California pending home sales lower in December; distressed sales rise as lenders push through more REOs, short sales, C.A.R. reports

January 25, 2012

by CAR

Category: News || Marketing & Statistics, Property, Rentals, Transactions | No Comments

LOS ANGELES, CA – January 25, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ (C.A.R.) Pending Home Sales Index dropped as expected between November and December, tracking the annual seasonal slowdown. However, the index was higher than a year ago for the eighth straight month, a trend that bodes well for the start of the spring home-buying season. C.A.R. also reported that sales of distressed properties increased in December, as lenders pushed to close REOs and short sales to move them off their balance sheets before the end of the year.

Pending home sales:
C.A.R.’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* fell from a revised 108.7 in November to 91.6 in December, based on signed contracts. The index was up from the revised 82.5 recorded in December 2010, marking the eighth consecutive month that pending sales rose from the previous year. The decline follows a normal seasonal drop that usually occurs in November and December. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.

Distressed housing market data:

Equity sales made up 52.7 percent of home sales in December, down up from 55.1 percent in November but up from 51.7 percent in December 2010.
The total share of all distressed property types sold statewide rose to 47.3 percent in December, up from November’s 44.9 percent but down from 48.3 percent in December 2010.
Of the distressed properties sold statewide in December, 22.2 percent were short sales, up from the previous month’s share of 21 percent and up from last December’s share of 19.6 percent.
The share of REO sales rose in December to 24.6 percent, up from November’s 23.5 percent, but down from the 28.3 percent recorded in December 2010.

Multimedia:

View a video of C.A.R. Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young discussing highlights of the December existing home sales and price report, which was released Jan. 17.

View a chart of closed housing sales by sales type.

View a chart of pending sales compared with closed sales.

View a chart of the historical trend in the share of equity sales compared with distressed sales.View a chart of housing supply for REOs, short sales, and equity sales.

Share of Distressed Sales to Total Sales
(Single-family)

Type of Sale	Dec. 2010	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011
REOs	28.30%	23.50%	24.60%
Short Sales	19.60%	21.00%	22.20%
Other Distressed Sales (Not Specified)	0.40%	0.50%	0.50%
Total Distressed Sales	48.30%	44.90%	47.30%

Single-family Distressed Home Sales by Select Counties
(Percent of total sales)

County	Dec. 2010	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011
Amador	71%	44%	48%
Butte	39%	36%	51%
Humboldt	27%	28%	29%
Kern	71%	60%	64%
Lake	81%	58%	63%
Los Angeles	48%	46%	49%
Madera	60%	88%	80%
Marin	34%	30%	37%
Mendocino	57%	52%	45%
Merced	60%	64%	64%
Monterey	65%	59%	56%
Napa	54%	53%	49%
Orange	38%	36%	42%
Riverside	67%	61%	63%
Sacramento	66%	63%	63%
San Benito	66%	65%	75%
San Bernardino	72%	64%	67%
San Diego	28%	27%	28%
San Luis Obispo	46%	44%	48%
San Mateo	28%	28%	28%
Santa Clara	39%	32%	37%
Santa Cruz	40%	46%	41%
Siskiyou	44%	33%	54%
Solano	74%	72%	70%
Sonoma	55%	51%	51%
Tehama	84%	54%	54%
California	48%	45%	47%

**Note: C.A.R.’s pending sales information is generated from a survey of more than 70 associations of REALTORS® and MLSs throughout the state. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, offering solid information on future changes in the direction of the market. A sale is listed as pending after a seller has accepted a sales contract on a property. The majority of pending home sales usually becomes closed sales transactions one to two months later. The year 2008 was used as the benchmark for the Pending Homes Sales Index. An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2008.

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with 155,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.