Improvement Seen at September 2009 CA Homes Sales ~ California Association of Realtors

The California Association of Realtors has issued its September 2009 homes sales report, which has some good news.

Home sold units at CA increased 2.1 percent in September as compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home declined 7.3 percent.

"The market's momentum continued in September, as many home buyers took advantage of the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers," said C.A.R. President James Liptak.

"The success of the federal tax credit is clear. Nearly 70 percent of first-time home buyers report that the tax credit was ‘the most important' or a ‘very important' factor in their decision to buy a home.

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• Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 530,520 in September at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate.

This is according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations statewide.

• Statewide home resale activity increased 2.1 percent from the revised 519,530 sales pace recorded in September 2008. Sales in September 2009 increased 0.6 percent compared with the previous month.

So they anticipate more than 519,000 homes will be sold in California this year.

• C.A.R.'s Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes in September 2009 was 4.2 months (short market time) as compared with 6.5 months (revised) for the same period a year ago.

This shows number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the California market at the current sales rate.

• California median Home sold prices were down 7.3 percent in September 2009, which is as expected.

The California Assoc. of Realtors report relied on stats from DataQuick Information Systems for home sold prices, and DataQuick uses county records data rather than MLS information. See DataQuick statistics on home sold prices by county and city.

California Association of Realtor September 2009 Home Sales Report (click here to see the article).

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Harrison K. Long, Realtor and Broker, Coldwell Banker Previews, Irvine, CA. DRE 01410855. Email - ExploreProperties@gmail.com.