Santa Clarita Valley October Home Sales up 78%

From SRAR:

Driven by the continued presence of foreclosures at extremely favorable resale prices, sales of existing single-family homes during October in the Santa Clarita Valley increased 78.4 percent compared to a year ago, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported Tuesday, Nov. 26.

A total of 296 homes changed owners, an increase of 138 transactions from a year ago when sales were inching to their lowest point on record. The record low sales total of 99 sales came in January of this year; the record high of 405 sales was set in June 2005.

Condominium sales also continued their rebound during October, up 111.9 percent from a year.

Eighty-nine condos closed escrow last month compared to 42 in October 2007, which was close to the record low of 31 condo sales of this January.

Resale prices continue to go in the opposite direction of sales. The median price of homes sold last month was $430,000, down 22.5 percent from a year ago. While prices continue to fall, the rate of the fall appears to be slightly slowing and beginning to flatten out.

The condo median price of $241,000 also fell 22.3 percent, a decline of $69,000 from the median of $310,000 reported in October 2007.

Pending escrows – a measure of future resales – suggest the increase in sales activity will continue in the months ahead, although the coming of the holidays may slightly temper sales. The 337 pending escrows at the end of October were up 69.4 percent higher than a year ago.

While the public generally believes that the inventory of homes listed for sale is huge, the reality is that the inventory is modest and has been steadily declining. Discretionary home sellers have been taking their properties off the market, which means current sellers, whether private or bank-owned, are very motivated to close escrow quickly.

There were 1,573 active listings at the end of the month, down 35.6 percent from October 2007. Active listings also declined slightly on a month-to-month basis.

At the current pace of sales, the inventory of homes listed for sale represents a mere 5.3-month supply – precisely where experts believe a balance exists between buyers and sellers.