Existing homes are selling faster and there are fewer on the market now than last year, the California Association of Realtors said Thursday. But the Realtors' group said prices are still falling too fast to signal any real estate recovery.
"We don't expect to see a housing market recovery until prices stabilize and the number of distressed properties on the market declines," said a statement from association President William Brown.
The group said August sales were up 56 percent from the same time last year, a fifth straight month of year-over-year gains. Strong August sales also finally pushed 2008 sales totals above the same months last year.
Many of the gains are attributed to a 40.5 percent drop in the statewide median sales price across the past year. The new median, where half cost more and half less, is $350,140. The association said that reflects dominance of sales of bank-repossessed homes across much of the state.
The Realtors' group said California has 6.7 months of unsold inventory – the number of months it would take to sell all the homes at the current sales pace. A year ago, the state had 10.6 months of inventory.
The association also pegged Sacramento County's median price in August at $220,890, an 0.8 percent increase from July. It was one of the few regions in California to show a gain.
– Jim Wasserman
