Brought to you by the CALIFORNIA
ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
 C.A.R.
reports July sales up 12 percent, prices declined 19.6
percent
Home sales increased 12 percent in
July in California compared with the same period a year
ago, while the median price of an existing home declined
19.6 percent, C.A.R. reported yesterday. “The federal
tax credit for first-time buyers played a critical role
in the purchase decision of many buyers,” said C.A.R.
President James Liptak. “Nearly 40 percent of first-time
buyers said they would not have purchased a home if the
tax credit was not offered. Because the tax
credit has helped so many first-time buyers become
homeowners, it is critical that Congress extends the
credit beyond the Dec. 1 deadline, and includes all
buyers, not just first-timers.”
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family
detached homes in California totaled 553,910 in July at
a seasonally adjusted annualized rate. Statewide home
resale activity increased 12 percent from the revised
494,390 sales pace recorded in July 2008. Sales in July
2009 increased 8.1 percent compared with the previous
month. The statewide sales figure represents what the
total number of homes sold during 2009 would be if sales
maintained the July pace throughout the year. It is
adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically
influence home sales.
The median price of an existing, single-family
detached home in California during July 2009 was
$285,480, a 19.6 percent decrease from the revised
$355,000 median for July 2008, C.A.R. reported. The July
2009 median price rose 3.9 percent compared with June’s
$274,740 median price.
“July marked the fifth consecutive month of
month-to-month increases in the median price,” said
C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie
Appleton-Young. “This was the largest increase on record
for the month of July based on statistics dating back to
1979. The yearly decline in July also was the smallest
in the past 19 months.”
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S&P/Case-Shiller index
posts first quarterly gain in three
years
Home prices
improved in the second quarter of 2009, posting their
first quarter-over-quarter gain in three years,
according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home
Price Index, released yesterday.
The index, which
covers all nine U.S. census divisions, recorded a 14.9
percent decline in the second quarter of 2009 compared
with the second quarter of 2008, but an improvement over
the record decline of 19.1 percent in the first quarter
of the year. The 10-City and 20-City Composites recorded
annual declines of 15.1 percent and 15.4 percent,
respectively. These are also improvements from their
recent respective record losses of -19.4 percent and
-19.1 percent.
“For the second month in a
row, we’re seeing some positive signs,” said David M.
Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard
& Poor’s. “The U.S. National Composite rose in the
second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2009.
Both the 10-City and 20-City Composites posted monthly
increases, as did most of the cities. As seen in both
seasonally adjusted and unadjusted data, as well as the
charts, there are hints of an upward turn from a bottom.
However, some of the hardest-hit cities, especially in
the Sun Belt, show continued
weakness.”
In spite of the recent
positive data, the overall numbers remain weak, with all
metro areas and the two composites posting negative
annual returns, and 15 out of the 20 metro areas
reporting double-digit annual declines, according to the
report. Las Vegas and Detroit continue to be two markets
that are struggling severely, and are the only two that
declined in June and saw deterioration in their annual
rates of return, according to the
report.
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Written short
sales commissions policy issued by Freddie Mac
According to the written policy released by
Freddie Mac on Aug. 20, unless a real estate broker's
sales commission exceeds 6 percent of the property sales
price, servicers must not, as a condition of the
servicer's acceptance of an offer, renegotiate the real
estate broker's sales commission to an amount that is
lower than the amount that was originally agreed upon
between the broker and the borrower. In the event the
sales commission exceeds 6 percent, the servicer must
renegotiate the commission to limit it to 6 percent of
the property sales price, according to the Freddie Mac
bulletin. Freddie Mac’s policy now is consistent with
Fannie Mae's policy.
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Consumer
confidence on the rise
Consumer confidence
increased to 54.1 (1985=100) in August compared
with 47.4 in July, according to a report
released yesterday by The Conference Board. The Present
Situation Index increased to 24.9 in August from 23.3
last month, and the Expectations Index improved to 73.5
compared with 63.4 in July, according to the
report.
"Consumer
confidence, which had posted back-to-back monthly
declines, appears to be back on the mend,” said Lynn
Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer
Research Center. “The Present Situation Index increased
slightly, mainly the result of an improvement in
consumers' assessment of the job market. The
Expectations Index improved considerably and is now at
its highest level since December 2007 (Index, 75.8).
Consumers were more upbeat in their short-term outlook
for both the economy and the job market in August, but
only slightly more upbeat in their income expectations.
And, as long as earnings continue to weigh heavily on
consumers' minds, spending is likely to remain
constrained."
Consumers'
appraisal of the job market was more favorable this
month, with those saying jobs are "hard to get"
decreasing to 45.1 percent from 48.5 percent, and those
claiming jobs are "plentiful" increasing to 4.2 percent
from 3.7 percent. Consumers' short-term outlook was much
improved from last month, and the labor market outlook
also was more upbeat, according to the
report.
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calREDD™
officially launched in Fresno, Madera, and
Merced
calREDD™ last week announced
that members of the Fresno Association of REALTORS®, the
Madera Association of REALTORS®, and the Merced
Association of REALTORS® now can view properties for
sale, place listings, prepare CMAs, and access agents
for referrals through calREDD™, the statewide Multiple
Listing Service (MLS) as of Aug. 17, when the statewide
MLS officially launched. calREDD™, an acronym for
California Real Estate Dynamic Data, embodies the
long-term vision of creating one database for all
California real property, with advanced technology that
goes beyond current MLS
systems.
“The
official launch of calREDD™ marks a significant
milestone for California REALTORS® and our industry,”
said Mike Silvas, CALMLS chairman and co-owner of Morgan
Lane Real Estate, a luxury market brokerage based in
Napa, Calif. “The leadership teams of the Fresno,
Madera, and Merced associations early on realized the
benefits of a statewide MLS. Their members now are able
to experience the advantages of the calREDD™ system
firsthand by being the first group of associations in
the state to utilize the live
system.”
calREDD™
enables brokers and agents to access the statewide data
through any participating AOR or MLS. Associations and
MLSs may be part of the system by using the new vendor
as their primary software or under a hybrid arrangement
using an association’s existing vendor connecting to the
statewide system through calREDD™ for the rest of the
data. To date, 68 local REALTOR® associations and
multiple regional MLSs representing more than 120,000
members across the state have recognized the importance
of a statewide MLS and have signed letters of intent to
participate in this critical
endeavor.
“As a member-centric MLS, we welcome the
direct feedback we’re receiving from members to help us
create the best system for real estate practitioners,”
said Jared Martin, president of the Fresno Association
of REALTORS®. “We will continue to diligently work to
provide a positive user experience as we move forward on
this important endeavor.”
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Member
Advantage Program introduces C.A.R. Private Print
Shop
C.A.R. has partnered with
Printingforless.com to meet your printing needs and now
offers the C.A.R. Private Print Shop. Designed
with REALTORS® in mind, the C.A.R. Private Print Shop is
a one-stop source for top-quality marketing materials
including business cards, postcards, letterhead, and
envelopes – all at a 10 percent savings.
Printingforless.com has designed several themes for you
to choose from. Just pick a theme, personalize
with your photo, logo and contact information, enter
your quantities, and order in just minutes. You’ll
choose from professionally designed products that can
quickly be customized to your business. Visit www.printingforless.com/carmarketing
to get started.
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C.A.R. Green
Tip of the Week: Sweep versus hose
Save eight to 18 gallons of water per
minute by using a broom to clean sidewalks, patios, and
driveways.For more green real-estate-related tips and
discussion, visit C.A.R.’s green blog (http://blogs.car.org/)
and C.A.R.’s Green Web site (http://green.car.org/).
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Fast
Facts
Calif.
median home price
- July 09: $285,480 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median
home price by C.A.R. region July 09: Santa Barbara
So. Coast $885,000 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median
home price by C.A.R. region July 09: High Desert
$110,650 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif.
First-time Buyer Affordability
Index - Second Quarter
2009: 67 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage
rates - week ending 8/20/09 30-yr. fixed: 5.12%
Fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 4.56% Fees/points: 0.7%
1-yr. adjustable: 4.69% Fees/points: 0.5% (Source:
Freddie Mac)
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