Investors push Southern California home sales higher

Dataquick stated that investors have pushed home sales in Southern California apx. 14% higher in December than November. The real estate research firm also reported that there were a total of 19,247 resale, new homes and condos sold in Southern California California area in December.

Demand grew for homes priced under $300,000. The fact that more lower-cost homes were sold during the period pushed the median Southern California sales price down to $270,000, compared to $275,000 a month earlier.

The median home value in the area fell 46.5%, when compared to the medain price of $505,000 in mid-2007.

The number of homes that sold for less than $200,000 rose 5.9% from a year earlier, while the number of transactions in the $300,000 to $800,000-price range dropped 10.7%. Sales above $800,000 dropped 21.2%.

Short sales made up 20% of the area's resales in December. Foreclosure resales represented 32.5% of the December home sales in Southern California, up from 31.6% in November and down from 35.1% a year earlier.