ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MAY 18, 2010 AT 1:09 P.M., UPDATED MAY 18, 2010 AT 10:35 P.M.
Southern California home prices remained flat from March to April, as sales shifted into May for tax-rebate reasons, MDA DataQuick reported Tuesday. Still, the year-over-year increase was 15.4 percent to an overall median of $285,000.
As reported Monday, San Diego’s median slipped from $330,000 in March to $325,250, but was up 12.2 percent from April 2009’s $290,000. Prices followed the same pattern in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardinocounties — down from March but up from April 2009. Orange had the best year-over-year increase, up 13.2 percent to $430,000, which was $2,000 less than in March.
Los Angeles was up $500 from March and $29,500, or 9.9 percent, from a year ago to $329,500, while Ventura showed the only major monthly boost, going from $375,000 to $382,000.
The overall regional median remained unchanged from March, but was $38,000 ahead of April 2009’s $247,000.
Southern California sales totaled 20,299, down from March’s 20,476 and April 2009’s 20,514. DataQuick attributed the rare March-April decline to buyers shifting the close of escrow into May to take advantage of the $10,000 state homebuyer tax credit as well as the federal credit.
“The market’s still taking baby steps on a long road to recovery, trying to find its footing,” said DataQuick President John Walsh.
The company said sales increased in costlier coastal markets and decreased in less-expensive inland areas. Riverside and San Bernardino counties accounted for 37 percent of Southern California sales in April 2009 and 33.8 percent last month. The market share of $500,000-plus homes rose from 14.8 percent in April 2009 to 19.3 percent last month, and the top third of ZIP codes represented 28.6 percent of sales, up from 23.2 percent a year ago.
Sales of distressed properties eased a bit in April, with foreclosures sales accounting for 36.4 percent of the resale market, down from 38.3 percent in March and 53.5 percent in April 2009.
But speculator activity seemed to grow, based on flipping rates — the percentage of homes resold between three weeks and six months after the initial sale. The rate in April was 3.4 percent, nearly three times the 1.3 percent rate of a year earlier. However, all-cash purchases slipped from 27.9 percent to 27.7 percent from March to April.
Roger Showley: (619) 293-1286; roger.showley@uniontrib.com
