Home-sale volume still depressed

The number of homes sold in California fell in October from a year earlier, signaling that potential buyers were waiting to see whether prices stabilize before jumping into the market, a research firm said Wednesday.

A total of 42,750 new and existing houses and condos were sold in California in October, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick Information Systems.

The figure represents a 21.7% decline from October 2005 and a 0.7% increase from September, the firm said. It was the slowest October since 1997, when 41,850 residences were sold.

Statewide, home prices were fairly stable. The median price paid for a home in October was $467,000, up 2.9% from the same month last year and 0.2% from September, DataQuick said.

Buyers and sellers were playing a game of wait-and-see that probably won’t end until spring, DataQuick analyst John Karevoll said.