Home Sales Decrease 20.8% in March (article)

The median price of an existing single-family home in California increased 3.2 percent in March and sales decreased 20.8 percent compared with the same period a year ago, C.A.R. recently reported.

"March sales fell below the levels of recent months in reaction to an uptick in mortgage rates earlier this year along with tighter underwriting standards. The year-to-year decline in March was larger than in recent months in part because sales in March 2006 were the strongest in all of last year," said C.A.R. President Colleen Badagliacco.

"Moreover, recent news regarding foreclosures and the subprime situation had an adverse impact on the market psychology of many buyers, leading some to delay their home-purchase decisions."According to the report, the median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during March was $580,090, a 3.2 percent increase over the $562,130 median for March 2006.

Also last month, closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 427,110 at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, down 20.8 percent compared with the sales pace recorded one year earlier.

**Taken from the California Association of Realtors Bulletin, dated April 25, 2007.