California home sales rose on a monthly and annual basis in November, according to the latest California Association of REALTORS® report. It is the fifth consecutive month that sales increased year-to-year. The data for high-cost areas like Santa Clara County did not mirror the state's positive trend, a sign that the lowering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan limits could be negatively impacting sales.
Information from 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide showed closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes increased to 503,570 units in November, up 2.1 percent from a revised 493,140 in October. November home sales also rose 2.3 percent from the revised 492,040 units sold in November 2010.
The November statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home sold in California was $280,960, up 1 percent from $278,060 in October, but down 5.2 percent from the $296,480 median price recorded for November 2010.
"On a regional level, more markets registered year-to-year price gains in November than in October, despite the statewide year-over-year price decrease," said Leslie Appleton-Young, C.A.R.'s vice president and chief economist. "However, price declines in such high cost areas as Contra Costa, Marin, Ventura, Orange County, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz may be a sign that the recent lowering of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan limits may have had an impact on purchases of homes in the moderately high-priced range."
The higher Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) conforming loan limits of $729,750 expired Oct. 1 and were subsequently reduced to $625,500, but a little more than a month later, Congress decided to reinstate the FHA loan limit in high-cost areas for two years. In Santa Clara County, this means the maximum size of mortgages FHA can insure is back up to $729,750 through 2013.
"This is traditionally a slow season, and while Congress restored the FHA loan limit in high-cost areas like our region, the limits for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not reinstated and remain at the reduced level. There may be buyers hesitating because non-conforming or jumbo loans typically carry higher mortgage interest rates than conforming loans, and as such, increase monthly payments," said Lentz.
In Santa Clara County closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in November fell 0.70 percent from October and were down 10.40 percent from November 2010. The median sales price of an existing single-family home was $560,000 in November, up 2 percent from the October median of $549,000, but down 2.6 percent from the median of $575,000 in November 2010.
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.
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