Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Realtors say home sales rose 12 percent in state

The California Association of Realtors' latest report of monthly home sales offered a mixed bag.

CAR said Tuesday that statewide home sales increased 12 percent in July compared with July 2008, while the median price of an existing home declined 19.6 percent.

It was the 11th straight month that existing home sales outperformed sales in the year-ago period. And while median prices were down compared with last year, they rose for the fifth straight month this year.

"The federal tax credit for first-time buyers played a critical role," said James Liptak, CAR president. "Nearly 40 percent of first-time buyers said they would not have purchased a home if the tax credit was not offered."

In the Sacramento region, the median home price in July was $183,840, down 16.1 percent from a year ago, according to CAR. July home sales in the region were down 6.7 percent from a year ago, but up 6 percent over June.

Source Sac Bee

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