California home sales rose for the third consecutive month in December, marking the highest level since January 2011, according to data from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).
Sales also were up from a year ago, marking the sixth consecutive annual increase. “With the economy slowly improving, home buyers – investors and first-time buyers alike – took advantage of affordable interest rates and made a push to close escrow by the end of year,” said C.A.R. President LeFrancis Arnold. “Robust sales over the past few months signal the housing market is treading above water on its own in the first full year without the government stimulus that has helped housing in the last couple of years.”
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 520,940 in December, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. December’s sales were up 3.3 percent from November’s revised pace of 504,420 and were up 0.1 percent from the revised 520,330 sales pace recorded in December 2010.
The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2011 if sales maintained the December pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales. The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home posted its second consecutive monthly gain, increasing 1.8 percent to $285,920 in December, up from a revised $280,960 in November.
*courtesy of car.org
