Existing Home Sales Nearly Flat in July : Figures Down 14.8% from Last July as Real Estate Market Slows

Sales of used houses in California were nearly flat in July, lagging far behind last year’s torrid sales pace, the California Assn. of Realtors said Tuesday.

Statewide, home sales increased 0.9% in July compared to June but were down 14.8% compared to July, 1988, the trade association said.

High home prices have slowed sales in many areas of the state, the group said. The median price of a house was $202,650 in July, up 16.2% from $174,388 in July, 1988. But price increases are slowing, too: from June’s statewide median of $200,445, the price rose 1.1% in July.

The trade association credited slightly lower mortgage rates--which began dropping in May--for July’s slight uptick in home sales. Those lower rates began showing up in mortgages that were closed in July, when the national average rate fell for the first time in nine months. It was 10.59% in June and 10.39% in July, according to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

With the slowdown in home sales in recent months, the inventory of unsold houses has gradually increased. As of July, it would take 7.1 months to sell them all at the present sales rate. That was up from 5.8 months in May and 4.1 months in July, 1988.

San Francisco Most Expensive

After a strong first quarter, sales began slowing in the April-to-June period. The trade association expects sales in the second half of the year to continue slowing, said Leslie Appleton-Young, vice president for research and economics.

“Last year was a very hot market,” she said. “This year it’s been slowing for the last three months, and it will continue to do so.”

Prices remain sky-high in many of the state’s urban areas, making them among the most expensive housing markets in the nation.

The San Francisco area was the most expensive market in the state at $269,982 in July, up 26.2% from last year’s $214,016 and 0.4% from June’s $268,903.

In Orange County, the state’s second-most expensive market, the median price was $255,897. That was an increase of 19.5% from $214,227 a year ago and 1.7% from $251,674 in June.

Ventura’s median price was $252,451, up 22.9% from last year’s $205,494 and 1.5% from $248,728 in June.

The Los Angeles area was fourth: The median price was $224,456, up 20.6% from $186,133 a year ago and 1% from June’s $220,253.

Sales in all four markets were down compared to the previous month and to July a year ago. Los Angeles sales dropped 4.1% from June to July, and 26.6% from a year ago.