Housing sales rising; Southern California markets still sluggish

A December jump for home sales is certainly not bad news for Southern California real estate markets, but not necessarily a sign of an energetic resurgence in either sales volumes or prices.

"We're doing extremely well, but I don't think the market is doing that well," said Darryl Spellacy, owner of San Bernardino-based Spellacy and Associates Realtors. "It is moving, but it is moving very slow."

Spellacy said his own confidence stems from nearly four decades' worth of contacts at his firm leading to referrals and repeat business. In a broader sense, however, he is not counting on any dramatic upswings this year for Southern California real estate.

His view of a still-sluggish housing market roughly mirrors the analysis at DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based company that tracks real estate values.

The word from DataQuick is that the real estate markets often jump a bit from November to December because investors try to close deals before year's end.

Taking that into account, the marketplace is still affected by many of the conditions that existed last year, such as the relative difficulty for buyers to obtain credit and investors purchasing homes at the low end of the price spectrum. That does not mean, however, that prices are destined for a fall.

"Some of the economic vital signs have improved lately and it's sparked a renewed sense of optimism in housing circles," DataQuick President John Walsh said in

a statement. "Coupled with incredibly low mortgage rates, it certainly suggests that 2012 might offer the rock bottom for pricing that many buyers and sellers have been looking for."

"But the housing drama isn't over," he said. "Credit conditions remain horrible, leaving many unable to take advantage of today's improved affordability. And lenders must still decide the fate of scores of borrowers who aren't making their mortgage payments."

DataQuick and the California Association of Realtors both released sales and price data on Tuesday.

The Realtors' report was somewhat more optimistic, as the trade group's analysis emphasized that its tally of sales volumes has increased for three straight months, and prices increased in November and December.

"Robust sales over the past few months signal the housing market is treading above water on its own in the first full year without government stimulus that has helped housing in the past couple of years," LeFrancis Arnold, president of the California Association of Realtors, said in a statement.

DataQuick's raw numbers show about 19,200 Southern California houses and condos sold in December, a 14 percent increase from November's sales volumes.

That number, however, was 1.4 percent smaller than December 2010's sales volume.

Home prices also fell on a year-over-year basis. In San Bernardino County, median December prices dropped 1.3 percent to $150,000.

In Los Angeles County, prices fell 7.6 percent to $305,000.

Unlike DataQuick, the Realtors group does not count brand new homes that are being sold to their first-ever owner. That leads to its numbers being slightly different from DataQuick's, which reflect the difficulty builders have had in selling new product.

The Realtors' numbers show that in December, San Bernardino County sales volumes grew nearly 8 percent from November's levels and also increased 4 percent from December 2010 levels.

San Bernardino County median prices also came in at about $128,000, down 5 percent from November. That number is also 4.7 percent down from prices one year prior.

In Los Angeles County, sales volumes climbed nearly 15 percent from November to December, but fell 4.6 percent below December 2010 levels.

Los Angeles County prices hit a median of close to $307,000. That number signifies a month-to-month increase of 5.4 percent, but a year-over-year decrease of 6.5 percent.

andrew.edwards@inlandnewspapers.com

909-386-3872, 909-483-8550, @InlandBizz

Source: http://www.sbsun.com/breakingnews/ci_19759422?source=rss

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