My New Blog

Home sales increased 8.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 493,240 units in October compared with a year earlier, C.A.R. reported. On a month-over-month basis, home sales in the state rose 0.9 percent.

“Based on preliminary analysis, it appears that the lower conforming loan limits has had a cooling effect on home sales in October, particularly in the higher-cost markets across the state, such as the San Francisco Bay Area and coastal regions of Southern California,” said C.A.R. President LeFrancis Arnold. “This evidence supports the need for reinstating the higher loan limits while the housing market is in transition to recovery.”

The October statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home sold in California was $278,060, down 3.3 percent from $287,440 in September and down 8.9 percent from the $305,150 median price recorded for October 2010.

C.A.R.