Southern California home sales surged last month from November — as they normally do — amid relatively strong activity under $300,000 and a record share of sales to “absentee” buyers, mainly investors.
But with the purchase plans of many ordinary buyers and sellers still on hold, the year-end rush couldn’t lift sales above December 2010. Moreover, investors’ focus on lower-cost homes helped push the median sale price back down to its 2011 low point, a real estate information service reported. A total of 19,247 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in December. Full Story…WASHINGTON — The number of contracts to buy previously owned US homes rose almost three times as much as forecast as falling prices made properties more affordable.
The surprising 8.2 percent increase in the index of pending home resales from April followed a revised 11 percent drop the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday in Washington. Economists forecast a 3 percent gain, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.
While the measure of contract signings has been volatile this year, last month’s index level is 0.1 point lower than the January figure, indicating residential real estate has made little headway. For