Sales of both single-family, re-sale homes and condos fell in July with the expiration of the Federal tax credit.

Home sales were off 21.7% compared to last July, while condo sales were down 11.5%. Year-to-date, home sales are off 4.9%, while condo sales are up 1.8%.

The median price for homes was off 1.3% from June, but it was up 6.9% year-over-year. This is the eleventh month in a row the median price has been higher than the year before.

The sales price to list price ratio for homes dropped 0.4 of a point to 97.8%.
The median and average prices for condos were down 2.2% and 1% respectively year-over-year. July is the first month the median price for condos has been lower than the year before since last October.

Pending sales were down 58.6% from the year before. Pending condo sales fell 55.8%.

Pending sales and completed sales have historically tracked each other closely. The decline in pending sales is a sign that short-sales are declining. Whether or not that is a result of short-sales completing or the properties have been foreclosed on is not clear yet.

Inventory for homes rose 23.3% year-over-year. After 24 straight months with inventory lower than the year before, inventory has now been higher for the past two months. Notices of foreclosure were down in June by 24.6% from May.

Speaking of inventory, Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), said, at a recent Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®  (SILVAR) meeting in Palo Alto last month, in five to ten years California will experience a housing shortage.

She said household growth for the state is expected to be 200,000 a year. The CBIA reports only 13,000 permits pulled in the first six months of the year.

Remember, the real estate market is a matter of neighborhoods and houses. No two are the same. For complete information on a particular neighborhood or property, call me.