The outlook for California's real estate market is looking brighter. (Photo: iStockphoto)
The median home price for new and resale homes in California was up in October from the previous month according to MDA DataQuick, which monitors real estate activity nationwide.
The median sales price for October was $257,000, a 2.4 percent increase over the $251,000 in September. The number of sales rose 2.6 percent from September to October. The numbers were generally consistent throughout the state.
In Southern California, sales were up 2.8 percent and the median price grew 1.8 percent from $275,000 in September to October’s $280,000. The news was even better in Northern California, where the median price was up 6.5 percent from September and had a year-over-year gain of 1.5 percent. It was the first time since November 2007 that the region experienced year-over-year price growth.
“The regional price statistics mainly reflect the fading of the foreclosures and the uptick in high-end activity in recent months,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president, regarding the Northern California market.
In Southern California, two counties — Orange and San Diego — had year-over-year price increases. Orange County had a 1.9 percent increase in the median price of resale homes and San Diego County was 2.9 percent higher than the previous year for resale homes.
Although the other SoCal counties did not have year-over-year gains, it was still good news in that it could foretell future increases. Orange County traditionally is the real estate market that is last to decline and the first to return because of its popularity with home buyers. San Diego County was the first to be hit by the declining market, nearly a year before the rest of SoCal, so it’s logical it would lead a turnaround.
Unlike NorCal, a drop in foreclosures and buyers in the move-up market were not behind the increase in median price for SoCal. Sales of properties above $500,000 fell to 18.5 percent of sales after accounting for 20.2 percent in September.
This means the likely influence on prices is the continued high demand for entry-level homes. Properties in this market are often getting multiple bids, especially if they are priced below the area median, which is pushing sales prices above asking in many areas.—Rick Hazeltine