(January 30, 2013) Prices of new and existing homes in California ended the year twenty percent higher than the previous year and were at their highest level since August of 2008 according to real estate information provider DataQuick.

An estimated total of 39,760 new and existing homes and condos were sold in the Golden State in December. That was 6.1 percent higher than the 37,481 homes sold in November and 5.4 percent higher than the 37,734 homes sold in December 2011.

Home sales in the state typically increase around ten percent between November and December but were still 9.4 percent below the state’s historical average.

Distressed property sales accounted for 40.8 percent of all re-sales in December, down from 43.0 percent in November, with homes that had been foreclosed on in the previous twelve months accounting for 15.5 percent of the existing home sales. That was down from a revised 16.9 percent in November and down from 33.9 percent in December of 2011.

Short sales accounted for an estimated 25.3 percent of all re-sales last month, down from a revised 26.1 percent in November. In December of last year, short sales accounted for 25.5 percent of all existing home sales.

The median sales price for a home in California increased 2.7 percent to $299,000, up from $291,000 in November and was 21.5 percent higher than the median price of $246,000 posted in December of 2011. It was the tenth consecutive increase in year-over-year prices in the state following 18 months of declines.

The statewide current cycle peak price was $484,000 in early 2007, while the low during the current cycle was $221,000 in December 2009.

Tags: California real estate, new and re-sale homes, condos, sales, median home prices, distressed properties, short sales

Source:
DataQuick

Reported by Chris Moore