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Southern California home sales hit a five-year high for a September, rising slightly above a year earlier for the first time in 12 months amid gains for mid- to high-end deals. The median sale price fell below an 80-month high reached in August and for the first time in more than two years none of the Southland counties posted a double-digit year-over-year price gain, CoreLogic DataQuick reported.
A total of 19,348 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 2.9 percent from 18,796 sales in August, and up 1.2 percent from 19,112 sales in September 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.
On average, sales have fallen 9.4 percent between August and September since 1988, when CoreLogic DataQuick statistics begin. Last month marked the first time sales have risen on a year-over-year basis since September last year, when sales rose 7.0 percent from September 2012.
September home sales have ranged from a low of 12,455 in 2007 to a high of 37,771 in 2003. Last month’s sales were 18.3 percent below the September average of 23,695 sales.
The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region last month was $413,000, down 1.7 percent from $420,000 in August and up 8.1 percent from $382,000 in September 2013. The August 2014 median was the highest for any month since December 2007, when it was $425,000.
The median’s 8.1 percent year-over-year gain in September marked the fourth consecutive month with a single-digit annual increase following 22 straight months of double-digit gains of as much as 28.3 percent.
“Price appreciation has dipped into single-digit territory as more would-be buyers get priced out, investors back off and incomes rise modestly at best. Yet there are still upward forces on home prices: Jobs are being created and families started at a time when the supply of existing homes for sale, as well as the number of new homes being built, remains relatively low. The good news for those looking to buy a home now is that mortgage rates remain very low in an historical context, and we’re past the peak home-buying season. Today’s home shoppers are more likely to find a less-crowded market with fewer intense multiple-offer situations and more serious, realistic sellers,” said Andrew LePage, an analyst with Irvine-based CoreLogic DataQuick.
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