C.A.R. Sales Reports
Talking Points
- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’
(C.A.R.) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* fell from a revised 108.7 in
November to 91.6 in December, based on signed contracts. The index
was up from the revised 82.5 recorded in December 2010, marking the eighth
consecutive month that pending sales rose from the previous year.
The decline follows a normal seasonal drop that usually occurs in November
and December.
- Pending home sales are
forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing
information on the future direction of the market.
- C.A.R. also reported that sales of distressed
properties increased in December, as lenders pushed to close REOs and
short sales to move them off their balance sheets before the end of the
year.
- The total share of all
distressed property types sold statewide rose to 47.3 percent in December,
up from November’s 44.9 percent but down from 48.3 percent in December
2010.
- Of the distressed properties sold statewide in
December, 22.2 percent were short sales, up from the previous month’s
share of 21 percent and up from last December’s share of 19.6 percent.
The share of REO sales
rose in December to 24.6 percent, up from November’s 23.5 percent, but down
from the 28.3 percent recorded in December 2010.