California home sales climb in August as prices hold steady
California’s housing market showed strength in August with sales posting their best showing for that month in six years and prices holding steady.
Sales rose 4.5% from July and 9.4% from August 2011 to total 41,280, real estate firm DataQuick reported. Although still below the historical average for the month, it was the best performance for an August since 2006.
The median home price for the state was $281,000, the same as in July and up 14.1% from August 2011. It was the sixth consecutive month that the median rose year-over-year. The median — the point at which half the homes in the state sold for more and half for less — has climbed 27% from its lowest point, reached in April 2009.
Sales could cool off a bit heading into the slower fall and winter months and prices could decline somewhat, experts said.
Foreclosed homes and short sales made up 38.2% of the August market, the lowest share since January 2009. Foreclosures made up 1 in 5 homes sold on the resale market last month while short sales constituted slightly less than 1 in 5.
In Southern California, sales rose 9% from July and 14.2% from August 2011 to hit 22,438. The region’s median home price reached $309,000 last month, up 1% from July and 10.8% from a year earlier.
In the Bay Area, August sales increased 1.4% from the prior month and 14.2% from August 2011 to total 8,579. The median home price in the Bay Area was $410,000, down 2.6% from July and up 10.8% from August 2011.
