For the past two months, Santa Clarita Valley existing condo and single-family-home sales were the strongest they have been since the same period in 2007, even surpassing points in 2010 when state and federal tax credits were available.
In a report released Monday by the Southland Regional Association of Realtors, sales of single family homes were up 19 percent in February over the prior year. Condo sales rose 3.8 percent, reversing what had been a downward trend in that market. February home sales recorded the fifth consecutive month of increases, the association reported.
Still struggling to recover is the median home price, which was down 7 percent from February 2011. Condo prices dropped 15.7 percent from the prior year.
The upward trends in sales, however, began in June 2011. The 138 escrows that closed last month were 22 sales more than in the same period 2011 and up 39.4 percent from the record low set in January 2008, SRAR reported.
Open escrows at the end of February were up 31.9 percent over a year ago, and SRAR reported that pending escrows, a measure of future sales activity, suggest that sales will continue to pick up in the months ahead.
"Luckily, Santa Clarita is one of multiple communities throughout California reporting increases in home sales," said Erika Kauzlarich-Bird, president of the association's Santa Clarita Valley Division. "The market and economy would have improved even further, if only we had more homes listed for sale."
Inventory
The lack of available homes for sale that has plagued other Southern California communities affects the SCV region, as well. Active listings in February were down 27.6 percent compared to February of 2011.
Sales in Southern California represented only a 3.9-month supply, according to DataQuick, which monitors real-estate activity nationwide.
Santa Clarita has continued to beat trends in other markets.
The 861 local listings last month represent a 4.5 month supply of inventory, and are inching closer to the desired five to six month supply that indicates a balanced market.
Still, local Realtor Connor MacIvor with RE/MAX of Santa Clarita said the number of available homes to sell will continue to decline until the banks begin releasing more foreclosures.
Other local experts said that as long as the threat of distressed inventory remains, sellers are hesitant to put their homes up for sale.
Realtors have also reported bidding wars on the few homes that do go up for sale, and some believe the number of condo homes approved for Federal Housing Administration loans will increase.
"Over the next 12 to 24 months, many of the condo communities not currently approved for FHA borrowers will earn back their FHA approved status, enabling homebuyers currently limited by inventory to choose from, to enter the condo market," said Robert Mickalson with Realty Executives of Valencia.
Local market
Overall, however, the SCV real estate market remains healthier than others.
"Santa Clarita has a lot going for it," said Jim Link, the association's CEO. "Yet full recovery will remain elusive until conventional equity sales dominate the market and current homeowners see the advantages of listing their home for sale."
The recovery in the real estate sector has been more of a struggle in neighboring markets.
While SCV posted sales increases of 19 percent for February, home sales in nearby San Fernando Valley were down 1.3 percent from a year ago and condominium sales were off 7.1 percent from a year ago, reported SRAR.
Affecting the local market has been the lack of FHA loans available for condominiums in the SCV region, local Realtors report.
In stories reported by The Signal last December, when the administration required common interest properties to re-certify to make individual units eligible for affordable administration loans, most local properties lost the approval for a number of reasons - limiting condo purchase options for buyers.
There are many first-time homebuyers that would like to utilize an administration-insured loan and purchase a condo here in the Santa Clarita Valley, Mickalson said. Many condo communities within the Santa Clarita Valley are not FHA approved at this time.
"While condos are currently up 3.8 percent in sales compared to a year ago, I have to believe that that figure would be significantly higher if many of the condo communities in Santa Clarita were actually options for the would-be FHA homebuyers," Mickalson said.
Price points
Median prices also remain one of the last hurdles for a recovering market.
DataQuick reported the median price paid for a Southland home last month was down 3.7 percent from February 2011 compared to the drop of 7 percent for SCV homes and 9.4 percent in San Fernando Valley.
Locally, however, median home prices exceed the median price of $264,750 in Southern California. The median price for a home in SCV was $385,000 in February. The median price for a home in San Fernando Valley was $355,000.
Mixed into all these numbers, the question is: Who exactly is buying?
The majority of sales reflected in the numbers SRAR released were for homes selling for $450,000 or less. Nearly half of that inventory was selling for less than $250,000 reflecting investors are still heavily involved in the market.
DataQuick reports that distressed sales continue to make up more than half of the resale market. The company reported that investors and some second-home purchasers bought 29.7 percent of the Southland homes sold in February.
"No matter what the economy, homeownership is very attractive. It makes one feel ‘whole' to take part in the American Dream," MacIvor said.
Source: http://www.the-signal.com/section/36/article/62431/
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