Buying and Selling Homes
Southern California Sales
The median price paid for all Southern California homes sold in December 2017 was $507,000, a new all-time high that surpasses the previous peak of $505,000.
Absentee buyers (investors and second home purchasers) bought 22.9% of Southland homes sold in December 2017. The peak was 32.2% in February 2013. The monthly average for absentee buyers since 2000 is about 18.0%.
The number of homes that sold for $500,000 or more in December 2017 accounted for 51.3% of all sales. That is up from 45.4% in December 2016.
Foreclosure re-sales (properties foreclosed on in the prior 12 months) represented 1.4% of the Southland re-sale market in December 2017. That was down from 2.9% in December 2016. Foreclosure resales peaked at 56.7% in February 2009.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Loans made up 16.1% of all home purchase loans in Southern California in December 2017. Riverside and San Bernardino counties experienced the region’s highest FHA share in December at 25.1% and 26.9% respectively.
Just Released from DQNews January 30th, 2018
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New Recording Fees California
CALIFORNIA
Affordable Housing
Fund Document Recording Fee
With keen awareness of California’s shortage of affordable housing, the legislature passed more than 20 bills related to housing in this year’s session.
Chief among these laws is Senate Bill 2.
This law provides a permanent source of funding for affordable housing by imposing a flat $75 per document recording fee on every real estate instrument that is NOT part of a sales transaction. In this way, SB 2 is written to ensure that the fee will not burden home purchase transactions.
The fee will be capped at $225 per transaction and coordinated with other revenue sources.
C.A.R. supported SB 2 which dedicates 20% of the funds generated to affordable workforce housing and 70% of revenues to local governments for housing.
California Housing Market Forecast 2018
California Housing Market Forecast 2018
With the economy expected to continue growing, housing demand should remain strong and incrementally boost California’s housing market in 2018, though a shortage of available homes for sale and affordability constraints will be a challenge, according to the 2018 California Housing Market Forecast, released by California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.).
“Solid job growth and favorable interest rates will drive a strong demand for housing next year,” said C.A.R. President Geoff McIntosh. “However, a persistent shortage of homes for sale and increasing home prices will dictate the market as housing affordability diminishes for buyers struggling to get into the market.”
- The forecast sees a modest gain in existing single-family home sales of 1.0% next year, up slightly from the projected sales figure of 421,900 units for 2017. The 2017 figure is 1.3% higher compared to 2016.
- The average for 30-year, fixed mortgage interest rates will increase slightly to 4.3% in 2018, up from 4.0% in 2017 and 3.6% in 2016, but still will remain low by historical standards.
- The California median home price is forecast to increase 4.2% to $561,000 in 2018, following a projected 7.2% increase in 2017 to $538,500.
All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Taken from CAR.org 10/17/17
