California Sales Down 31.7%, Median Price Up 1.8%

The California Association of Realtors reported today that for the month of September 2006 the seasonally adjusted sales pace for California single family homes is down 31.7% when measured against September of 2005. The seasonably adjusted sales total for this year is 444,780 as compared to 650,780 for the same time last year.

They also report that the Median price of a single family home has increased by 1.8% from $543,510 in September 2005 to $553,050 in September 2006. The median price when measured against August of 2006 is down 4% from $576,360.

The unsold inventory index is reported as being 7 months as compared to 3.2 months for the same period last year. This means that at the current rate it would take 7 months for all of the current listings to sell in California. Typically anything over 5 to 6 months is considered a "Buyer's Market".

For September 2006 they report that for the Sacramento Region, including Sacramento County as well as parts of Placer, El Dorado and Yolo Counties, the median home price was $369,460. This is down 2.3% from the August 2006 median price of $478,180 and down 3.8% from the September 2005 median price of $383,920. They also report that the number of sales is down 6.7% from August 2006 and 37.9% from September 2005