

35%

36%

61%

San Luis Obispo

13%

15%

34%

San Mateo

7%

4%

21%

Santa Clara

7%

7%

23%

Santa Cruz

11%

10%

42%

Siskiyou

24%

30%

59%

Solano

30%

36%

63%

Sonoma

17%

19%

40%

Stanislaus

30%

40%

61%

Tehama

NA

NA

45%

Tulare

27%

37%

54%

Yolo

24%

25%

46%

California

20%

22%

42%

NA = not available

**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 155,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.



CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
Lotus Lou, (213) 739-8304
lotusl@car.org

KEYWORDS: United States North America California

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:

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