California home sales stall in July

California home prices remained almost flat in July but sales stalled as federal tax credits for buyers expired.

The median price paid for a home last month was $268,000, down less than 1% from June, and up 7.2% from July 2009, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego. The year-over-year increase was the ninth in a row after 27 months of year-over-year declines, the real estate research firm said Thursday.

The bottom of the current cycle was $221,000 in April 2009, while the peak median was $484,000 in early 2007. The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

An estimated 35,202 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was down 20% from June, and down 22% from July 2009.

Of the existing homes sold last month, 35.6% were properties that had been foreclosed on during the last year. That was up from 34% in June and down from 43.5% in July a year ago. The all-time high was in February 2009 at 58.5%.

Market indicators continue to move in different directions.

Foreclosure activity is off peak levels but remains high by historical standards, DataQuick said. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable and the number of investors getting into the market is growing.

Bay Area sales hit their lowest level for a July in 15 years, the data provider said, falling 19.1% from June in San Francisco, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, Napa, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma counties. The 6,773 sales were down almost 23% from July 2009.

The median price paid for all new and resale Bay Area houses and condos combined was $402,000, down 2% from June but up almost 2% from July 2009.

Southern California experienced similar trends, according to DataQuick statistics released Tuesday. The median price was $295,000 in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties in July. That was a 1.6% drop from June but a 10% increase from a year earlier.

A total of 18,946 homes were sold in the region in July, a 20.6% drop from the previous month and a decline of 21.4% from July 2009, DataQuick said.

roger.vincent@latimes.com