Jim Guido's Blog

A shortage of homes for sale drive down pending home sales in December; share of distressed sales increase after months of decline.

Seasonal factors, combined with low housing inventory, particularly a lack of real estate-owned homes (REOs), drove California pending home sales lower in December, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.  However, the share of distressed properties increased in December, as lenders pushed to close short sales and move them off their balance sheets.

Pending home sales data:

C.A.R.’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* fell 20.5 percent from a revised 103.5 in November to 82.3 in December, based on signed contracts.  Pending sales were down 6.5 percent from the 88.1 index recorded in December 2011.  Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.

Distressed housing market data:

• The share of equity sales – or non-distressed property sales – compared with total sales decreased for the first time in 11 months.  The share of equity sales in December decreased to 63.6 percent, down from 64.9 percent in November.  Equity sales were still higher than December 2011’s share of 48.4 percent.
• After falling steadily for the past several months, the combined share of all distressed property sales rose to 36.4 percent in December, up from 35.1 percent in November but down from 51.6 percent in December 2011.
• Of the distressed properties, the share of short sales was 25 percent in December, up from 23.4 percent in November and from 24 percent a year ago.
• The share of REO sales dipped to 11 percent in December from 11.3 percent in November and was down from 27.2 percent in December 2011.
• The available supply of REOs dipped in December, with the Unsold Inventory Index for REOs declining from 2.1 months in November to 1.9 months in December. The December Unsold Inventory Index was 2.7 months for equity sales and 2.4 months for short sales.

San Jose, 95124 Summary

The median sales price for homes in ZIP code 95124 for Oct 12 to Dec 12 was $642,000. This represents a decline of 1.6%, or $10,500, compared to the prior quarter and an increase of 12.6% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have depreciated 14.4% over the last 5 years in 95124, San Jose. The median sales price of $642,000 for 95124 is 32.92% higher than the median sales price for San Jose CA. Average listing price for homes on Trulia in ZIP code 95124 was $711,595 for the week ending Jan 09, which represents an increase of 4%, or $27,534 compared to the prior week and an increase of 4.4%, or $29,744, compared to the week ending Dec 19. Average price per square foot for homes in 95124 was $425 in the most recent quarter, which is 23.55% higher than the average price per square foot for homes in San Jose.

95124, San Jose Homes For Sale

95124, San Jose Recently Sold Homes

MLSListings Market Indicators Report: Dec. 2012 (Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties) 

December Housing Update: Silicon Valley Inventory – How Low Can It Go? 

Silicon Valley single family inventory continues its drop from December 2011 levels with Santa Clara County down 57% and San Mateo County following closely down 52%. Sales were mixed in December with San Benito County up 11%, Santa Clara up 9%, and San Mateo up 7%. Monterey County sales dropped 12% and Santa Cruz was down just 3%. New listings fell in all counties, ranging from a drop of 20% in San Mateo County to a decrease of 36% in Monterey County. Median homes sale price continues to rise by double-digits in all counties, with San Benito up 43%, San Mateo up 31% and both Monterey and Santa Clara County median sales price rose 27%. Santa Cruz County grew 12%.

Month-over-month comparisons showed a drop in inventory and new listings in all counties from last month. Median homes sale price seemed to stabilize, ranging between being flat in Santa Clara County to an increase of 8% in Monterey County. San Mateo County rose 2%, San Benito 2%, and Santa Clara County remained flat. Data for month-over-month comparisons can be found on www.mlslistings.com