DataQuick: SoCal Home Sales at Two Decade Low

Note that foreclosure resales were 41.1% of all resales in June!

From DataQuick: Southland home sales drag along bottom

DataQuick’s final stats for June show the median home-selling price at $495,000, a 2% increase above May — though pricing is still down 23.3% vs. a year ago. That’s when the current all-time high of $645,000 was set.

While last month's sales were the highest in ten months, it was still the slowest June in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988. The June average is 28,488 sales, the peak was reached in 2005 when 40,156 homes sold.

The Register chose to note the monthly price increase, certainly a modest one, because it’s the first time price have increased month-to-month since November. Even with steep discounting, Sales remain sluggish: June buying was 26.9% below a year ago.

In Orange County, only 6 of 83 ZIPs saw improved pricing vs. a year ago. (More ZIP-by-ZIP analysis is HERE)

Foreclosure resales continue to be a dominant factor in today's Southern California market accounting for 41.1 percent of all resales. That was up from 39.2 percent in May, and up from 7.3 percent in June a year ago. Foreclosure resales ranged from 18.9 percent in Orange County last month to 62.3 percent in Riverside County.

Also, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says SoCal rents went back to the future in June, notching the fourth straight month of gains in the 4%-a-year range. That’s the first such run under 5% since ‘02-’03.

In the LA-Orange County-Riverside area, June rents were up 4.5% over the previous 12 months vs. a 5.9 percent increase in June 2007, according to latest numbers.

For the first six months of this year, year-over-year rent increases averaged 4.8%, the lowest first half since 2000, when the average hike was 3.8%.