Southern California home prices spike, inventory still tight

The price of a Southern California home soared a record 28.3 percent in June from a year earlier, as buyers bought more expensive properties, foreclosure sales continued to fall and inventory remained tight, a market tracker said Wednesday.

In the past 12 months, the median price of a home in the six-county region increased $85,000, to $385,000 from $300,000 in June 2012, said La Jolla-based DataQuick. The median price has risen enough to match that of April 2008, when prices began dropping.

The percentage increase is the largest since DataQuick began tracking the market in 1988. Price gains exceeded 20 percent in all counties, the company said, and the median has now increased from the year-ago level for 15 consecutive months.

However, interest rates have spiked and the higher prices have eroded affordability, and just when those factors will put pressure on the market is unclear.

"We saw an amazing pop in home prices over the last year. Now we see signs suggesting that blistering pace won't persist," DataQuick president John Walsh said in a statement.

Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist at the Kyser Center for Economic Research in Los Angeles, believes that supply won't match demand this year. "It's something that happens at certain times of the year," he said regarding an inventory surge. "People are going to look at the 2013 housing market as it closes out and make a decision as to whether to

list their house in 2014. That's when I think we'll see an increase in the supply of homes."

Still, there are some signs that inventory is starting to perk up. On Tuesday, the California Association of Realtors said statewide inventory increased to a 2.9-month supply in June, from 2.6 months in May.

"It's going to happen, but I don't know if anyone can predict the timing," said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage of more properties hitting the market.

The scant inventory continued to keep a lid on sales in June. Last month, 21,608 new and previously owned homes and condominiums changed owners, down from 21,075 a year ago. The report reflects what has been happening in the market over this spring and summer.

The biggest price gain last month came in Los Angeles County, where the median price increased 30.8 percent, to $425,000 from $325,000 a year earlier. Sales fell 3.6 percent, to 7,342 properties from 7,619 a year earlier.

San Bernardino County logged the second biggest increase, with the median price up 29.1 percent, to $204,000 from $158,000 a year earlier.

Buyers who can find properties remained confident about the housing market, DataQuick said. Last month, they paid $4.7 billion in down payments or cash purchases, down from May's record $5.5 billion and up from $4.1 billion a year ago.

Sales in the $300,000-to-$800,000 range -- a category that includes move-up buyers -- increased 22.7 percent year over year. Sales of homes costing $500,000 or more rose 35.9 percent, and those more than $800,000 were up 33.6 percent.

Meanwhile, sales of homes priced below $200,000 dropped 43.2 percent year over year, and those below $300,000 fell 35 percent.

During June, sales of foreclosed properties accounted for a 9.1 percent market share, down from 10.9 percent in May and 24.4 percent a year earlier. June's share was the lowest since foreclosure took up 7.9 percent of sales in July 2007. It peaked at 56.7 percent in February 2009, in the midst of the Great Recession.

Does all this add up to another bubble? Not yet, say most market watchers.

"It's not indicative of a speculative bubble, nor is it indicative of a housing market that is fully healed. It will be healed when we have a supply side that meets up with demand," Kleinhenz said. "When we get that more normal supply of houses for sale, the price increase will taper off to single or low double digits -- and in all likelihood that's probably a year away."

greg.wilcox@dailynews.com
@dngregwilcox on Twitter

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_23680884/southern-california-home-prices-spike-inventory-still-tight?source=rss_viewed

a christmas story twas the night before christmas santa Capital STEEZ George Bush After Christmas Sales 2012 Charles Durning