Home sales and condominiums from foreclosure listings dominated Southern California real estate sales in March, based on a report from MDA DataQuick. Total housing sales in March increased by 52 percent from March 2008 sales, as the continued growth of foreclosure listings pushed down home prices by over 33 percent.
Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and Orange contributed increased sales of new and existing homes to push total sales in March to 19,486, increasing by nearly 7,000 the total sales of 12,808 in March 2008.
With median home prices falling by 35 percent to $250,000 compared to March 2008 levels, 55 percent of total sales of existing or pre-owned condos and homes were from foreclosure listings.
The counties of Riverside and San Bernardino accounted for much of the sale of foreclosure properties, increasing sales by 64 percent and 89 percent respectively, because home prices declined more steeply in these counties than in any other county.
Meanwhile, FHA-insured mortgages also increased by 10 percent compared to March 2008, since most first-time homebuyers preferred FHA, accounting for 38 percent of total mortgage loans taken during the month.
Throughout Southern California, sales of new homes and properties from foreclosure listings rose for the 9th straight month. Sales in Orange County increased by 45 percent, San Diego County by 43 percent, Ventura County by 40 percent and Los Angeles County by 40 percent.
In the middle of 2007, median home prices across Southern California reached its peak of $505,000. In March, because of continued addition of homes to foreclosure listings and the continued rise of total California foreclosures, this high price figure fell by 43 percent in San Bernardino to $150,000; by 39 percent in Riverside to $187,000; by 28 percent in San Diego to $285,000; by 32 percent in Los Angeles to $300,000; by 24 percent in Ventura to $326,000; and by 23 percent in Orange to $390,000. All these figures were based on the report compiled by MDA DataQuick.
MDA DataQuick, led by its president John Walsh, is run by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates. It gathers real estate data from county records and provides its data to lenders, title companies and government agencies.
Borrowers in Southern California have become smarter and more realistic in the face of the economic downturn. Aside from buying lower-priced homes from foreclosure listings, they also chose mortgages that limited their monthly payments to only about $1,074, much lower than the typical monthly payment of $1,841 in March 2007.
Author Resource:-
John Cutts has been educated in the finer points of the foreclosures market over 5 years. Read articles about foreclosures information at ForeclosureDeals.com - Your online source for foreclosed homes.
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