Sales of single-family, re-sale homes fell 32% year-over-year in July. This is the eleventh month in a row home sales have been lower than the year before. Year-to-date, home sales are down 29.9%.

Condo sales, on the other hand, were up 27.3% over last July. Year-to-date, condo sales are down 19.7%.

The high-end market has been helped by increasing access to jumbo and super-jumbo loans. Historically, and until July 2007, the spread or difference between conforming mortgage rates and jumbo rates moved within a narrow range of about 0.20%. At the trough of the market, the spread was 1.9%. Now, the spread is down to 0.5%, and the secondary market for jumbo loans is awakening.

The median price for homes was off 3.4% from June, but it was up 17.4% year-over-year. This is the seventh month in a row the median price has been higher than the year before. The average price was off 10.5% from June, but it was up 27.4% compared to last July.

The sales price to list price ratio for homes rose 0.5 of a point to 99.7%.
The median and average prices for condos were up 192.8% and 44.5% respectively year-over-year.

Pending home sales were down from June, but were still higher than the year before. Pending home sales were up 55.7%, while pending condo sales rose 51.3%.

Inventory for homes was up 7.5% year-over-year. This is the first month inventory has been higher than the year before since April 2008.

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.