San Diego-based DataQuick announced that an estimated 34,453 new and resale homes and condos sold statewide last month, which was down 16.5% from 41,280 in August, and down 2.7% from 35,404 sales in September of 2011.
It is normal for there to be a drop in home sales between August and September, however the dip last month was more significant. This is primarily due to the month starting and ending with a weekend and with fewer business days than normal.
California sales in September varied from the low end of 24,460 back in 2007 to the high end of 69,304 in 2003. Sales have increased on an annual basis every month since July of 2011, which they were 21.9% below the average of 43,559 sales for all September months since 1988.
The median price paid for a house in California last month was $287,000, which went up 2.1% from $281,000 in August, and up 15.3% from $249,000 from September 2011. Last month’s median was the highest since 2008, where it was at $301,000. September marked the seventh consecutive month in which the state’s median sale price rose year-over-year.
Of the existing homes sold in September, 17.7% are recently foreclosed homes. That is down from 20% in August and down 33.8% from a year earlier. Last month’s number was the lowest for any month since foreclosure re-sales made up 16% of the re-sale market in 2007.
Homebuyers last month paid an average mortgage payment of $1027, which was up from $1022 in August and up from $964 a year earlier. Last month’s average payment was 54.9% below the 1989 peak of the prior real estate cycle, when adjusted for inflation, and 63.9% below the 2006 peak of the current cycle.
