A total of 15,231 new and resale homes sold in
Sales have increased on a year-to-year basis since last July. February a year ago was the slowest February in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988. The February average is 18,120.
"The market is so tilted away from normal mainstream activity that it's impossible to generalize or predict based on the atypical patterns we're seeing. That means that normal demand and supply is building up.“The floodgates could open once mortgage credit starts to open up," said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president.
Region wide, foreclosure resale’s accounted for 56.4 percent of February’s resale’s activity, which was the same as the revised January figure and up from 36.2 percent in February 2008.
In today's market, the drop in the median overstates the decline in home values. The more affordable inland markets with most of the discounted foreclosures account for a large share of today's sales, while homes in the upper half of the market are not selling well, and are under-represented in the statistics. When jumbo loans of more than $417,000 were readily available in early 2007, they accounted for just under 40 percent of all home purchases. Last month they accounted for just 10.3 percent.
At the same time, a common form of financing used by first-time home buyers in more affordable neighborhoods is near record levels. Government-insured, FHA mortgages made up about 38 percent of all purchase loans in February, up from 6.4 percent in February 2008.
| | Sales Volume | Median Price | ||||
| All homes | Feb-08 | Feb-09 | %Chng | Feb-08 | Feb-09 | %Chng |
| Los Angeles | 3,468 | 4,590 | 32.4% | $460,000 | $299,000 | -35.0% |
| Orange | 1,471 | 1,879 | 27.7% | $520,000 | $375,000 | -27.9% |
| | 2,147 | 3,420 | 59.3% | $325,000 | $190,000 | -41.5% |
| | 1,242 | 2,324 | 87.1% | $290,000 | $153,000 | -47.2% |
| | 1,954 | 2,473 | 26.6% | $415,000 | $285,000 | -31.3% |
| | 495 | 545 | 10.1% | $445,000 | $327,000 | -26.5% |
| SoCal | 10,777 | 15,231 | 41.3% | $408,000 | $250,000 | -38.7% |
Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is off its 2008 peak but remains at historically high levels, while financing with adjustable-rate mortgages is at an all-time low, as is financing with multiple mortgages. Down payment sizes and flipping rates are stable, and non-owner occupied buying activity is above-average in some markets, MDA DataQuick reported.
