Data for the month of March brought good news for the California housing market and appears to have confirmed what local real estate professionals are saying - that this spring season will see momentum in the market. According to California Association of REALTORS® improvement in the overall economy and favorable market conditions have led to increases in both the median price and home sales in March.
Information collected from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide shows in March, closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 514,090 units, an increase of about 3 percent month-over-month and 1.5 percent year-to-year.
"For the first time in many months, we are seeing a genuine improvement in the overall economy, especially with respect to jobs," said the state REALTOR® group president Beth L. Peerce.
The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home sold in California was up 5.4 percent in March compared with February's median of $286,010, but down 4.9 percent from March 2010's median price of $300,900.
"The pace of sales for the first three months of this year is in line with our expectations for all of 2011," said the state Realtor group's vice president and chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young.
According to the state REALTOR® association's sales and price report, Santa Clara County sales of existing, single-family detached homes in March were up 52.7 percent from the previous month and increased 2 percent from the same period last year. The median price for an existing single-family home in March was $561,500, up nearly 7 percent from the previous month's median of $525,250, though 4.8 percent below the March 2010 median price of $590,000.
"You have to understand the market at this time last year was spurred by the federal first time home buyer tax credit. We don't have that incentive this year. The market is improving on its own, and this is good," said Gene Lentz, president of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® .
"Our members have reported the market has picked up. The mood is certainly more upbeat and busy than in previous months. The housing market traditionally picks up in the spring, too," added Lentz.
The Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes in Santa Clara County was 3.7 months in March, down from 5.4 months in February and 3.8 in March 2010. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate. The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 27.4 days in March, compared with 39.3 days in February and 23 days for the same period a year ago.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.