Aug 19, 2008 2:56 pm US/Pacific
Calif. Home Prices Fall Despite July Sales Surge
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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A sign indicating a reduced price is posted in front of a home for sale in East Palo Alto.
AP
Home sales in California surged more than 12 percent in July from a year ago -- the biggest jump in sales in four years, a research firm said Tuesday.
A total of 39,507 new and preowned homes were sold statewide last month. That's up 12.3 percent from July 2007 and up 12.2 percent from June's total, MDA DataQuick said in its report.
Foreclosed homes accounted for 44.8 percent of all the homes sold last month.
The surge in foreclosure sales and home depreciation, coupled with fewer sales of high-end homes, helped drive down the statewide median home price to $318,000, a decline of 33.5 percent from July 2007.
The statewide median home price peaked in May 2007 at $484,000.
In the San Francisco Bay area, prices plunged 29.3 percent in July to a 53-month low.
The median price for new and resale homes and condos stood at $470,000 last month, down from $665,000 in July 2007. The figure also marks a decline from $485,000 in June.
The nine-county area did see a slight increase in annual sales. There were 7,586 new and resale homes and condos sold last month, up 2.2 percent from July 2007. The increase is the first year-over-year gain for home sales in the region since January 2005.
MDA DataQuick president John Walsh said the sales increases don't necessarily point to a sustainable rebound in the housing industry.
"A clearer picture of the entire housing market will emerge once more of these foreclosures burn off and more lenders, sellers and buyers get off the sidelines and back into the housing game," he said.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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