Santa Clarita Valley Home Sales

Up 110%from the Bottom of the

Market

Submitted by isabel on Mon, 08/02/2010 – 2:11pm

Traditional sales are starting to pick up as home buyers in the Santa Clarita Valley accept the current market realities and move to capture favorable prices and low interest rates, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported.

While some regions experienced a slowdown in sales, June activity in the Santa Clarita Valley posted increases in resales of existing single-family homes and condominiums.

A total of 208 homes changed owners, up 3.0 percent from a year ago. It was the second highest total since July of 2009, behind only the 215 sales posted this May. The 208 home sales in June were up 110 percent from the 99 sales posted in January 2008, the lowest monthly total of this economic downturn.

A total of 91 condominiums also changed owners last month, up 2.2 percent from a year ago. Condo sales have been inching toward the 100-sale benchmark since the low point of 31 closed escrows was reported in January 2008. June condo activity was nearly 200 percent above that low point.

œWhile they have no sense of urgency, there are a large number of buyers who want to take advantage of today™s low home prices and even lower interest rates, said Andrew Walter, president of the Association™s Santa Clarita Valley Division. œThe numbers of buyers we™re seeing are reminiscent of what we saw in the late 90™s. œTheir general feeling about the market is that it is gradually improving, Walter said. œWe are seeing more and more regular sales as prospective buyers and current owners see this as the perfect time to jump in or to move up.

The median price of homes sold last month was $400,000, down 2.4 percent from a year ago. While 37.8 percent below the record high, the June single-family median was up 4 percent from December 2008 when the median plunged to $385,000.

The condo median price of $230,000 was down 1.1 percent from a year ago and off 4.2 percent from this May. It was 42.1 percent below the record high, but the June condo median has increased l5.3 percent from the record-low median price of $199,500 reported in March 2009.

œKeeping perspective is difficult when we still have owners losing their homes and short sales remain a major part of sales, said Jim Link, the Association™s chief executive officer. œYet, since the market hit bottom, we™ve seen a steady, slow increase in activity. We have a long way to go, but the pulse is getting stronger.

Link and Walter said sales would have been even higher except for an exceptionally tight inventory, which typically yields multiple offers on all properly-priced properties.

The total active inventory increased 14.6 percent during June to total of 1,021 active listings. Even with the increase, the inventory was a 3.4-month supply at the current pace of sales. A balanced market – where neither buyers nor sellers have an advantage – appears when there is a 5- to 6-month supply.

The single-family inventory of 771 listings was a 3.7-month supply while the condo supply is even tighter – a mere 250 condo listings for a 2.7-month supply at the current pace of sales. Pending escrows – a measure of future resale activity – were off 13.7 percent from a year ago. The Association reported a total of 409 open escrows at the end of June compared to 474 reported a year ago.

Buyers Adusting to the New

 ”Normal” Market

Submitted by isabel on Mon, 08/02/2010 – 2:22pm

The pulse of the local home resale market is growing stronger even with the continued presence of short sales and a tight inventory that restrained sales during June, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported.

Active listings increased slightly last month, but not enough to enlarge the supply to meet demand. A total of 649 homes sold during June, down 16.3 percent from a year ago and 4.4 percent below this May™s tally. Even with the decline, the June total was a 101 percent improvement from the 323 sales posted in January 2008, the month the local market hit bottom and started to rebound.

œBuyers are slowly accepting that today™s market may be with us for the foreseeable future, said Patti Petralia, president of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. œInstead of only pursuing problem properties in pursuit of the lowest price, a growing number of buyers realize that buying from a traditional seller often offers benefits and an easier, smoother, faster transaction than a foreclosure or short sale.

œTraditional sellers must disclose flaws and make repairs while banks typically sell a property ˜as is,™ which leaves it to buyers to do the repair work, Petralia said. œToday™s buyers understand that the lowest price is not always the best choice.

Sales of existing condominiums have rebounded even more dramatically than single-family homes. Condo sales during June hit the highest level since July 2007 with the 262 condo closed escrows up 11.0 percent from a year ago and 23.0 percent higher than this May. Condo sales have increased 150 percent from the record low of 105 sales set in January of 2008.

œSince the market hit bottom, we™ve seen a steady, slow increase in activity, said Jim Link, the Association™s chief executive officer. œWe have a long way to go with short sales still a major factor, but the pulse is getting stronger.

Link and Petralia said resale prices remain well below the record highs of the recent boom market, yet prices also are gradually climbing. œPrices are keeping up with inflation or maybe a little ahead, Link said. œCombine attractive prices with interest rates on home loans in the 4 percent range and it™s easy to see why we have more buyers than we have properties to sell.

Since hitting the record low for this recession of $339,900 in February 2009, the median has increased 13.3 percent. The median price of single-family homes sold during June was $385,000, up 2.7 percent from a year ago.

Likewise, the condo median price of $230,000 was up 1.8 percent from June 2009. While bouncing up and down along the way, condo resale prices have been moving higher – up 21.1 percent – since the low point of $190,000 of January 2009.

œToo often we focus on what was lost to the economic collapse while ignoring the progress made as we recover from that historic downturn, Link said. œOwners who bought at the height of the boom market fully understand and are still suffering because of the economic collapse. Yet today™s prospective buyers could benefit if they shift their focus to how much the market has recovered since hitting bottom.

A total of 3,618 properties were listed for sale throughout the San Fernando Valley at the end of June, up 7.7 percent from a year ago. Of that total, the 2,670 single family listings represented a 4.1-month supply at the current pace of sales. The condominium inventory of 948 active listings was a 3.6-month supply. Pending escrows, a measure of future resale activity, continued to fall during June with 1,083 open escrows reported at the end of the month, down 22.6 percent from a year ago.

Low Inventory, Confusion Over Tax Credit, Slow

January Home Sales

Submitted by isabel on Mon, 03/01/2010 – 10:26am

Resale prices continued to firm up during January, but a combination of factors – a low inventory, confusion over the federal tax credit, and seasonal forces – yielded a slowdown in sales of single-family homes throughout the San Fernando Valley, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported.

Sales typically are light during the Winter months, but the 4.6 percent drop in single-family sales at a time when buyers are scrambling over each other for any property priced under $500,000, had to be due to other factors. A total of 494 homes changed owners last month compared to 518 a year ago.

œThe low number of sales had very much to do with the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers, which everyone thought was set to expire at the end of November, said Patti Petralia, president of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. œThe credit has since been extended to the end of April and expanded to include repeat owners, but the original scheduled deadline dissuaded many buyers from going forward.

Yet even that doesn™t fully explain what turned out to be one of the lowest monthly tallies since the recovery took hold, Petralia said. Sales had been steadily increasing since hitting this cycle™s low-water mark of 323 closed escrows in January 2008. Jim Link, the Association™s chief executive officer, noted that the extremely limited inventory of homes listed for sale also combined to drag sales down.

œThrow in the fact that distressed properties and short sales continue to haunt the market, while it™s still taking too long for lenders to decide if they will accept an offer, and it™s easy to see why sales slowed during January, Link said. œWe expect to see activity pick up as Spring approaches and lenders further improve their response times.

Pending home sales – a measure of future sales activity – were up 6.1 percent from a year ago.

There were only 2,776 homes and condominiums listed for sale at the end of January, down 41.6 percent from the 4,750 active listings of a year ago.

The Association™s current-pace-of-sales-to-inventory index – a measure of the fundamental health of the local market – stood at a 4.0-month supply, a number that in a normal market would tip the balance of power in favor of sellers.

œThe pent-up demand for housing certainly adds pressure on prices, Link said. œYet the normal rules will not apply until more traditional sellers list their homes for sale and the market works through the inventory distressed properties, which still represent a majority of the active listings.

Two years ago January, when sales were low and inventory higher, the index hit its peak for this recession with a 16.2-month supply and some 6,928 properties listed for sale. The ideal is to have a 5- to 6-month inventory, which comes closer to a balanced market.

A total of 204 condominiums closed escrow during January, up 22.9 percent from a year ago, but down 13.6 percent from the December tally. Condos also suffer from a limited inventory even as sales have recovered at a slower pace as buyers focused on the unprecedented opportunities to purchase single-family homes.

The median price of homes and condos continued to firm up during January. Single-family homes sold last month had a median price of $380,000, up 8.6 percent from a year ago. The single-family median has been steadily increasing since dropping to the low point of $339,900 in February 2009.

Likewise, the condominium median price of $215,000 was up 13.2 percent. It, too, has been rising since its low of $185,000 last May.

Petralia said the health of the market greatly depends on what lenders do in the coming months.

œWe need a streamlined process that ensures that short sales close with 90 days of submission to lenders, Petralia said. œWhat would help the process is legislation to allow loan servicers broader authority to approve short sales on behalf of investors.

While foreclosures generally close escrow within a reasonable time frame, Petralia said, œit often takes six months or longer for short sales to close.

When a lender takes longer than three months to decide, she said, œbuyers become frustrated and walk, the property™s condition deteriorates, and the overall value declines.

Petralia hoped that the recent HUD waiver making FHA-insured loans available to homes purchased by investors and resold with 90 days will further stabilize the market by helping buyers with a low down payment get into vacant homes before distressed properties become a blight on the community.

œToo often it still takes six months or longer to close escrows, Petralia said. œThat™s an improvement from a short while ago, but it is imperative that we have even greater cooperation.

Santa Clarita Valley Homes Sales Up 3% During 2009

Submitted by isabel on Tue, 02/02/2010 – 9:28am

Sales of existing single-family homes in the Santa Clarita Valley increased for the second consecutive year during 2009 with the 2,258 closed escrows up 2.9 percent from the tally reported in 2008, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported.

The increase in activity was not as pronounced as the 10.1 percent rise reported in 2008 primarily because tight financing and an extremely limited inventory of properties listed for sale restricted sales even as buyers returned to the market to capture favorable prices, low interest rates and a federal tax rebate.

Annual condominium sales also increased during 2009, posting a 0.5 percent gain over 2008. It was the first increase in condo annual sales after three consecutive years of declines. A total of 840 condos changed owners last year.

The 3,098 properties negotiated by Realtors during 2009 generated $1.16 billion for home buyers, sellers and the local economy. Typically, each sale yields many thousands of dollars more as buyers paint, landscape, remodel and purchase appliances to prepare a home for occupancy.

œOverall, what we™re seeing is very encouraging, said Andrew Walter, the 2010 president of the Association™s Santa Clarita Valley Division. œThe bottom has passed and in 2010 we™re likely to see more sales and a slow, steady increase in resale prices.

The annual median price of single-family homes sold last year declined for the third consecutive year, although not as steeply as in 2008. The 2009 annual median of $407,208 was down 8.5 percent from the prior year, compared with a 22.0 percent drop posted in 2008.

However, Walter noted that the low point for resale prices of this real estate cycle came in December 2008 when the monthly median hit $385,000.

Ever since, prices have been trending higher as multiple bidders compete over a limited number of homes for sale. The year ended with a December median price of $417,500, the highest monthly median of the year.

œIt™s very important for consumers to understand that while prices are still the most favorable in many years, the demand for entry-level homes is so strong that we™re seeing multiple offers on the limited number of properties listed under $500,000, Walter said.

œWe™re blessed that Santa Clarita is such a desirable place to live, Walter said, œyet that translates into added competition on every listing and the need to present offers over list price if a buyer wants a real chance of success.

With most buyers hoping to take advantage of a unique opportunity to buy a single- family home, condominium resale prices have been slow to recover, although there, too, the low point appears to have passed with the lowest monthly median of this cycle appearing in March.

The condo annual median price of $226,567 was 15.5 percent lower last year, which was an improvement from the 24.1 percent drop in the annual price seen in 2008. It was the third consecutive the condo annual median fell.

œPrices are still down from the prior year, which is what attracts buyers, said Jim Link, the Association™s chief executive officer, œbut the upward trend in prices has narrowed the gap.

œThe market certainly is not healthy or even balanced, with the scale still favoring buyers, Link said, œbut it certainly has improved and is much better off than this time last year.

December ended on a relatively positive note, even with a limited inventory. December single-family sales of 178 homes were off 7.3 percent from the prior year, but up 9.9 percent from November as buyers sought to lock in the federal tax credit, which had been set to expire at the end of November but has since been extended through April 30. December condo sales of 94 units were up 5.6 percent from the prior year and rose 30.6 percent from the November tally.

There were 738 properties listed for sale at the end of December throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. That was down 44.7 percent from the prior year. At the current pace of sales, the inventory represents a mere 2.7-month supply, down from the 4.7-month supply of December 2008. A supply of 5- to 6-months is believed to represent a œbalanced market. Pending escrows, a measure of future resale activity, increased 16.7 percent during December, which suggests the market will remain busy well into the Spring.

San Fernando Valley Homes Sales Post Strong

 Gains in 2009

Submitted by isabel on Tue, 02/02/2010 – 9:30am

Single-family home and condominium sales throughout the San Fernando Valley during 2009 handily surpassed totals reported in 2008 as the most favorable resale prices in years, federal tax credits and low interest rates attracted legions of buyers eager to benefit from a unique moment in time, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported.

The 7,793 single-family home sold last year were 9.9 percent higher than 2008. It marked the second consecutive year that sales increased after four consecutive years of annual drops beginning in 2004.

Likewise, after six consecutive years of declines in condominium sales, 2009 ended with 2,494 condos changing owners. That number was up 15.4 percent over the prior year.

The 10,287 sales negotiated by San Fernando Valley Realtors contributed $4.2 billion to the local economy, not including the additional sales, ranging from furniture and appliances to remodeling and landscaping, that each sale typically generates.

“This is the opportunity market for many people who have been sitting on the sidelines,” said Patti Petralia, the 2010 president of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. “There is enough pent-up demand that I sense that the entry level market is still going to be very strong as we move into the New Year.”

Petralia and Jim Link, the Association™s chief executive officer, were guardedly optimistic that 2010 will be a stabilizing, active year for local real estate, barring any unforeseen changes in the economy.

“While the tide has turned,” Link said, “we™re still not where we™d like to be due to the continued presences of short pays, a dwindling number of foreclosures, and an overall lack of inventory. Still, we™re certainly past the worst of the residential real estate recession ”

The number of foreclosures is down, but some analysts believe banks have what is called a “shadow inventory” of foreclosed properties that could be released sometime this year, an inventory that Link and Petralia said current demand could absorb.

Virtually every property listed below $500,000 receives multiple offers that typically are higher than the list price simple because there are not enough properties listed to meet demand.

The 2,667 active listings at the end of December were down 44.6 percent from a year ago. At the current pace of sales, the inventory represents a 3.1-month supply, down from a 5.20-month supply a year ago. A balanced market emerges when the supply hovers between a 5- and 6-month supply.

The lack of inventory stopped the slide in the median price of single-family, which bottomed out in February at $339,900 and has been climbing ever since, posting a $400,000 median price in December.

While prices have been climbing higher on a month-to-month basis, the annual median price posted a decline compared to the prior year. The annual median price of single-family homes for 2009 was $372,483, down 14.6 percent from 2008 for the second consecutive year of declines. In 2008 the annual median of $435,687 was down 26.6 percent from the 2007 record-high annual median of $611,933.

Similarly, the condominium annual median price fell for the third consecutive year during 2009. The year ended with a condo median of $218,650, down 22.6 percent from 2008. The record high annual condo median of $394,917 was set in 2006.

It has taken longer for condo prices to stabilize as buyers focused on the unique opportunities presented to purchase single-family homes, Link said. The condo median hit its low point of this cycle in January 2009 with a median of $190,000.

The year ended with the December median price at $240,000.

While it varies from lender to lender, with some adhering to stricter rules than others, Petralia said home loans are more available than a few months ago.

“It depends on the borrower,” she said. “Getting a loan might take longer, there may be more eyeballs scanning every document, but loans are available if the borrower has good credit and good documentation.”

Link said the lending industry is slowing adjusting although some are being overly cautious.

“What is being sorted out now was an over correction,” Link said. “Not long ago, lenders too quickly gave money to people who didn™t qualify. Now they sometimes are too slow to lend to those who do qualify.”

Pending escrows, a measure of future sales activity, were up 2.8 percent over a year ago, suggesting that the revived market will continue for months to come.

“It™s all good news compared to a year ago,” Petralia said.

SCV Market Gains Momemtum

Submitted by isabel on Mon, 12/07/2009 – 11:08am

Buyers competing over an exceptionally tight inventory of homes listed for sale pushed activity higher and contributed to gains in the median resale price of homes sold throughout the Santa Clarita Valley during October, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors ® reported.
A total of 197 single-family homes changed owners last month, down 4.8 percent from a year ago, but 10.7 percent above this September. After 13 months of increases in year-to-year sales, five of the last six months have reported sales declines primarily due to the very limited supply of homes listed for sale.
 
Likewise, 73 condominiums closed escrow during October, down 18.0 percent from October 2008, yet up 12.3 percent from this September.
 
“Competition for listings is extremely intense and there are good signs emerging for the local housing market, which remains a very desirable area to live,” said Nancy Starczyk, president of the Association™s Santa Clarita Valley Division. “Yet we need to temper our optimism: We still face a long-term housing recovery, a sluggish economy and significant unemployment.”
 
Starczyk said increases in activity are partly due to first-time buyers racing to capture the $8,000 federal tax credit, thinking it was going to expire at the end of November. That credit has been extended until April and expanded to include a $6,500 federal tax credit for existing owners who trade up or trade down with a purchase of a home.
 
“While some regions of the nation have a huge backlog of homes listed for sale, Santa Clarita and many other Southern California communities see dozens of offers on virtually every listing, especially those priced under $500,000, simply because the prices are favorable and the supply is so tight,” said Jim Link, the Association™s chief executive officer.
 
A total of 729 properties were on the market throughout the Santa Clarita Valley at the end of October. That was down a whopping 53.7 percent from a year ago and represents a 2.7-month supply at the current pace of sales, compared to a 5.3-month a year ago. A balanced market appears when the supply is between a 5- and 6- month supply.
 
“Demand is so heavy that many more homes could be sold, if only there were more listed for sale,” Link said. “Consequently, the pressure on prices is building.”
 
The median price of the 197 single-family homes sold last month was $420,000, down 2.3 percent from a year ago, but up 2.4 percent from this September.
 
That was the highest median price this year and comes following months of fluctuations in the $400,000 and $410,000 range after the median hit its low point of $385,000 in December 2008. It was also the second consecutive month and the fourth of the last five months that the median declined a mere single-digit on a year-to-year basis.
 
While not the highest this year, the $235,000 median condominium price posted in October was down 2.5 percent from a year ago, but up 7.8 percent from this September. It was the first month since December 2007 that the condo median dropped a single-digit after 21 months of 10 percent, 20 percent and 30 percent plunges.
 
With the extension and expansion of the federal tax credits, both Link and Starczyk expected the market to remain active even at a time of year when sales typically drop off. Pending escrows – a measure of future resale activity – increased 14.5 percent during October.

Tight Inventory Slows SFV Homes Sales, Pushes

Resale Prices Higher

Submitted by isabel on Mon, 12/07/2009 – 11:09am

Home sales fell compared to the prior year for the first time in 16 months during October throughout the San Fernando Valley due to an extremely tight inventory that has triggered dozens of offers on virtually every property listed for sale under $500,000, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors ® reported.

The exceptional demand from buyers eager to take advantage of a federal tax credit and the most favorable resale prices in years pushed home and condo prices higher
 
“There is widespread interest in buying a home with dozens of competing bids coming in on virtually every property listed under $500,000 and a few examples of properties receiving 50 to even 100 offers,” said Ana Maria Colon, president of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors ®.
 
“It™s preposterous and difficult to believe,” she said, “yet multiple offers and this intense competition also illustrate the underlying faith consumers have in the economy along with their deep desire to own a home.”
 
Unfortunately, Colon said, because there are so few properties listed for sale traditional buyers – even those coming in with a 50 percent down payment, a job and high credit scores – often lose to all-cash buyers, many of whom are investors.
 
There were a mere 2,858 properties listed for sale throughout the San Fernando Valley at the end of October, a number that was down 51.7 percent from a year ago.
 
“At the current rate of sales, the inventory represents a mere 3.2-month supply,” said Jim Link, the Association™s chief executive officer, noting that a “balanced market” appears when there is a 5- to 6-month supply. A year ago the inventory represented a 6.0-month supply.
 
“Realtors ® would be completing many more sales if the inventory was higher,” Link said. “We expect the market to remain very busy well into next year, particularly now that the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time buyers has been extended through April and existing home owners who trade up or down are also eligible for a $6,000 tax credit.”
 
Pending escrows – a measure of future resale activity – were up 5.9 percent from a year ago, supporting the view that the market will remain busy even with the coming of holidays and the traditionally slow period of the year.
 
The single-family median price of $390,000 was off 4.9 percent from a year ago but posted a 2.6 percent increase from September. The year-to-year declines have been a mere single-digit for four consecutive months after years of double-digit declines that peaked with a 37 percent drop in September of 2008.
 
The condominium median price of $235,000 was up 4.4 percent from October 2008 and 1.3 percent higher than this September. The condo median bottomed out with the $1 85,000 median of this May and has been climbing higher ever since with prices in the $230,000 range for the last three months.
 
A total of 663 single-family homes closed escrow throughout the San Fernando Valley during October, a decline of 11.0 percent from a year ago and 3.1 percent below this September™s tally.
 
There were 228 condo sales, down 2.6 percent from a year ago, but up 20.6 percent from the 189 sales of this September.

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