As Seen in DQNews.com

January 17, 2012

La Jolla, CA—Southern California home sales surged last month from November – as they normally do – amid relatively strong activity under $300,000 and a record share of sales to “absentee” buyers, mainly investors. But with the purchase plans of many ordinary buyers and sellers still on hold, the year-end rush couldn’t lift sales above December 2010. Moreover, investors’ focus on lower-cost homes helped push the median sale price back down to its 2011 low point, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 19,247 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in December. That was up 14.0 percent from 16,884 in November but down 1.4 percent from 19,528 in December 2010, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

It’s normal for sales to jump between November and December, in part because some investors want to close their deals before year’s end for tax reasons. On average, sales have risen 13.2 percent between November and December since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin.