Momentum from the spring homebuying season carried over to the summer in San Diego County as inventory levels remain lower than normal and distressed sales continue to drop, according to Tuesday's DataQuick report.
June home prices in San Diego County rose 0.1 percent to $335,500 from May and 1.7 percent from a year ago, says the La Jolla-based real estate tracker.
There were a total of 3,756 sales, up 0.2 percent from May and up 9.1 percent year-over-year. June's sales number is the highest it's been since June 2010, the final month shoppers could take advantage of the federal homebuyer's tax credit.
June's number of single-family homes resold on the San Diego-area market, which makes up the bulk of monthly deals, was 2,459, ticking down 1.2 percent from May. Still, last month's tally of single-family resales hovers close to the nearly-seven year high of 2,488 that was recorded in May's DataQuick report.
What's elevating sales and prices in San Diego County and throughout California? A number of things:
Mortgage rates continue to slide to new lows. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed has been below 4 percent for the past four months, while the 15-year fixed has been below 3 percent for 7 weeks. They're apparently attracting qualified buyers (those who have the income and good credit) out to the market.
Distressed sales keep falling. Short sales and foreclosures resold on the market comprised 42.2 percent of the resale segment in California. That's the lowest it's been since February 2008, when it was 41.4 percent, based on DataQuick figures. This share of the market is declining because more people are averting foreclosure. Foreclosures in San Diego County are at their lowest levels in more than five years. In May, 426 homes were foreclosed upon, down 51 percent from a year ago.
Inventory levels are lower than normal. In June, there were 6,184 active listings in San Diego County, the lowest level in at least three years, according to numbers from the San Diego Association of Realtors. (Note: The trade group has been tracking listing figures long before that, but it began splitting active and contingent listings in June 2009 to get a sense of the number of short sales in progress.) Using the data set that starts in June 2009, active listings in the county peaked at 13,123 in September 2010. We're now about 52 percent below that level.
DataQuick president John Walsh says June's overall numbers for California look encouraging, but holds a wait-and-see attitude.
"With inventory and foreclosure resales dwindling, more housing markets appear to be entering an early recovery phase," said Walsh in Tuesday's report. "But in some cases we consider their status to be fairly precarious. What happens next will hinge largely on the strength of the economy and the decisions lenders make regarding scores of distressed properties that continue to hang over the market."
Written by
Lily Leung
