With the economy being battered by bad economic news it appears that potential homebuyers in the South Bay stayed on the sidelines last month. This sent sales to their lowest level for a July in more than two decades, according to a report Tuesday by DataQuick.
DataQuick reported it has seen no lower July sales numbers for existing single-family houses in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties since it started keeping records in 1988. The previous worst July was in 2008 in Santa Clara County and last year in San Mateo County.
The report states that the median price paid for an existing single-family home in Santa Clara County also sagged from June, dropping 5.5 percent to $565,000. San Mateo County’s median price dropped 1 percent to $647,000.
The drop in sales came as no surprise as we have been seeing buyers pull back and sellers take homes off the market if they can’t get the price they want.
Interest rates are low and prices are reasonable, but it’s still not easy for many potential buyers to get a loan.
Sales of existing single-family houses in Santa Clara County dropped 16 percent from June to July and were 6 percent lower than a year ago.
San Mateo County saw a 14 percent drop in sales from June, but sales were almost unchanged from a year earlier.
Condominium sales were much stronger — up 15 percent over the year in Santa Clara County and up 4.6 percent in San Mateo County.
Foreclosures and short sales accounted for nearly 35 percent of the market in Santa Clara County and 30 percent in San Mateo County.
The FBI reported Friday that mortgage fraud remains widespread in the depressed housing market, with perpetrators motivated by high profits and little risk of getting caught.
In the FBI’s annual report on mortgage fraud it said such schemes are particularly resilient and hard to discover and that their total cost is unknown. The Real estate firm CoreLogic feels that more than $10 billion in loans were made with fraudulent application data in 2010 the report also noted.
Fraud last year stayed at levels seen in 2009 as the housing market remained in distress. This provided ample opportunity for schemes, the report said. It predicted that perpetrators would continue to seek new methods to circumvent loopholes and gaps in the mortgage lending market.
The most prevalent schemes involve falsifying financial information to qualify buyers who otherwise would be ineligible for a loan. Other crimes involve inflated appraisals, including schemes that use dishonest appraisals to sell homes at elevated prices. Some get-rich-quick schemes persuade investors to buy rental property or land believing the price will appreciate quickly.
The FBI says the crimes are committed by licensed and unlicensed brokers, loan officers, real estate agents, appraisers and other industry insiders who use their expertise to exploit vulnerabilities in the system. Organized crime groups are also behind some of the fraud the report said.
The top states for mortgage fraud last year were California, Florida, New York, Illinois, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Texas, Georgia, Maryland and New Jersey, the FBI reported.
The agency says it is dedicating resources to combat the threat, including an initiative launched in June 2010 called Operation Stolen Dreams that targeted mortgage fraud throughout the country.
San Jose, 95125 Summary
The median sales price for homes in ZIP code 95125 for Apr 11 to Jun 11 was $635,000. This represents an increase of 7.5%, or $44,500, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 2.3% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have depreciated 18.1% over the last 5 years in 95125, San Jose. The median sales price of $635,000 for 95125 is 60.76% higher than the median sales price for San Jose CA. Average listing price for homes on Trulia in ZIP code 95125 was $763,101 for the week ending Jul 27, which represents an increase of 1.6%, or $11,794 compared to the prior week and an increase of 7.4%, or $52,852, compared to the week ending Jul 06. Average price per square foot for homes in 95125 was $390 in the most recent quarter, which is 35.42% higher than the average price per square foot for homes in San Jose.
San Jose, 95124 Summary
The median sales price for homes in ZIP code 95124 for Apr 11 to Jun 11 was $579,500. This represents an increase of 0.8%, or $4,500, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 3.4% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have depreciated 20.5% over the last 5 years in 95124, San Jose. The median sales price of $579,500 for 95124 is 48.59% higher than the median sales price for San Jose CA. Average listing price for homes on Trulia in ZIP code 95124 was $652,541 for the week ending Jul 05, which represents a decline of 1%, or $6,626 compared to the prior week and a decline of 0.9%, or $5,742, compared to the week ending Jun 14. Average price per square foot for homes in 95124 was $371 in the most recent quarter, which is 29.72% higher than the average price per square foot for homes in San Jose.
