Pending home sales dial up again in February; distressed housing market stabilizes
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Pending home sales data:
• California pending home sales jumped 14.2 percent in February, with the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* rising from 84.8 in January to 96.8 in February, based on signed contracts. Pending sales were down 12 percent from the 110.1 index recorded in February 2013. The year-over-year decline was the sixth straight annual double-digit drop in the PHSI, but should start to taper in the upcoming months. 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:
• The share of equity sales – or non-distressed property sales – increased to 85 percent in February, up from 84.4 percent in January. Equity sales have stabilized over the past several months and should continue to hover around 85 percent, with February marking the eighth straight month that equity sales have been more than 80 percent of total sales. Equity sales made up 66.7 percent of sales in February 2013.
• The combined share of all distressed property sales was down in February. The share of distressed property sales dipped from 15.6 percent in January to 15 percent in February. Distressed sales continued to be down by more than a half from a year ago, when the share was 33.3 percent. More than half of the 38 reported counties showed a month-to-month decrease in the share of distressed sales, with San Diego and San Francisco Bay Area counties registering the smallest share.
• Of the distressed properties, the share of short sales was 8.2 percent in February, down from 9.2 percent in January. February’s figure was more than half of the 19.6 percent recorded in February 2013 and remained at the lowest levels since January 2009.
• The share of REO sales increased in February to 6.3 percent, up from 5.9 percent in January. REOs made up 13.2 percent of all sales in February 2013.
• February saw a slight increase in active listings across all property types, especially in equity properties, which helped to improve housing supply conditions. The Unsold Inventory Index for equity sales crept up from 4.4 months in January to 4.8 months in February. The supply of REOs dipped from 3.2 months in January to 3 months in February, and the supply of short sales increased from 4.6 months in January to 5 months in February.
Charts (click link to open):
• Pending sales compared with closed sales.
• Historical trend in the share of equity sales compared with distressed sales.
• Closed housing sales in February by sales type (equity, distressed).
• Housing supply of REOs, short sales, and equity sales in February.
• A historical trend of REO, short sale, and equity sales housing supply.
• Year-to-year change in sales by property type.
Share of Distressed Sales to Total Sales
(Single-family)
Type of Sale | Feb-14 | Jan-14 | Feb-13 |
Equity Sales | 85.0% | 84.4% | 66.7% |
Total Distressed Sales | 15.0% | 15.6% | 33.3% |
REOs | 6.3% | 5.9% | 13.2% |
Short Sales | 8.2% | 9.2% | 19.6% |
Other Distressed Sales (Not Specified) | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
All Sales | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Single-family Distressed Home Sales by Select Counties
(Percent of total sales)
County | Feb-14 | Jan-14 | Feb-13 |
Alameda | 9% | 10% | 22% |
Amador | 19% | 21% | 46% |
Butte | 16% | 14% | 40% |
Contra Costa | 10% | 12% | 29% |
El Dorado | 17% | 20% | 39% |
Fresno | 29% | 26% | 44% |
Humboldt | 15% | 17% | 26% |
Kern | 19% | 19% | 36% |
Kings | 36% | 45% | 41% |
Lake | 36% | 50% | 45% |
Los Angeles | 14% | 16% | 32% |
Madera | 30% | 15% | 53% |
Marin | 7% | 13% | 19% |
Mendocino | 24% | 19% | 27% |
Merced | 16% | 27% | 41% |
Monterey | 14% | 17% | 45% |
Napa | 15% | 17% | 34% |
Orange | 8% | 9% | 20% |
Placer | 16% | 15% | 33% |
Riverside | 18% | 16% | 39% |
Sacramento | 19% | 20% | 43% |
San Benito | 5% | 18% | 44% |
San Bernardino | 22% | 22% | 43% |
San Diego | 5% | 4% | 15% |
San Joaquin | 22% | 25% | 51% |
San Luis Obispo | 9% | 10% | 21% |
San Mateo | 6% | 7% | 19% |
Santa Clara | 7% | 8% | 17% |
Santa Cruz | 13% | 12% | 34% |
Siskiyou | 44% | 34% | 60% |
Solano | 25% | 22% | 52% |
Sonoma | 12% | 11% | 34% |
Stanislaus | 21% | 25% | 48% |
Sutter | 25% | 17% | NA |
Tulare | 18% | 20% | 49% |
Yolo | 18% | 13% | 38% |
Yuba | 23% | 24% | NA |
California | 15% | 16% | 33% |
NA = not available
*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 165,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles
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