August Home Sales and Price Report

Low interest rates fail to spark August home sales; home prices continue to increase despite improving housing inventory

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 16) – California home sales pulled back in August, reversing two months of increases, as the median home price rose from the previous month and year, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today. 

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 394,280 units in August, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide.  August marked the 10th straight month that sales were below the 400,000 level and the 13th straight month that sales have declined on a year-over-year basis.  Sales in August decreased 1.2 percent from 398,940 in July and were down 9.3 percent from 434,910 in August 2013.  The August 2014 sales level was the second highest for the year so far.  The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2014 if sales maintained the August pace throughout the year.  It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

“With more homeowners in a position to list their homes for sale following rising home prices, housing supply is improving across all price ranges as would-be sellers may be seeing this as an opportunity to list their homes for sale,” said C.A.R. President Kevin Brown.  “While lower-than-expected interest rates are allowing more room for home prices to grow, the appreciation is also creating a housing affordability challenge for prospective home buyers and hindering them from taking advantage of the low rates.” 
    
The median price of an existing, single-family detached California home rose 3.3 percent from July’s median price of $464,750 to $480,280 in August and up 8.9 percent from the revised $441,010 recorded in August 2013.  The August 2014 price was the highest observed since 2007.  The statewide median home price has increased year over year for the previous 30 months, marking more than two full years of consecutive year-over-year price increases. The median sales price is the point at which half of homes sold for more and half sold for less; it is influenced by the types of homes selling as well as a general change in values.

“California’s housing market continues to be bifurcated both geographically and demographically, with the San Francisco Bay Area and high-end housing markets outperforming other regions and market segments,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young.  “A strong job market and barriers to building new housing are creating an imbalance between supply and demand in some housing markets. Buyers who are not impacted by affordability issues are fueling sales in the high-end market, which is putting upward pressure on home prices.”

Other key facts from C.A.R.’s August 2014 resale housing report include:

• Housing inventory inched up higher in August, with the available supply of existing, single-family detached homes for sale increasing from 3.8 months in August to 4 months in August. The index was a revised 3 months in August 2013.  The index indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.  A six- to seven-month supply is considered typical in a normal market.

• The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home lengthened in August, up from 35.7 days in July to 39.2 days in August and up from a revised 29.3 days in August 2013.

• Mortgage rates were down for the second straight month in August, with the 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaging 4.12 percent, down from 4.13 percent in July and down from 4.46 percent in August 2013, according to Freddie Mac.  Adjustable-mortgage interest rates in August were also down, averaging 2.37 percent, down from 2.39 percent in July and down from 2.65 percent in August 2013.

Graphics (click links to open):

• August sales at-a-glance infographic.
• Unsold Inventory by price range.
• Change in sales by price range.
• Share of sales by price range.

Note:  The County MLS median price and sales data in the tables are generated from a survey of more than 90 associations of REALTORS® throughout the state, and represent statistics of existing single-family detached homes only.  County sales data are not adjusted to account for seasonal factors that can influence home sales.  Movements in sales prices should not be interpreted as changes in the cost of a standard home.  The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less; medians are more typical than average prices, which are skewed by a relatively small share of transactions at either the lower-end or the upper-end. Median prices can be influenced by changes in cost, as well as changes in the characteristics and the size of homes sold.  Due to the low sales volume in some areas, median price changes August exhibit unusual fluctuation. The change in median prices should not be construed as actual price changes in specific homes.

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 165,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

August 2014 County Sales and Price Activity(Regional and condo sales data not seasonally adjusted)

August-14	Median Sold Price of Existing Single-Family Homes							Sales
State/Region/County	Aug-14	Jul-14		Aug-13		MTM% Chg	YTY% Chg	MTM% Chg	YTY% Chg
CA SFH (SAAR)	$480,280	$464,750		$441,010	r	3.3%	8.9%	-1.2%	-9.3%
CA Condo/Townhomes	$379,580	$376,080		$343,080	r	0.9%	10.6%	-8.8%	-15.6%
Los Angeles Metro Area	$434,550	$421,050		$395,900	r	3.2%	9.8%	-4.8%	-12.1%
Inland Empire	$275,240	$275,990		$245,330		-0.3%	12.2%	-9.1%	-15.6%
S.F. Bay Area	$742,900	$760,430		$694,850	r	-2.3%	6.9%	-10.6%	-7.6%
S.F. Bay Area
Alameda	$732,220	$722,620		$654,060		1.3%	11.9%	-9.1%	-5.6%
Contra-Costa (Central Cty.)	$750,000	$792,240		$703,240	r	-5.3%	6.6%	-7.6%	3.9%
Marin	$977,460	$1,029,760		$987,740		-5.1%	-1.0%	-1.4%	-7.4%
Napa	$541,670	$650,000		$565,970		-16.7%	-4.3%	-27.7%	-30.8%
San Francisco	$900,910	$940,620		$871,480		-4.2%	3.4%	-8.5%	-10.0%
San Mateo	$1,000,000	$1,117,500	r	$988,440	r	-10.5%	1.2%	-11.3%	-3.8%
Santa Clara	$865,000	$860,750	r	$808,100	r	0.5%	7.0%	-13.2%	-12.5%
Solano	$328,280	$335,870		$295,890		-2.3%	10.9%	-11.1%	-3.1%
Sonoma	$484,640	$510,110		$453,790		-5.0%	6.8%	-12.1%	-13.3%
Southern California
Los Angeles	$474,640	$461,290		$444,950		2.9%	6.7%	-5.4%	-12.5%
Orange County	$699,430	$695,270		$664,580		0.6%	5.2%	2.8%	-6.6%
Riverside County	$318,640	$319,960		$290,030		-0.4%	9.9%	-7.9%	-13.0%
San Bernardino	$209,200	$216,570		$183,240		-3.4%	14.2%	-11.0%	-19.5%
San Diego	$510,860	$523,070		$482,470		-2.3%	5.9%	-2.4%	-18.5%
Ventura	$602,060	$585,830		$555,560		2.8%	8.4%	1.9%	-5.8%
Central Coast
Monterey	$492,500	$445,000		$407,000		10.7%	21.0%	-4.4%	-3.9%
San Luis Obispo	$475,000	$490,540		$477,420		-3.2%	-0.5%	-2.6%	-7.4%
Santa Barbara	$806,030	$685,480		$625,000		17.6%	29.0%	0.5%	-23.5%
Santa Cruz	$657,600	$725,000		$629,000		-9.3%	4.5%	-5.1%	-7.0%
Central Valley
Fresno	$203,760	$201,530		$184,000		1.1%	10.7%	-6.1%	-14.1%
Glenn	$170,000	$145,000		$135,000		17.2%	25.9%	0.0%	-11.1%
Kern (Bakersfield)	$210,900	$210,160		$199,950	r	0.4%	5.5%	-0.9%	4.3%
Kings County	$183,330	$175,450		$184,000		4.5%	-0.4%	4.3%	-16.3%
Madera	$166,670	$211,110		$170,000		-21.1%	-2.0%	-27.3%	-56.8%
Merced	$186,670	$173,640		$155,880		7.5%	19.8%	-25.2%	-2.8%
Placer County	$388,720	$381,040		$361,830		2.0%	7.4%	-7.4%	3.3%
Sacramento	$272,750	$276,190		$257,660		-1.2%	5.9%	-7.6%	-10.5%
San Benito	$415,000	$415,000		$387,000		0.0%	7.2%	-12.8%	-18.0%
San Joaquin	$265,060	$259,900		$231,390		2.0%	14.6%	-4.8%	-14.7%
Stanislaus	$232,240	$230,040		$203,120		1.0%	14.3%	-2.6%	-15.1%
Tulare	$184,440	$174,670		$158,460		5.6%	16.4%	-8.2%	6.0%
Other Counties in California
Amador	$211,110	$247,500		$213,890	r	-14.7%	-1.3%	7.7%	-20.8%
Butte County	$255,000	$276,140		$281,820		-7.7%	-9.5%	-6.5%	4.8%
Calaveras	$224,000	$239,500		$220,000		-6.5%	1.8%	-13.0%	-22.3%
Del Norte	$156,200	$165,000		$100,000		-5.3%	56.2%	26.3%	60.0%
El Dorado County	$391,670	$385,160		$355,840		1.7%	10.1%	11.0%	-5.3%
Humboldt	$255,260	$247,000		$247,220		3.3%	3.3%	-11.7%	-13.3%
Lake County	$178,330	$174,540		$153,330		2.2%	16.3%	-3.8%	-12.5%
Tuolumne	$214,710	$238,160		$215,280		-9.8%	-0.3%	3.9%	9.6%
Mendocino	$291,670	$300,000		$276,670		-2.8%	5.4%	-13.0%	-41.2%
Nevada	$338,500	$308,500		$339,500		9.7%	-0.3%	1.0%	-1.9%
Plumas	$272,000	$217,500		NA		25.1%	NA	136.4%	NA
Shasta	$212,190	$216,460		$202,080	r	-2.0%	5.0%	-12.9%	-23.4%
Siskiyou County	$127,500	$160,000		$140,000		-20.3%	-8.9%	28.9%	6.5%
Sutter	$217,750	$220,000		$202,000		-1.0%	7.8%	-16.2%	-17.3%
Tehama	$156,000	$165,000		$146,670		-5.5%	6.4%	-40.0%	-29.4%
Yolo	$396,550	$340,540		$320,310		16.4%	23.8%	-12.2%	-16.1%
Yuba	$200,000	$183,500		$186,000		9.0%	7.5%	-1.4%	-11.5%

r = revised
NA = not available

August 2014 County Unsold Inventory and Time on Market
(Regional and condo sales data not seasonally adjusted)

August-14	Unsold Inventory Index					Median Time on Market
State/Region/County	Aug-14	Jul-14		Aug-13		Aug-14	Jul-14		Aug-13
CA SFH (SAAR)	4.0	3.8		3.0	r	39.2	35.7		29.3	r
CA Condo/Townhomes	3.5	3.3		2.6		38.0	36.3		28.8	r
Los Angeles Metro Area	4.3	4.1		3.1		48.4	45.8		36.7
Inland Empire	4.8	4.3		3.1		50.0	48.9		34.4	r
S.F. Bay Area	2.6	2.4		2.3	r	37.6	36.0		36.5	r
S.F. Bay Area
Alameda	2.2	2.1		2.1		47.3	48.1		48.7
Contra-Costa (Central Cty.)	2.4	2.3		1.9	r	50.2	50.1		50.0	r
Marin	2.8	2.7		3.0		40.1	37.3		40.6
Napa	6.7	4.8		2.0		52.8	54.0		57.3
San Francisco	2.9	2.7		2.8		23.5	23.3		25.4
San Mateo	1.9	1.7		2.1		20.8	19.0		19.7
Santa Clara	2.2	1.9		2.1		20.3	19.2		19.0
Solano	3.4	2.9		2.7		42.1	37.5		32.1
Sonoma	3.4	3.0		2.9		45.2	45.0		46.8
Southern California
Los Angeles	4.0	3.8		2.9		43.0	39.8		31.1
Orange County	4.0	4.2		3.3		55.0	53.1		46.3
Riverside County	4.8	4.4		3.2		55.2	52.8		36.6
San Bernardino	4.9	4.3		3.0		38.2	42.5		29.8
San Diego	4.5	4.4		3.4		25.7	24.7		24.4
Ventura	4.1	3.8		3.2		56.8	49.3		46.9
Central Coast
Monterey	4.4	4.2		4.0		29.2	27.9		23.5
San Luis Obispo	5.0	5.0		4.4		40.6	28.2		26.7
Santa Barbara	4.7	4.7		3.5		42.8	36.8		38.4	r
Santa Cruz	3.2	3.1		3.2		23.4	24.1		24.8
Central Valley
Fresno	5.2	4.8		3.7		27.8	27.9		23.1
Glenn	5.5	6.4		4.7		50.3	50.3		40.7
Kern (Bakersfield)	3.0	3.0		2.4	r	23.0	20.0		16.0	r
Kings County	4.0	3.8		2.9		50.3	39.9		50.3
Madera	6.9	4.8		2.4		26.8	50.3		25.4
Merced	4.6	3.3		2.9		27.5	29.8		24.2
Placer County	3.8	3.6		3.1		27.4	25.5		20.8
Sacramento	3.4	3.2		2.7		23.5	22.0		19.7
San Benito	4.1	3.6		2.8		23.9	26.2		22.3
San Joaquin	3.7	3.3		2.8		24.1	23.2		19.5
Stanislaus	3.4	3.2		2.4		24.5	22.6		19.6
Tulare	4.5	4.1		4.1		37.0	42.0		23.3	r
Other Counties in California
Amador	5.6	6.2		3.9		61.0	52.8		53.8
Butte County	4.4	4.2		4.2		27.5	29.0		25.6
Calaveras	8.4	6.9		5.2		42.0	39.0		53.0
Del Norte	7.4	9.6		13.1		129.0	116.0		107.0
El Dorado County	4.9	5.4		4.1		36.7	33.0		36.2
Humboldt	7.0	5.9		5.3		32.7	44.0		27.9
Lake County	6.4	6.3		4.9		103.3	57.2		91.0
Tuolumne	6.5	6.7		6.3		49.1	33.2		57.8
Mendocino	9.5	8.7		5.6		102.6	61.0		87.1
Nevada	6.5	6.8		NA		34.0	34.0		21.5
Plumas	9.5	23.4		NA		112.0	71.0		NA
Shasta	6.6	5.5		4.0	r	28.3	45.5		28.1	r
Siskiyou County	9.1	11.4		9.1		64.6	53.4		71.2
Sutter	5.0	3.9		2.4		20.0	38.0		11.0
Tehama	10.2	6.0		6.3		54.2	66.8		41.4	r
Yolo	3.5	3.0		2.7		24.3	19.8		18.8
Yuba	3.8	3.9		2.6		19.0	26.0		10.5

r = revised
NA = not available

Contact us for all of your Real Estate needs.

Former Bank Exec Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Investors, Regulators

Author: Brian Honea September 15, 2014 0

Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on pinterest_shareMore Sharing Services0

A former bank executive pleaded guilty earlier this week to charges of defrauding regulators and his bank's investors, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and other investigators announced recently.

Don A. Langford, 63, a former senior vice president and chief credit officer for Lincoln, Nebraska-based TierOne Bank (a former TARP fund applicant) pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and making false entries in a bank’s books and records, in addition to one count of making false statements according to Romero, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg of the District of Nebraska, and Special Agent in Charge Thomas R. Metz of the FBI’s Omaha Division. Langford is scheduled to be sentenced on December 5, 2014.

Langford, who now resides in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, entered his guilty plea with U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart of the District of Nebraska. The criminal investigation revealed that Langford and his associates were able to cover up millions of dollars in losses by falsifying the value of TierOne's loan and real estate portfolio in reports U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) from at least 2009 to April 2010.

TierOne submitted an application to OTS in 2008 to receive monetary assistance from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), but eventually withdrew the application without receiving any funds from TARP. OTS shut down TierOne in June 2010 and the bank filed for bankruptcy shortly afterward.

"Langford, former TierOne senior executive and chief credit officer, conspired with others to hide losses at the bank by cooking the bank’s books and reporting falsified information to stakeholders, regulators, external auditors, and the investing public," Romero said. "Langford and others engaged in fraud in order to keep regulators at bay and from closing the bank, to maintain and increase the bank’s stock price, and to enrich themselves. The bank even made an unsuccessful attempt to get taxpayer TARP funds in November 2008. SIGTARP and our law enforcement officers will bring to justice perpetrators of fraud related to TARP and hold them accountable for their crimes."

REOs Fall Year-Over-Year for 21st Straight Month

Source: DSNews.com


Author: Brian Honea September 12, 2014

The number of residential properties repossessed by lenders by way of foreclosure in August declined on a year-over-year basis for the 21st consecutive month, according to RealtyTrac's monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for August 2014released September 11.

The number of REO properties, which represent the final stage of the foreclosure process, was reported to be 26,343 for August, according to RealtyTrac. This was a slight increase of 2 percent from July but a significant drop of 33 percent from August 2013.

RealtyTrac reported that REO activity went down year-over-year in all but seven states: Georgia (increase of 146 percent), Hawaii (42 percent), Oregon (20 percent), Kentucky (13 percent), Pennsylvania (12 percent), Connecticut (10 percent), and Virginia (.3 percent, from 520 to 522).

According to RealtyTrac, the state with the most REOs in August overall was Florida, with 5,277, which was a 37 percent drop year-over-year for the Sunshine State. Georgia had the second most total REOs in August with 4,204, and California was third with 2,152. North Dakota had the lowest number of REOs for August with 0, according to RealtyTrac. The Peace Garden State had only two REOs in July, and had 10 in August 2013. After North Dakota, the District of Columbia had the second lowest number of REOs in August 2014 with two.

REO activity increased month-over-month in 21 states; in all others, it either declined or stayed the same from July to August. Georgia had the largest month-over-month increase with 196 percent (1,421 up to 4,204), while Maryland had the largest decline from July to August with 81 percent (1,103 down to 207).

Building For The Future

Source: http://realtormag.realtor.org/

Innovative construction materials are both eco-friendly and resilient.

JULY 2014 | BY MEG WHITE

It’s easier to adopt new techniques when you’re building from scratch, so the new-home market tends to have more than its fair share of inventive products to offer.

More in All About the House

• Houses With a Past
• Inside New Construction
• Market a Smart Home Smartly
• Dressed to Sell
• Video: Detailing Your Listing's History
• Infographic: How Old Are They Now?

Before these new products come to market, they often come to Michelle Desiderio. As the vice president of innovation services for Home Innovation Research Labs—a wholly owned, independent subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders—she works with manufacturers to test building products and appliances. At the manufacturer’s request, the lab’s technicians will do everything from open and shut a door 10,000 times to drop cast-iron pans onto sinks to build a model house to test the impact of high winds on a new framing technique. “Our goal is to remove barriers to innovation in the housing industry,” she says.

So what kinds of advances are buyers looking for? “Builders often are under the assumption that consumers are focused on green products exclusively, but study after study shows that’s not the case,” says Desiderio. “Durability usually ranks very high.”

Brent Ehrlich, products editor at publishing company BuildingGreen, which examines environmentally friendly construction, says that manufacturers are taking notice of the desire for resilience. He’s also seeing more use of natural materials such as stone and cork, which he says represents the “what’s-old-is-new phenomenon” taking hold. One example of this trend is the use of mineral wool for insulation. Ehrlich says this material is replacing spray foam insulation systems that “contain some fairly nasty chemicals.” Also, the natural alternative is both flame-retardant and difficult for insects to penetrate.

Another product Ehrlich is excited about is fungal mycelium. A company called Ecovative combines what are basically mushroom roots with agricultural byproducts in controlled lab conditions. The product that emerges is currently being used as an eco-friendly packing material, but the company is working to market it as a strong, lightweight, flame-resistant insulation for homes and commercial buildings.  

But Ehrlich warns that in the effort to make homes more energy-efficient, home owners need to be careful not to seal the structure’s envelope too tightly. He’s says he’s seen cases where home owners try to retrofit their insulation for energy efficiency and end up having to tear it all out and start over because they hadn’t considered healthy air exchanges and letting a building breathe.

Innovators in new construction are also looking for ways to protect home owners from catastrophic events. “Many places in the country have experienced one natural disaster after another,” Desiderio says. “So we have this relatively new goal of how to make homes more resilient in a disaster.”

Ehrlich says that, despite the great work of Home Innovation Research Labs, no amount of testing can fully replicate the pressures of real-world use for some of these brand-new products: “We really don’t know how they’ll last. Longevity is still going to be a question.”

Because defects in new homes can directly affect the entire system of a house, builders tend to be wary about new products. “As a society, we change phones frequently, but product manufacturers have a much more difficult time getting their clients to switch in the world of home construction,” Desiderio says.

Priced to Sell at $30M? Apparently, Yes!

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

Luxury homes are selling faster than last year, and the homes fetching some of the heftiest price tags are spending less time lingering on the market, according to new data from realtor.com®. An uptick in the stock market and improving economy may be helping to boost the luxury market in recent months.

The High-End Market isBooming:

• Luxury Sales Heat Up Across the Country
• Speculative Building Returns to Luxury Market
• Luxury Home Sales Soar Above Historical Average
• Silicon Valley Dominates Top Luxury Market List

For homes listed less than $1 million, the median age of listings ranged from 80 days to a median of 180 days for homes just under $30 million, according to realtor.com®. But for homes above $30 million, the median time to market dropped to 139 days.

Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist, says the faster times are often because these high-ticketed homes are marketed quietly before hitting the open market. This market segment is attracting a more engaged group of buyers lately, he says.

For example, in Vail, Colo., homes above $15 million used to sit on the market for more than two years, but now are selling in “months, not years, and sometimes in weeks,” Tye Stockton, a real estate professional with Ascent Sotheby’s International Realty, told The Wall Street Journal. In Greenwich, Conn., Tamar Lurie with Coldwell Banker told The Wall Street Journal that she is expecting about 20 sales above $10 million this year – double the number sold last year.

A $2 million listing in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles sat on the market last year before it was removed after never hooking a buyer. But this month, the owners put the home back on the market and sold above the asking price in just one day, says Billy Rose, co-founder of the Agency, a real estate brokerage in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Source: “Luxury Homes: Priced to Sell at $30 Million,” The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 10, 2014)