Home Prices in California - March 2013

Home prices in U.S. cities post big increase in March
Source: Los Angeles Times

Tight housing supply and strong demand continued to fuel a robust market recovery in March, with the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of 20 U.S. cities recording a 10.9 percent year-over-year increase.

Talking Points

• Distressed home sales continued to decline in April, as previously underwater homes rose in value, and the share of REO sales registered in the single-digits for the first time in more than five years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported

• The combined share of all distressed property sales registered its lowest level since February 2008, dropping to 24.4 percent in April, down from 27.9 percent in March and down from 45.8 percent in April 2012. The share of all distressed sales in most counties also declined significantly from the previous year, with Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, and Santa Clara registering in the single- or low double-digits in April.

• The share of equity sales – or non-distressed property sales – now make up more than three-fourths of total sales, the highest share since February 2008. The share of equity sales in April increased to 75.6 percent, up from 72.1 percent in March.  Equity sales made up more than half (54.2 percent) of all sales in April 2012.

• The available supply of homes was relatively unchanged from March but remained tight. In April, the Unsold Inventory Index for REOs dipped from 1.8 months in March to 1.7 months in April.  At 2.7 months, the supply of short sales remained unchanged in April.  The April Unsold Inventory Index for equity sales was 2.9 months, down from 3 months in March.