California home sales hit 7-month high in December

I had a great discussion today with our Broker at Sea Coast Exclusive Properties, Mike Evans and he is as excited about the Southern California real estate market as we are at Chase & Chase. Mike's take on 2011 is, the year will be an exciting one not only for real estate investors but first time home buyers, and others who plan on taking full advantage of the existing real estate market in San Diego County. While most would agree, the news we hear now a days is negative as it pertains to real estate, the evidence produced just recently from the the California Association of Realtors tells a different story on a state level. I've posted a report by CAR which provides further evidence of the upswing in real estate throughout a few of the more notable communities in California. Although admittedly, most of the towns mentioned occurred in LA, Orange, Merin counties and others, but Poway made the list in San Diego County. The bottom line is the selling price on homes is increasing while inventory is shrinking.

The Report by CAR

California home sales rose in December to their highest level since May, according to a report Friday from the California Association of Realtors, as the inventory of unsold homes dwindled.

December’s sales were up 5.9 percent from November’s revised figure of 491,590 but were down 6.8 percent from the revised 558,840 of December 2009.

The unsold inventory index for existing, single-family detached homes was 5 months in December, down from 6.2 months in November but up from 3.8 months in December 2009. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.

Statewide, the 10 cities with the highest median home prices in California during December were: Beverly Hills, $2.18 million; Los Altos, $1.30 million; Calabasas, $1.17 million; Laguna Beach, $1.10 million; Manhattan Beach, $1.8 million; Newport Beach, $1 million; Santa Monica, $921,000; Cupertino, $904,500; Rancho Palos Verdes, $849,000; Los Gatos, $840,000.

Statewide, the cities with the greatest median home price increases in December compared with the same period a year ago were: Beverly Hills, 54.3 percent; Calabasas, 39.1 percent; Poway, 25.5 percent; Ridgecrest, 23.3 percent; San Juan Capistrano, 19.2 percent; Compton, 17.5 percent; Laguna Hills, 15.7 percent; Santa Cruz, 14.1 percent; Gilroy, 14.1 percent; La Habra, 13.2 percent.

At Sea Coast Exclusive Properties, we're convinced the real estate market particularly the the coastal community in general has tremendous upside to buyers and sellers alike. Why? It's back to basics....Location, Weather and The Ocean.