July Pending Home Sales

For release:
August 23, 2011

Fewer distressed property sales in July; California pending home sales decline, C.A.R. reports

LOS ANGELES (Aug. 23) – California pending home sales dipped in July, as did the share of sales of distressed properties, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

Pending home sales:

Pending home sales in California fell 1.7 percent in July, according to C.A.R.’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)*.  The index was 117.0 in July, down from June’s index of 119.0, based on contracts signed in July.  The index was up 4.9 percent from July 2010.  Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.

“While pending home sales dipped in July, all indications show we should continue at the current level for the next couple of months,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce.  “Pending sales have been ahead of last year’s level for the past three consecutive months and should be on track to finish the year even with last year’s pace.”

Distressed housing market data:

• The total share of all distressed property types sold statewide fell to 44.5 percent in July, down from June’s 46.9 percent.  The share of distressed sales also was down from a year prior, when distressed sales totaled 47.7 percent of all home sales.
• Of the distressed properties sold statewide, 17.5 percent were short sales, a decline from last month’s share of 19.3 percent and last July’s share of 20.9 percent.
• At 26.7 percent, the share of REO (real estate-owned) sales was down from June’s 27.3 percent figure, but was up slightly from the 26.3 percent reported in July 2010.
• Non-distressed sales made up the remaining share of home sales in July at 55.5 percent, up from 53.1 percent in June and 52.3 percent in July 2010.

Multimedia:

• View a video of Sara Sutachan, C.A.R.’s senior research analyst, discussing highlights of the July existing home sales and price report, which was released August 15.
• View a chart of pending sales compared with closed sales.

Share of Distressed Sales to Total Sales
(Single-family)

Type of Sale	Jul-10	Jun-11	Jul-11
REOs	26.30%	27.30%	26.70%
Short Sales	20.90%	19.30%	17.50%
Other Distressed Sales (Not Specified)	0.50%	0.40%	0.30%
Total Distressed Sales	47.70%	46.90%	44.50%

Single-family Distressed Home Sales by Select Counties
(Percent of total sales)

County	Jul-10	Jun-11	Jul-11
Amador	59%	51%	55%
Butte	28%	34%	43%
Humboldt	27%	29%	27%
Kern	69%	66%	NA
Lake	56%	86%	73%
Los Angeles	47%	47%	42%
Madera	65%	83%	86%
Marin	19%	26%	25%
Mendocino	71%	63%	61%
Merced	62%	64%	71%
Napa	40%	51%	51%
Orange	35%	35%	32%
Riverside	67%	61%	62%
Sacramento	62%	65%	60%
San Bernardino	72%	69%	65%
San Diego	26%	28%	26%
San Luis Obispo	41%	42%	42%
Solano	NA	72%	70%
Sonoma	43%	51%	46%
Tehama	77%	73%	72%
California (rounded)	48%	47%	45%

*Note:  C.A.R.’s pending sales information is generated from a survey of more than 70 associations of REALTORS® and MLSs throughout the state.  Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, offering solid information on future changes in the direction of the market.  A sale is listed as pending after a seller has accepted a sales contract on a property.  The majority of pending home sales usually becomes closed sales transactions one to two months later.  The year 2008 was used as the benchmark for the Pending Homes Sales Index.  An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2008.

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with more than 160,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.
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Original article available at http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/2011newsreleases/julpendinghmsales/#