California confidence pushes sales to three-year high

Los Angeles, California Photo: Brendan Biele

Rising confidence in California's property market has pushed sales to a near three-year high.

Existing, single-family home sales totaled 449,530 in July on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, up 2.7 per cent from June and 12.7 per cent from July 2014.

The California Association of Realtors attributes the positive sentiment to sustained job and income growth. Indeed, home sales have risen year over year for six straight month, with sales remaining above the 400,00 mark for the fourth month in a row.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 449,530 units in July, according to information collected by the CAR. The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2015 if sales maintained the July pace throughout the year.

The July figure was up 2.7 per cent from the revised 437,680 level in June and 12.7 per cent compared with home sales in July 2014 of a revised 398,980. The year-to-year Change was the highest since July 2009 and significantly higher than the 6-month average increase of 6 percent observed from January 2015-June 2015.

"While July home sales rose at the statewide level, the market is still constrained by low housing affordability and a tight supply in areas where job growth is robust, such as San Francisco and San Jose,” says CAR President Chris Kutzkey. "Neighboring regions such as Napa, Solano, and Sonoma are experiencing strong sales due to their affordability and proximity to job centers. However, housing affordability could become a bigger issue in these areas if housing demand continues to grow but supply can’t keep pace."

The median price of an existing, single-family detached California home dipped 0.3 per cent in July to $488,260 from $489,640 in June. July’s median price was 5.4 per cent higher than the revised $463,330 recorded in July 2014.