Monterey County Home Sales Up 104.8% over Last Year

Sales of single-family, re-sale homes surged in 2008, driven mainly by the foreclosure market.

The sales were concentrated in the lower end of the market in cities such as East Salinas, up 411.4%, North Salinas, up 331.4%, Seaside, up 196.6%.

On the other hand, these are the cities in which prices declined the greatest also. The median price in Sales was down 57.4%, in North Salinas, -45.8%, in South County, -45.9%.

December sales of single-family, re-sale homes in Monterey County were up 256.3% year-over-year. The 367 sales recorded last month set a new all-time record.

Home prices continue to be affected by the bank-owned property that has flooded the market.

The median price fell 5.5% from November, and was off 55.2% year-over-year.

Inventory declined 11.5% from November, and was off 25.8% compared to December 2007.

The monthly increase in sales combined with the drop in inventory pushed our Days of Inventory indicator down 75 days to 154 days, the lowest it has been since September 2005.

The sales price to list price ratio fell 0.9 of a point to 97.5%.

Condo sales rose 16.7% from November, and were up 211.1% year-over-year.

The median price for condos gained 12.7% month-over-month, but was off 68.9% compared to last December.

The real estate market is very hard to generalize. It is a market made up of many micro markets. For complete information on a particular neighborhood or property, call me.

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