Home prices mostly rose in June and foreclosures fell, additional evidence of a gradually firming housing market in the Sacramento region, according to real estate information service DataQuick.
With mortgage rates at an all-time low, the median home price in Sacramento County rose 3 percent in June, to $165,000 from $160,000 in May, the San Diego-based firm said in its monthly market report. June's median price rose by 4.4 percent compared with June 2011.
Meanwhile, foreclosures reached their lowest levels in nearly five years, said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage. Foreclosures accounted for about 32 percent of the Sacramento County resale market in June, the smallest percentage since September 2007. Placer, El Dorado and Yolo also saw the least number of foreclosed homes sold since 2007.
"That could turn around if large lenders got more aggressive about pushing people through to foreclosure," LePage said. "But right now, it changes the way the market looks and feels to buyers and sellers and has a meaningful impact on (sales prices by) generating upward pressure."
Meanwhile, sales of new homes in Sacramento County increased for the fifth straight month. Builders sold 114 new houses in June, a low figure compared with 300 to 500 new homes sold in normal years but nearly a third more than the 87 new homes sold in June 2011.
"It's a 31 percent increase from next to nothing a year ago," LePage said, "but ridiculously low in a historical context."
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